Ballerific Sports: Chris Houston of the Carolina Panthers to Retire – blogged by @niksofly

In just a few weeks, The Carolina Panthers have lost two players to retirement. Chris Houston has decided to end his nine-year career this week. Houston was released by the Detroit Lions in 2014 and signed with the Panthers as an alternative to CB Charles Tillman.

Via ESPN:

“Cornerback Chris Houston’s return to the NFL lasted 51 days.Houston told the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday he was retiring. The team offered no explanation for his decision.

Houston, 30, is the second Carolina player to retire in a week. Offensive tackle Jonathan Martin informed the team last week he had given up football.

A second-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, Houston had 91 career starts with Atlanta and Detroit. He led the NFL in interception return yards with 225 on five picks for the Lions.

Houston sat out the 2014 season after undergoing toe surgery. He recently became a father and decided to give football another try, signing with Carolina just before the end of offseason workouts in June.

He was fighting for a backup job with the Panthers, whose starting corners appear set with Charles Tillman and John Norman. Second-year player  Bene’ Benikwere is in the mix for the spot opposite Norman.

Houston was involved in arguably the most exciting play of Carolina’s training camp thus far at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

He was covering wide receiver  Ted Ginn Jr. on a deep pass from Cam Newton on Saturday that resulted in a touchdown but also sent both leaping over a 4-foot picket fence in the back of the end zone. Houston sat out of practice the next day.”

It’s bittersweet. To retire from something that you love has to be a tough decision, but living the remainder of your life injury free has to be comforting. I wonder what Houston will do with this new found free time. He is only 30 years young.

-Niko Rose