Former FSU offensive lineman set to retire after extensive NFL career

A Seminole great is expected to retire after spending 12 years in the NFL.

Cardinals center and former Florida State offensive lineman Rodney Hudson is expected to retire after spending 12 years in the NFL, first being reported by ESPN.

#Cardinals Center Rodney Hudson is expected to retire after 12 NFL seasons, according to ESPN.

Hudson played in 159 games for both the #Raiders and Cardinals and made it to 3 Pro-Bowl teams and was an All-Pro in 2019. pic.twitter.com/nTawGad9Vf

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 5, 2023

Hudson, a Mobile, AL native, earned a starting role almost immediately after coming to Tallahassee in 2007 for legendary head coach Bobby Bowden. He started 10 of 13 games and earned All-American and Second Team All-ACC honors his freshman year for FSU. Hudson earned First Team All-ACC for the next three years before being drafted 55th in the second round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011. Hudson would go on to start in 143 games and play 159 games in the league during his career. He was the highest-selected Seminole offensive lineman in the NFL Draft since Alex Barron went 19th overall to the St. Louis Rams in 2005.

READ MORE: Two former Florida State Standouts, NFL stars expected back in Tallahassee in March

The Jacobs Trophy Award winner spent four seasons with the Chiefs before signing with the Raiders in 2016, where he made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2016 and 2017 while widely being considered one of the best pass-blocking centers of that time. The Raiders made Hudson the highest-paid center in 2019, signing a three-year $33.75M extension which he fulfilled until being traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2021.

As a Cardinal, he bounced in and out of a starting role and injured reserve for the next two years with rib and shoulder injuries, and some expected him to retire after he agreed to reduce his base salary from $8.25M to $2.05M in 2023 per ESPN's Field Yates. 

Hudson will go down as one of the best left guards that donned the garnet and gold. He helped provide an anchoring point on the offensive line for FSU during the "Lost Decade" struggle that saw Bobby Bowden retire as coach Jimbo Fisher was starting to turn the corner on a program that went 33-20 during Hudson's tenure. 

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