- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 430,241
- Reaction score
- 44
Now former Jacksonville Jaguars' center Mitch Morse announced earlier this offseason that he was retiring from the NFL.
The 2024 season was Morse's first with the Jaguars after he signed a two-year deal last offseason. Morse is a former second-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft by Kansas City.
After playing four seasons with the Chiefs, Morse was with the Buffalo Bills from 2019 through 2023 before joining the Jaguars.
On a recent appearance on the Centered on Buffalo Podcast, Morse discussed his decision to call it a career.
"I came to this decision midway through last year," Morse said via Jaguars on SI. "Also, know that I'm prone to making these kind of huge moves in my mind and then kind of acting on them.
"So I thought maybe just take a second, and especially if you come to this conclusion in your mind, and then you're dead set on in season, they can start affecting your play and field. So I thought, let's just compartmentalize that, put that to the side. Know that it's something that you want to do, and then see what happens."
In his one season with the Jaguars, Morse provided a stabilizing presence along the offensive line, particularly in pass protection, allowing only three sacks and two quarterback hits in 634 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
As time went on from when Morse had those initial thoughts about retirement, that feeling never quite went away.
"So kept playing, didn't change," Morse added. "Won a few games, didn't change. A new regime came in, didn't change. And then, and then they came to me and kind of asked if I was up for that culture shift Year 11.
"And listen, dude, I had a blast in Jacksonville. Of course, professionally wasn't what we wanted to be, but there was a lot of good the people, the camaraderie, the support staff, the coaching, just didn't work out, dude, and it doesn't wasn't because we didn't work hard, or try hard, or care about each other."
Once Morse let the front office know that he was ready to retire, he was impressed with how the Jaguars handled the situation. With Morse signing a two-year deal, the Jaguars could have attempted to recoup some of the signing bonus that Morse was given up front. Jacksonville instead prioritized doing what was right by Morse.
"That is the thing that guys don't understand. Like Jacksonville had the opportunity to claw back money. I signed a two year contract. I only met one year of that obligation, right? So the fact that they were so gracious and understanding of this process," Morse said.
"And who knows, they could have let me go, I don't know, but they seemed to want to do right by me. They made that very clear from the ownership to, you know, the new manager, to the new team president, Tony Boselli. Like I had guaranteed money the next year. I didn't get that, but that was totally fine by me. Didn't want it. They didn't claw back the money that they gave me, unbelievable. You know, it was, it was just really good business done by them when they didn't have to."
With Morse retired, the Jaguars brought in Robert Hainsey to play center. Hainsey spent the 2024 season in Tampa Bay with Liam Coen, so his familiarity with the offensive scheme should help Trevor Lawrence and others as they navigate the learning curve that comes with a new system.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Former Jaguars' C Mitch Morse discusses retirement decision
Continue reading...
The 2024 season was Morse's first with the Jaguars after he signed a two-year deal last offseason. Morse is a former second-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft by Kansas City.
After playing four seasons with the Chiefs, Morse was with the Buffalo Bills from 2019 through 2023 before joining the Jaguars.
On a recent appearance on the Centered on Buffalo Podcast, Morse discussed his decision to call it a career.
"I came to this decision midway through last year," Morse said via Jaguars on SI. "Also, know that I'm prone to making these kind of huge moves in my mind and then kind of acting on them.
"So I thought maybe just take a second, and especially if you come to this conclusion in your mind, and then you're dead set on in season, they can start affecting your play and field. So I thought, let's just compartmentalize that, put that to the side. Know that it's something that you want to do, and then see what happens."
In his one season with the Jaguars, Morse provided a stabilizing presence along the offensive line, particularly in pass protection, allowing only three sacks and two quarterback hits in 634 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
As time went on from when Morse had those initial thoughts about retirement, that feeling never quite went away.
"So kept playing, didn't change," Morse added. "Won a few games, didn't change. A new regime came in, didn't change. And then, and then they came to me and kind of asked if I was up for that culture shift Year 11.
"And listen, dude, I had a blast in Jacksonville. Of course, professionally wasn't what we wanted to be, but there was a lot of good the people, the camaraderie, the support staff, the coaching, just didn't work out, dude, and it doesn't wasn't because we didn't work hard, or try hard, or care about each other."
Once Morse let the front office know that he was ready to retire, he was impressed with how the Jaguars handled the situation. With Morse signing a two-year deal, the Jaguars could have attempted to recoup some of the signing bonus that Morse was given up front. Jacksonville instead prioritized doing what was right by Morse.
"That is the thing that guys don't understand. Like Jacksonville had the opportunity to claw back money. I signed a two year contract. I only met one year of that obligation, right? So the fact that they were so gracious and understanding of this process," Morse said.
"And who knows, they could have let me go, I don't know, but they seemed to want to do right by me. They made that very clear from the ownership to, you know, the new manager, to the new team president, Tony Boselli. Like I had guaranteed money the next year. I didn't get that, but that was totally fine by me. Didn't want it. They didn't claw back the money that they gave me, unbelievable. You know, it was, it was just really good business done by them when they didn't have to."
With Morse retired, the Jaguars brought in Robert Hainsey to play center. Hainsey spent the 2024 season in Tampa Bay with Liam Coen, so his familiarity with the offensive scheme should help Trevor Lawrence and others as they navigate the learning curve that comes with a new system.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Former Jaguars' C Mitch Morse discusses retirement decision
Continue reading...
