RB Bilal Powell signs one-day deal to retire with Jets
Running back Bilal Powell hasn't played in a meaningful football game since the 2019 NFL season but was nevertheless able to call time on his career on his terms.
Per ESPN's Rich Cimini and Scott Thompson of SNY, Powell put pen to paper on a one-day contract to retire as a member of the New York Jets on Tuesday:
Powell first entered the NFL when the Jets selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft, and he ultimately spent all nine of his active seasons with the organization. While he never accumulated 1,000 rushing yards in any single campaign, Pro-Football-Reference notes that he retires eighth all-time among Jets players with 3,675 career yards on the ground.
Powell never played in a single postseason game as a pro, but he told the Jets' website that loyalty to Gang Green meant more to him throughout the previous decade than possibly chasing a ring.
"I had a couple of opportunities to leave, to go play for some Super Bowl-contending and playoff-contending teams," Powell explained. "I remember one year, two of the teams that wanted me in free agency ended up playing each other in the Super Bowl.
"I just always chose to come back to New York because I always wanted to see the trophy come back here again. It was a thing for me, deep down, when I signed my name on that contract to become a New York Jet, that I wanted to stay a New York Jet, and that was for me personally. I always wanted to see the trophy come back, not only for myself, but for the Jets fan base. I knew if we could just get that thing back, that atmosphere in that stadium, the culture in that stadium, is insane. I just always wanted to see that trophy back here."
As Al Iannazzone wrote for Newsday in January 2020, Powell made it known that winter he wanted to retire as a Jet. The 33-year-old has now achieved that goal.
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