Joe Thomas

I was getting injections every week and getting my knee drained.

And it's a beating, even if you're not getting the big injuries, which I was able to avoid for 10 and a half years.

And I didn't miss any time.

You're still accumulating wear and tear and beatings on the body and the mind constantly.

And it beats you down.

And really, like mentally, I was in probably a worse space than I was physically by the end of my career because dealing with all the rehab and the wondering if you're going to be healthy enough to play on the weekend and trying to make up for lost practice time because you're injured, it wears on you because it's a stressful game as it is when you're a young player.

not to mention when you get old and you're trying to deal with, can my body keep up with these young bucks?

Oh, and by the way, I'm older and I'm dealing with some injuries.

I'm dealing with some inadequacies because my body just isn't the way it used to be.

So I totally understand it's hard for people to really wrap their minds around a guy who's so young in his 20s, just signed with the Chicago Bears to retire, but everybody's body ages differently.

And it's hard to know what that beating was unless you're actually living inside of that person.

It's crazy.

This is kind of what I called at the end of the season when I was doing some Browns radio because I just was reading the tea leaves.

It's interesting, you know, football is so fickle and fans of professional teams, you know, they always want what they don't have.

And you don't realize what you have till it's gone.

And I was feeling that the Steelers are getting tired of Tomlin, even though he's had such great success there throughout the years.

same thing with Harbaugh that was a little bit more surprising but obviously happened sooner and even in Cleveland you know Kevin Stavansky two-time coach of the year and they get rid of him because they're looking for somebody new and it's funny as soon as those guys hits the market every other team that's looking for a coach wants that guy that they don't have Joe do you think they went to Tomlin and said we're basically firing you but we're giving you the opportunity to just go to the press and say you're stepping down or do you truly believe it was his decision

I do think it was his decision.

I think he was tired of being underappreciated in Pittsburgh.

He's done nothing but great things there.