Top 5 NFL players who will be missed in 2016



 

With another season upon us, there is another group of players who we will all miss in the NFL this season.  Retirement in the NFL isn't easy for the player, the team, and especially not the fans.  Some retire for health reasons, and others for their age, but at the end of the day there are some greats that we will never see on the gridiron again.  Unless they take a page from the Brett Favre and come back to the league, multiple times.  Below are some of the players we will certainly miss this season and the seasons to come.

 

5. Charles Woodson-Throughout his 18 year career, Charles Woodson was one of the most hard hitting defensive backs in the league.  He was known as being an Oakland Raider, but he did have a few good years with the Green Bay Packers where he won his first and only Super Bowl.  He is tied for 1^st for the most career defensive touchdowns, along with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper.  Even though defensive players don’t always get the praise as offensive players, he will go down as one of the most dynamic defensive players ever.

4. Marshawn Lynch-Beast mode is hanging it up.  Even though he only eclipsed 1000 yards in 6 of his 10 seasons, he was not someone you wanted running at you.  From 2011-2014 he had over 1200+ yards, 11+ touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards a run and about 4 first downs a day.  Ever since his amazing run against the Saints in the 2011 Wild Card matchup, he was known as one of the most powerful running backs in the game.  After knocking people over for 9 years, its not hard to see why he decided to retire. 

3. Jared Allen-Jared Allen was one of the most feared defensive players for his 11 year career.  Although his last 3 years in the NFL don't reflect his amazing career, he was still a force to be reckoned with.  His 22 sack season in 2011 was his best season, which is a single season record for the Minnesota Vikings.  Quarterbacks will feel at ease when dropping back knowing that Jared Allen isn’t bullrushing towards them.

2. Calvin Johnson-This was the biggest surprise to come out of the offseason.  He was physically one of the best receivers to play over the last 10 years.  From 2011-2013 he was unstoppable with an average of 110 yards per game and 11 touchdowns per season.  Having an average of 16 yards per catch in his career, Matthew Stafford will have to find someone to throw to on 3rd and long. 

1. Peyton Manning-Peyton is arguably the most talented quarterback to ever play the game.  Although he gets beat up for not winning more Super Bowls(2, same as brother Eli), statistical he is the greatest quarterback.  Minus missing the 2011 season due to his neck injury, and a few games last year, he played in every single game in his 17 year career.  Although he had his worst season last year, he still played well enough to get his 2nd Super Bowl ring and ride off into the sunset.  14 out of 17 years he threw for over 4000 yards, throwing for almost 5500 yards in his amazing 2013 season.  His 71,000 career passing yards equals a little more then 40 miles.  He was a icon in the league and hopefully continues his career doing Papa Johns commercials to keep us all laughing.