NFL running back retiring at age 24

An NFL running back has decided to call it quits on football before his 25th birthday.

The New York Jets announced on Monday that they have placed running back Zach Evans on the reserve/retired list. Evans had just signed with the Jets earlier this offseason on a reserve/future contract.

Still only 24 years old, Evans played two seasons in college with TCU before transferring to Ole Miss for his junior season. Evans led the SEC with 6.5 rushing yards per game in 2022, going for 1,055 overall yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns for Ole Miss.

After declaring for the NFL Draft in 2023, Evans, who is a native of Houston, Tex., went in the sixth round to the Los Angeles Rams (No. 215 overall). As a rookie in the 2023 NFL season though, Evans mostly played on special teams for the Rams and managed just 19 total yards on nine rushing attempts in 10 games.

Evans then went on to sign with the Jets’ practice squad in December before landing the reserve/future contract with them in January. Now a little over two years after being drafted, Evans is walking away from the sport of football.

With Evans deciding to retire, the Jets will move forward in the backfield this season with Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, and Kene Nwangwu backing up starting running back Breece Hall. Meanwhile, Evans now becomes the second NFL skill player to surprisingly file his retirement papers in just the span of the last couple of weeks.