(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
After a seven-year NFL career, six of which were with the Steelers, Alejandro Villanueva has retired. The Ravens announced that Villanueva decided to retire on Wednesday afternoon.
Todd Haley posted a photo of himself with Villanueva and David DeCastro on Twitter a few weeks ago, and Villanueva looked a lot thinner. So, the news of Villanueva retiring isn't all that surprising.
The Steelers had one of the best offensive lines in the league from roughly 2014-2019. After Mike Munchak left for Denver following the 2018 season things started to go downhill, as age just caught up. It was a special group with Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert. All five are done playing. DeCastro hasn't officially retired yet, but it appears that he's done also after undergoing ankle surgery for a third time. DeCastro was released by the Steelers in June and didn't play in 2021.
Villanueva, served three tours in Afghanistan as an Army ranger before starting his NFL career. The fact that Villanueva turned out a seven-year career at a completely new position is truly remarkable. Villanueva was mainly a wide receiver at Army and started out on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL.
Whatever Villanueva has planned next in his life's work, I'm sure he'll be highly successful at it. Villanueva has a MBA from Carnegie Mellon, so it wouldn't be surprising if he got involved with the business world in his post-career.