Bears Linebacker Urlacher Retires from Football

After 13 years in the NFL, Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher announced his retirement today at the age of 34.

Urlacher made his announcement somewhat quietly on Twitter.

“After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made a decision to retire,” Urlacher said in a statement. “Although I could continue playing, I’m not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that’s up to my standards. When considering this, along with the fact that I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear.

"I want to thank all of the people in my life that have helped me along the way. I will miss my teammates, my coaches and the great Bears fans. I’m proud to say that I gave all of you everything I had every time I took the field. I will miss this great game, but I leave it with no regrets."

Depsite having an injury-plagued year in 2012, Urlacher still had 68 tackles and leaves the Bears as their all-time leading tackler with 1,353 takedowns. 

Urlacher and the Bears decided to part ways back in March, and no one picked him up. Maybe other teams were interested in Urlacher at a lesser price, but instead of taking that chance, he decided to retire as a Bear to the cheers of many of his former NFC North opponents, knowing they never have to face him again.