🏈 Calling it a Career: Grayson McCall

You never want to see a player call it quits in the middle of a season, especially when it comes to injuries. NC State lost a good one yesterday, let’s dig into Grayson McCall.

Yesterday’s news cycle included two very different decisions on players continuing their on-field careers after multiple concussions. Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins QB who has notably suffered numerous serious concussions over his short NFL career, returned to practice yesterday after missing most of the season with a brain injury he suffered early in the year. The antithesis of this is NC State’s QB Grayson McCall, who decided to hang up the cleats.

McCall announced yesterday that he’ll be hanging up the cleats following his latest head injury that he suffered earlier this month. McCall has a history of brain injuries and was carted off of the field on October 5th in the midst of the team’s loss to Wake Forest.

McCall posted to Instagram to announce the decision, “Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up”. McCall was in his first year at NC State, he transferred there this past offseason after putting up an incredible career at Coastal Carolina where he racked up over 10,000 career passing yards and 88 touchdowns in 42 games.

It was interesting to see two QBs take different paths in their journeys navigating head injuries. Tua staying committed to playing the game and Grayson hanging it up. This goes to show that there is no perfect answer, retire or not retire. It’s complicated. For some individuals, football is their life. You’re not only leaving a job but a lifestyle and a passion.

I think from an outsider’s perspective it’s easy to say that all people that have had head trauma playing football should retire like Grayson did. For these athletes, it’s never that simple. They have worked their whole life to be in the situation they’re in, they are hungry, passionate, and have a massive chip on their shoulder.

I’m not saying we should ignore head trauma and just let players get back out there, I’m saying the opposite, that it’s just more complicated than it’s made out to be. It’s so amazing to know that there is a wealth of information for athletes to make educated decisions, but it’s obvious there’s never going to be a cut-and-dry solution for players.

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