Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji semi-retired Monday. He's just 29.
He joins a growing list of players who have recently retired with years left in the gas tank—names like Calvin Johnson, Jason Worilds, Marshawn Lynch and Jerod Mayo. There was Jake Locker. There was Chris Borland and Justin Smith and Patrick Willis and Anthony Davis and seemingly all the rest of the Jim Harbaugh 49ers.
Borland is the poster boy for the early retirements, the budding superstar who called it quits after his first NFL season and said his leaving the game was specifically a pre-emptive strike to avoid long-term health issues.