Chicago Bears Receiver Devin Thomas Retires

The Chicago Bears signed receiver Devin Thomas to a one year contract in March, but earlier this morning, via his Twitter account, he announced he was retiring from football. He wrote:

"God has blessed me w achieving a childhood dream. I want to give back to my hometown and coach/mentor kids so they can reach their own. 1LUV "

This bears a similarity to Marion Barber's early exit from the league, seeing as Thomas himself is just 25 years old. It surely has a lot to do with a neck injury that he suffered as a member of the New York Giants. And while that injury did not turn out to be career ending, it seems to have rocked Thomas. He said:

"What am I risking when I step onto the field?" he said. "Do I want to be in a position where I can't play with my kids? Do I want to end up leaving the game with all kinds of brain damage where I can't remember things. It's a good time for me to step away."

And according to ESPNChicago.com, the strain of training camp just became too much for him.

"I definitely feel like it's a weight lifted, the beginning of my true life. I'm very excited to be able to live my life without anything holding me back.

"It's something I meditated on for some time. But as I was preparing for the upcoming season, my spirit was telling me it was time to turn over a new leaf and put away this childish game idolized by so many people."

So, what do we think of his decision to hang up his cleats? It does seem a little strange for someone to retire at such a young age, even with an injury history, but perhaps it opens up a roster spot for another Bears receiver that might otherwise have been closed.