Jalen Hurd, Former Tennessee Vols Star, Retires From NFL At 27 After Injury-Plagued Career

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Jalen Hurd signed with the New England Patriots just a week ago, but after picking up his latest of a countless number of injuries on Monday, the former Tennessee Volunteer is retiring from football. The 27-year-old was placed on the reserve/retired list by New England signaling that his career is coming to a close.

Despite being drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Hurd will be retiring after not playing a single snap at the professional level.

Hurd was plagued with a back injury in 2019 then tore his ACL during 2020 training camp which landed him on the injured reserve list for a second straight season. He landed on that same list with the 49ers in 2021 with yet another knee injury before being released by the team in November 2021.

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Jalen Hurd is retiring from the NFL after not ever taking a snap at the professional level. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

His signing with the Patriots in July was a signal that he was mounting a comeback, but after picking up an undisclosed injury he appears to have had enough.

Hurd burst onto the scene with the Vols as a freshman rushing for 899 yards, five touchdowns, and hauling in 35 passes out of the backfield along the way. He followed that up by rushing for nearly 1,300 yards the following season while finding the endzone a total of 14 times.

The Hendersonville, Tenn. native transferred to Baylor and was a legitimate double-threat player for the Bears in 2018. Hurd caught 69 passes for 946 yards and rushed the ball 48 times for 209 yards in his lone season with Baylor. He was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2018.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.