FOXBORO — Receiver Andrew Hawkins says he is retiring from the NFL and donating his brain to research.
The six-year NFL veteran signed with the New England Patriots in May as a free agent. But he said in a video on uninterrupted.com that his body isn't responding as he prepared for training camp.
The Concussion Legacy Foundation says Hawkins has pledged his brain for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The degenerative disease is known to cause cognitive and behavioral problems in athletes, members of the military and others who sustained repeated head trauma.