Former Penn State football defensive end Jack Crawford retires from NFL
After a decade in the NFL, a former Penn State defensive end decided to hang up his cleats and retire.
Jack Crawford announced his retirement on Tuesday morning via Twitter.
“I want to thank all the organizations that took a chance on me and all of the fans that supported me,” Crawford said. “I will never take for granted the memories of going to battle with my friends and teammates.
Crawford played for five teams during his career and logged 165 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception in 109 career games.
His best season came in 2018 for the Atlanta Falcons, tallying a career-high six sacks, 35 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 16 games.
Crawford had an unusual journey to Happy Valley, coming to the United States from England when he was 16-years-old.
He began his collegiate career playing both defensive tackle and tight end before becoming a defensive end.
As a true freshman in 2008, he recorded just four tackles, but over the next three seasons, he made his presence felt, tallying 85 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.
His performance was good enough for him to be selected in the fifth round by the Oakland Raiders in the 2012 NFL Draft.
The former Nittany Lion hadn’t played in the NFL since 2020 when he last took the field with the Tennessee Titans.
Alex Rocco is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email afr5646@psu.edu.
