Inside The Huskies

Trey Adams Done as a Football Player, Retires from NFL

The former Husky offensive tackle was one of the best, but also unlucky.

Dan Raley

Trey Adams, one of the most talented yet unlucky University of Washington football players over the past three decades, on Thursday announced his pro football retirement through social media.

Rather than report to upcoming organized team activities (OTAs) and pursue a second season in some capacity with the Buffalo Bills, Adams will step away from the game he greatly excelled at.

"Thank you football for everything," Adams wrote on Instagram.

While he was a two-time, first-team All-Pac-12 player, Adams never got to properly cash in on his considerable football skills, with a series of injuries stripping him of that opportunity.

A four-year Husky starter, the 6-foot-8, 325-pound offensive tackle from Wenatchee, Washington, was considered a first-round NFL draft pick early in his college career, if not the Pac-12's top pro prospect entering the 2018 season.

Yet an injury against Arizona State, as shown here, followed by a back injury prior to the 2019 season left him as a more ordinary player. 

Trey Adams' career started to unravel with this injury at ASU in 2018.
Trey Adams had his career cut short by injuries.  :: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

Adams went undrafted before he signed a free-agent contract with the Bills and spent last season on that team's practice squad.

He played his last football game in the 2019 Apple Cup against Washington State. In the video above, the well-liked player said his good byes to everyone from the fans to the game-day workers. 

Adams chose not to play in the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State to preserve his health for his pro football pursuits.

As a UW sophomore, he was so lean and sculpted as a player he better resembled a tight end than a tackle. He could have made millions as a pro player. 

Unfortunately, football rewarded and punished him both.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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