A promising career cut short, former Pittsburgh Steelers S Ryan Watts medically retired this past offseason following a neck injury at the end of the 2024 preseason. Though Watts is able to live a normal life, he and Steelers’ team doctor David Okonkwo explained why playing football could no longer be part of his future.
Watts walked through the injury and hit that changed his life.
“I couldn’t move my legs,” Watts said on The Athlete Spine podcast in an episode that aired Wednesday. “My arms not at all. My arms ended up going in a fight or flight position.