Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Michael Bennett, the standout N.F.L. defensive end who spoke out forcefully against racial injustice during his career, said he was retiring after an 11-year career, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.
“Retiring feels a little like death of self, but I’m looking forward to the rebirth — the opportunity to reimagine my purpose,” Bennett, 34, wrote on Instagram. “I have never been more at peace in my life.”
Bennett, like his younger brother, Martellus, a tight end who last played in the N.