Well, this is certainly a bit of a surprise. Defensive end Jeff Gunther has officially retired from the NFL, the Bengals announced. A reason for the retirement was not provided.

Following his decision to retire, the Bengals placed Gunther on the reserve/retired list, which means that the team retains his rights until his current contract expires. That means the team will still have his rights should Gunther change his mind and decide to return to the NFL. He was slated to make $915,000 for the 2024 season.

The Bengals drafted Gunther in the seventh round (No. 252 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft after a productive collegiate career at both Costal Carolina and North Carolina State that included two First-Team All-Sun Belt selections.

Gunther appeared in 10 games as a rookie for the Bengals in 2022 and recorded one total tackle. He didn’t appear in any games for the team last season, but he did play in the team’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he recorded two solo tackles and 0.5 sacks.

He wasn’t necessarily expected to have a major role for the team in 2024, but the Bengals are already somewhat thin on the defense line, especially after losing Cameron Sample for the entire ’24 campaign, so the loss is unfortunate.

It’s always interesting when a player retires from the NFL at an early age, especially when no reason is provided. Perhaps Gunther will ultimately shed more light on his decision to walk away from the game that he dedicated such a large part of his life to.

As far as we know, Gunther wasn’t battling any health issues, and it’s not like he has an exceptionally lengthy history of injury issues. Perhaps he just wanted to prevent any further wear-and-tear on his body. Whatever the reason, we wish the now-former Bengal the best of luck in his future endeavors.