Longtime NFL OL's Maurkice And Twin Brother Mike Pouncey Announce Their Retirement

A pair of twin brothers who were successful in the NFL for a combined 21 years have called it a career, as both Maurkice and Mike Pouncey announced Friday they are retiring.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Ramon Foster tweeted out the news about the two brothers on Friday morning.

The move for the Steelers center was not too much of a shock as it was thought the moment that the season ended that he was going to walk away after the team lost to the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card game 48-37.

Pittsburgh drafted Maurkice with the 18th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and was a starter right away for the team who that season made the Super Bowl before losing to the Green Bay Packers.

Mike was the 15th overall pick by Miami the following year. Both played center for a majority of their career, with Mike playing a season at right guard for the Fins.

The Steelers longtime center leaves behind $6.475 million in dead cap, but he saves the team $8 million in cap space. Reports say he won't be asked to give back his signing bonus.

The two brothers combined to play over two decades in the NFL, with Maurkice playing 11 seasons, all with the Steelers, while Mike played 10 years between the Dolphins and Chargers.

“As I write this farewell speech I cry & laugh that twin boys from Lakeland FL that grew up in poverty made it this far in life both living out NFL dreams,” Maurkice wrote.