Former NY Giants First-round Pick Justin Pugh Calls It a Career

Offensive lineman Justin Pugh, the New York Giants' 2013 first-round draft pick out of Syracuse, announced his retirement from the NFL, having done so with the team where he began his NFL career.

"Not many players get to go out on their terms, and after 11 years playing in the NFL, I am officially retiring from the league," Pugh said after the Giants concluded their third practice of training camp. 

“I played 11 last year, and thought I was gonna do another one," Pugh said, at one point his eyes welling up with tears. "Just didn't have it in the tank. Started losing weight, started feeling good, and didn't want to do a 12th year.”

Pugh spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Giants, playing every position on the offensive line except for center. After the 2017 season, he signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent and played for them for five seasons. 

In 2023, with the Giants offensive linemen dropping like flies due to injuries, Pugh famously came “straight off the couch” to sign with the Giants, going on to calm down what had been a jittery offensive line whose members were mostly inexperienced. 

In all, Pugh appeared in 132 games with 131 starts, including starting all 16 games with the Giants during his rookie season.

Last year, Pugh, who has been transitioning to media, spent the season traveling around the country to visit with other NFL teams fan bases, something he plans to do again this year.

Pugh, whose mother, stepfather, wife, and daughter were on hand as he made his announcement, told of how he didn’t initially set out to become an offensive lineman, but that he just sort of fell into the role. 

“I never dreamed of being an offensive lineman,” he said.  “But what I realized is offensive line was the position that was for me; I was built perfectly for it. And it's something that you don't choose. Everyone wants to be that, that star position. But it's something that really defined me as a man, as a father, and as a teammate.”

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