There’s a player who recently stepped away from the NFL—not a household name, not someone who headlines highlight reels—but his story matters deeply. It matters because it underscores the brutal cost of the game so many of us love.
Terron Armstead retired after 12 punishing seasons in the NFL, most recently suiting up for the Miami Dolphins. He’s only 33. In most professions, that’s still early days. But in pro football? That’s often the end of the line.
In a raw and revealing interview on the show Nightcap, Armstead laid it all bare. His career had deteriorated to the point where he could only take the field if numbed by painkillers. Then came the jaw-dropper—he first injured his knee in 2015. It never fully healed. That means he spent the better part of a decade playing through intense pain.
“I’ve been dealing with a knee issue since my third year in the league,” Armstead admitted. “I didn’t see the practice field—not because I didn’t want to, or the Dolphins were giving me rest. I physically couldn’t walk.”
His post-game routine was excruciating. “After a game on Sunday, I couldn’t walk under my own power until Wednesday or Thursday. I could only play with pain meds. I couldn’t put pressure on my knee. I realized—I can’t keep doing this to myself.”
What’s even more chilling? His experience isn’t rare.
Many NFL players endure chronic pain well beyond what most people could imagine. And yet, these stories rarely come to light until after the cleats are hung up for good. We know the violence of the game, but we forget. Or worse—we ignore it. Yes, they sign up for it. Yes, they earn millions. But somewhere along the way, we stopped seeing them as human.
The dehumanization doesn’t come solely from fantasy football anymore. Gambling has taken it to new levels. Wagers have transformed players into stats, into outcomes, into potential payouts. The humanity fades.
Back in 2018, former NFL lineman and union rep Eric Winston warned us about this. “A lot of people look at us as—not subhuman—but not necessarily human. Not people with feelings or struggles,” he said. That was then. Today, it’s worse.
So sometimes, we need to pause. Breathe. And really consider what these athletes sacrifice. Players like Frank Ragnow.
Ragnow retired at just 29. He was a warrior on the field, an anchor of grit and strength. But his injury history reads more like a trauma surgeon’s report than a football résumé.
He played through ankle injuries in 2019 and again in 2023. In 2019, he also suffered a concussion. In 2020, he fractured his throat—yes, his throat. In the years that followed, he dealt with turf toe (twice), groin, calf, back, knee issues, and even a partially torn pectoral muscle in 2024.
Let’s go back to that for a moment: a fractured throat. You can’t even say that without wincing.
But some of the worst injuries aren’t the most dramatic. They’re the ones that keep you from living a normal life—walking, bending, sitting, standing, driving. Ragnow missed 13 games in 2021 with what he called “the most severe degree of turf toe.” A year later, the same toe failed him again. Surgery wouldn’t help, he said. He’d just have to live with it. You can’t help but wonder how much that reality factored into his retirement.
In his retirement statement, Ragnow was heartbreakingly honest.
“These past couple of months have been very trying as I’ve come to the realization that my football journey is ending and I’m officially retiring from the NFL,” he wrote. “I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m feeling good, but I’m not—and it’s time to prioritize my health and my family’s future.
“I’ve given this team everything I have. I thought I had more to give, but the reality is—I simply don’t. I have to listen to my body. This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life. The Lions organization has been absolutely incredible through this process. I can’t emphasize enough how grateful I am to the team and to the fans. It was an absolute honor to go to battle for you all.”
This is the side of the NFL that doesn’t make highlight reels. But it deserves our attention. Because behind the pads, the stats, the fantasy picks, and the wagers—there are people. And they’re hurting.
