Eagles Cornerback Ellis Hobbs Announces He is Retiring Due to Neck Injuries

Eagles cornerback Ellis Hobbs announced that he is retiring from professional football after suffering season-ending neck injuries in each of the last two seasons. Hobbs played for the Patriots from 2005 to 2008. He was a starting cornerback for the 2007 Patriots, who won all 16 regular season games and two postseason games before advancing to Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. He also returned kicks and scored the longest touchdown in NFL history in the season opener (108 yards against the Jets). In the Super Bowl, Hobbs intercepted a pass but also allowed arguably the most famous touchdown in NFL history, a 13-yard scoring lob from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress with just 35 seconds remaining. The Giants won 17-14. Hobbs joined the Eagles before 2009 in a trade for two fifth-round draft picks. He earned the starting kick return role over rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin but missed the last two months with a neck injury. He was named the Eagles’ starting cornerback for...