A month ago, Ravens linebacker Zachary Orr was an up-and-coming talent among the NFL’s league leaders in tackles.
Today, he’s a former NFL player.
Orr announced Friday that he will retire from playing football at age 24, after just three NFL seasons, because of a congenital back/spine condition that puts him in danger of serious injury or even death.
It turns out that Orr, the son of nine-year NFL tight end Terry Orr and brother to three other football players, was born to play football, but also born not to play.
His doctors told him that less than 1 percent of people are born with his condition.