Longtime NFL guard Mike Iupati is retiring. Iupati, 33, who most recently played for the Seattle Seahawks, told The Spokesman-Review: “My body was telling me it was time to close the door.”
Iupati suffered knee and neck injuries in 2020, which limited him to 10 games. He had already suffered a neck injury early in his career and, according to The Spokesman-Review, “chronic neck disease convinced him that he needed to quit the game”.
Iupati played 11 years in the NFL, all with teams from NFC West. He spent the first five years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, which made him the 17th overall choice in the 2010 NFL Draft. He became one of the league’s best point guards, reaching the Pro Bowl in each of his last three seasons in San Francisco, as well as the first All-Pro team in 2012.
Iupati then left for division rival Arizona Cardinals, with whom he spent four seasons. He excelled during his first and second years in Arizona, being nominated for the second All-Pro team in 2015. Injuries limited him to just one game in 2017, and he spent another relatively ineffective season with the Cardinals after that.
He landed in Seattle for the last two years of his career, playing 26 games and doing 25 games. He was a good starter when he was on the pitch, but it was clear that injuries were limiting his ability to be the most effective. Now, he is hanging his thorns forever.