Former Seahawks LB Shaquem Griffin Retires; What's Next?

Griffin played four NFL seasons, three with the Seattle Seahawks.

A Seattle Seahawks fan favorite is hanging up his cleats.

Former Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin, 27, revealed that he would retire from the NFL after four seasons in a Players' Tribune article.

Griffin became a household name during his collegiate career after leading the UCF Knights to an undefeated season in 2017 and became an inspirational story as a one-handed linebacker.

Griffin had his left hand amputated as a kid after experiencing a substantive amount of pain, but it never stopped him from pursuing his football dreams.

He was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, one year after the team selected his twin brother Shaquill.

Both Griffin twins played on the defense for three years before Shaquill signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. Griffin says in his article that he received offers and interest to play for other teams, but felt he only wanted to play with his twin.

"The Dolphins cut me before the 2021 season. I worked out for the Cardinals, the Titans and the Jets, and then I got calls from Buffalo, Dallas and Atlanta. But after that Jets workout, I realized something," Griffin wrote. "All this traveling around, working out for teams, trying to catch on somewhere, trying to hang on — it wasn’t what I wanted. Football had already given me so much, and the only thing I still really wanted from the game was to play with my brother again."

The Griffin twins had that opportunity to play together in Seattle for three seasons, but now it's a new chapter for both of them as Shaquill plays in Jacksonville and Shaquem moves on from the game.

As for what's next for Shaquem, he's not entirely sure, but he's excited about the next chapter.

"I’m gonna go build something new so I can do what Dad always told us to do: leave the world a better place than when we found it," Griffin wrote.

Griffin credited his time in Seattle and his linebacker teammates for how he can create that positive impact.

"I spent a lot of time with K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and so many other guys just talking about how to go about reaching people — how to really make a connection and be purposeful in my messaging," Griffin wrote.

It's clear that the Seahawks had a big impact on Griffin's career, and it will be exciting to see how he takes his time from the city of Seattle and applies it to his future.

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