Jobless former Chargers starter may be forced into early retirement

Sometimes retirement hits you much earlier than expected. Just ask now-former LA Chargers wideout Mike Williams, who stunningly decided to retire from the NFL after suffering an undisclosed injury during the spring.

Williams decided to walk away from the game but not every player gets to make that decision themselves. Sometimes, the league makes that decision as a player gradually gets phased out despite previously being productive.

That is exactly the situation former Chargers tight end Gerald Everett finds himself him. After a lackluster season with the Chicago Bears in 2024, Everett remains unsigned as training camp rolls in and that may be a bad sign for his NFL playing prospects.

Former Chargers TE Gerald Everett may be forced to retire early

The longer Everett remains unsigned the more likely it is that he is forced to retire from the NFL. This is obviously not what Everett wants to happen as he still seemingly has more to offer at 31 years old.

When the league decides it's done with you there is no fighting it. Unfortunately for Everett, he is coming out of a situation that was not good for him and now finds himself in a league that is littered with so many talented young tight ends from the last two draft classes.

As good as Everett was as a pass-catching option in 2023 for the Chargers, his 2024 season is leaving a lasting negative impression on how much he can produce. Everett caught just eight passes on 13 targets for 36 yards last season. He might as well not have played.

Chicago obviously believed in Everett when the team signed him because he earned a two-year deal. However, for whatever reason, the Bears showed no interest in using him on offense. Everett played just 22% of the team's offensive snaps and really stopped playing on offense after Week 10.

Everett played only 48 snaps in the last eight games of the season (an average of six per game). It's clear there was something in his game that the Bears were not a fan of.

This has bled into his free-agent market, which is completely dried up. Everett is certainly talented enough to make a difference on an NFL roster but his porous season and a flooded market is treating him unfavorably.

Everett will continue to wait on an opportunity, which could happen when injuries inevitably occur during training camp. But if he is not the first player on teams' call list then we could see a world in which Everett still isn't on an NFL roster in Week 1.

And if that is the case, well, Everett will likely be heading to retirement much sooner than he ever could have expected.