The first player to spend an entire career with the Tennessee Titans announced his retirement today. Offensive lineman Benji Olson will not return for the upcoming NFL season.
At a press conference, head coach Jeff Fisher thanked Olson for his career, which ended early because of chronic back pain.
The 32-year-old left college early for the 1998 NFL draft. The Titans picked Olson in the fifth round. He joined a team which had no stadium of its own.
“Remember, we were playing at Vanderbilt. Me and a couple other rookies, we’d go in there. There weren’t enough lockers for everybody, so our stuff was just thrown in a pile in the middle of the locker room, no air conditioning and hot. I just remember thinking, why’d I leave early for this. (laughter)”
Olson started every game he played in after that rookie season. Until Jevon Kearse signed a deal to return to the team this year, Olson and punter Craig Hentrich were the only two Titans left from the 1999 Super Bowl season.
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