Former Browns center J.C. Tretter hangs ’em up, we think

Former Browns center J.C. Tretter wrote a letter via social media explaining that he has retired from pro football, but is continuing on NFLPA President.

J.C. Tretter, one of several truly stud offensive linemen to have performed for the Cleveland Browns, says he’s ready to hang up his spikes.

He announced his retirement via social media. However, he has also suggested that his role as president of the National Football League Players Association has led to him being unfairly colluded against.

"“Guys would be like, ‘Oh, like how are your knees doing? And I always said, ‘My NFLPA job is gonna end my career well before my knees end my career.’” — Tretter, quoted by Alex Prewitt in Sports Illustrated, August 25, 2022"

Tretter began his career in Green Bay, where he became a starter in 2016, only to suffer a knee injury that caused him to miss nine games. With the Browns, he somehow managed to play every snap except for one game last season that he missed due to Covid. Other than that, he played in 80 games without missing a snap.

He followed in the tradition of other Browns with massive consecutive snaps streaks including Doug Dieken, Joe Thomas, Mitchell Schwartz, and now Tretter. In Dieken’s case, they didn’t count missed snaps in his days and no one can be sure how many consecutive snaps he actually had. However, he’s the NFL record holder for consecutive starts, believe it or not. At any rate, these beings are not from planet earth.

Tretter has been a consistent top-10 center in the NFL throughout his Cleveland career. He has never made the Pro Bowl but probably should have. His best season was 2020 when Pro Football Focus graded him second highest in the NFL. He graded sixth overall last season.

Yet his finest legacy was negotiating a workable Covid policy that allowed the 2020 season to be played. Prior to the season, the owners were incredibly out of touch, insisting that they would simply place anyone with Covid on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list and not pay them.

Anyone who becomes NFLPA President becomes a lightning rod for criticism. All the problems in the CBA are assumed to be his fault. That’s part of his legacy also. Still, this past March 12, the NFLPA Board of Player Representatives unanimously re-elected Tretter as NFLPA president. His two-year appointment will continue despite his inactive status as a player.

However, Tretter was not completely healthy, as the knee troubles that knocked him out of the starting lineup in Green Bay continued to plague him in Cleveland. Somehow, especially in recent years, he was able to skip most practices and only play on game day.

That’s not possible for most players, but it worked for him. Still, NFL GMs have to question how long he can continue. Moreover, the effect on the team of continuing practicing with one center and then playing on Sunday with a different center is difficult to gauge. The bottom line, it’s not ideal and it’s not forever.

Your humble correspondent has probably been one of the most consistent Tretter supporters on staff at DPD, but even he believes there are better investments available. There’s a certain logic to signing players who are healthy enough to practice, over a star who is not healthy enough to practice.

The Browns have Ethan Pocic, Brock Hoffman, Hjalte Froholdt, Michael Dunn, Blake Hance, and Drew Forbes who all have experience at center. No, they are not as good as Tretter. But in terms of value, they do not cost $8.3 million dollars either. The money saved gives the team the opportunity to improve themselves elsewhere.

No one likes to admit that the time has come to retire, but at age 31, if the grind of 17 regular season games and practice is too much, it’s probably time.

As president of the NFLPA, it’s probably useful to jab the owners with a minor conspiracy theory. However, if Tretter really wants to play in the NFL again, he should throw away that letter, fire his agent and hire me (or more precisely, a reality-based agent of my choosing). We will get him a job.

What fits Tretter’s situation is to stay in shape, which he can obviously do, and patiently wait till mid-season, when some center will inevitably go down with an injury. 17 games are too much for a 31-year-old with gimpy knees, but eight to 10 games would be perfect. He won’t get $8 million for 17 games, but $2-4 million for eight games is reasonable.

Tretter’s twin themes, “I’m going out on my own terms” and “the NFL is colluding to force me out” cannot both be true. More realistic is the mundane view that the NFL GMs have made a football decision not to invest in Tretter’s 31-year-old knees for a 17-game season. However, a shorter investment with a lower price tag could be managed if he still wants to play.

Love you Tretter, and we take you at your word that you are retired. But the door for one more season as a player does seem to be slightly ajar.