Former 49ers Wide Receiver Retires After 10 Seasons

A respectable NFL career has come to an end.

Former 49ers wide receiver Chris Conley has retired from the NFL according to his agent. Conley plans to return to the University of Georgia to enroll in the film school and become a filmmaker according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.

Conley originally was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in Round 3 of the 2015 NFL Draft. In four seasons with the Chiefs, he started 34 games and caught 104 passes for 1,238 yards and 6 touchdowns.

In 2017, Conley injured his Achilles and missed all but five games. From then on, he bounced around the league. He spent two seasons with the Jaguars, a season and a half with the Texans, half a season with the Titans and two seasons with the 49ers.

And during those two seasons with the 49ers, Conley caught just 9 passes for 145 yards and no touchdowns, although he did make a 17-yard catch in the Super Bowl. For the most part, he played special teams for the 49ers and he was good. But he probably felt he earned more opportunities on offense that instead were given to younger players such as Ronnie Bell.

Conley always made himself available to talk in the locker room and often had extremely intelligent and insightful things to say about his teammates and the game in general. It's clear he has a bright future beyond football and it's cool to see him go back to school to develop his creativity. I wish him nothing but success.