By Jordan Long
Wide receiver Jordy Nelson decided to walk away from the NFL after 11 years. He suited up for the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders. Nelson is leaving the game on his own terms.
Nelson was drafted in the 2nd-round by the Green Bay Packers in 2009. In his rookie year, Nelson recorded 33 catches for 366 yards, a taste of what he was going to do for the Packers. He became a favorite target for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers knew if he found Nelson open, Nelson was going to catch it and make defenders miss for 1st downs.
Nelson had 4 years of 1,000+ receiving yards with the Green Bay Packers. His top year was in 2014. That season he totaled 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns, both career highs. Nelson finished with 7,848 yards and 69 touchdowns with the Packers.
Green Bay made the postseason with him 7 times. Athletes want to perform at a high level in the playoffs and Nelson did that in 2010. The Packers made the postseason as one of the Wild Card teams. They had to play all their games on the road. They managed to win Super Bowl XLV beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. In the Super Bowl run, Nelson caught 21 passes for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns. His average yards per catch was 13.6.
Nelson missed the 2015 NFL season. He tore his ACL on the first drive of the Packers 2nd preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers missed his presence on the football field. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t have his favorite target to toss the ball to. Green Bay ended up going 10-6. They made the playoffs but were knocked off in the Divisional Round by Arizona in overtime 26-20.
Nelson came back in 2016 and proved he was the same receiver. He ended up with 1,257 receiving yards and a career high of 14 touchdowns. His average yards per catch was 13.0. Nelson spent one more year with the Packers before heading to Oakland.
With Oakland, the Raiders thought he would be a fit on the offense. Quarterback Derek Carr would finally have a #1 receiver to throw the ball to. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. Nelson ended up with 739 yards. The Raiders wanted to keep him but decided to cut him after they traded for Antonio Brown.
Nelson saw the writing on the wall and it was time for him to walk away. He ends his career with 8,587 receiving yards and 72 touchdowns with an impressive yards per catch of 14. Nelson was part of one Super Bowl victory and was voted to the Pro Bowl once. There wasn’t anything left for him to prove in the game of football.
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