Former Miami Dolphins Richie Incognito retiring?
By Brian Miller
One of the NFL’s most hated and underrated offensive lineman, Richie Incognito may be hanging his cleats up. The former Miami Dolphins guard says he is done.
There is a lot of adjectives to use about Richie Incognito but tough is one that is used the least and should be used the most. According to Vic Carucci, Incognito has said that his playing days are over.
@68INCOGNITO just told me the following: "I'm, done. That's it. It's been a long career. Went to the doctor. My liver and kidneys are shutting down. The stress is killing me. It's just about doing what's right. I just want to be in the Hall of Fame." Full story to come.
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) April 10, 2018
This is relevant to the Dolphins for two reasons, one he never should have left Miami and two, it weakens division rivals Buffalo. Incognito has played at a Pro-Bowl leve after missing over a year following the bully-gate scandal that saw him ousted from the Dolphins.
Incognito is and was a lot of things but on the field he was a very good offensive guard. In fact the Dolphins have struggled to find his replacement since his suspension in 2013 following the accusations from Jonathan Martin on bullying.
The complaints of Martin led to a third party investigation that ultimately cost Incognito, the Dolphins offensvie line coach, and the teams head trainer, their jobs. Incognito would spend the 2014 season getting help for mental stress that elevated after the allegations.
The Bills signed Incognito in 2014 and he made an immediate impression. For a player that was supposedly so unliked by the rest of the NFL, he made the Pro-Bowl all three seasons with the Bills including 2017. In fact, he made the Pro-Bowl with the Dolphins in 2012 and likely would have gone again in 2013 had he not been suspended and subsequently released.
Incognito spoke to Dolphins fans in 2012.
Incognito took a lot of criticism for his role in the Jonathan Martin controversy but never waivered from his stance that he and Martin were friends and nothing was done to be hurful. If he does indeed retire, he will have played for 12 NFL seasons with three different teams. Is he Hall of Fame worthy? Maybe he would have been if not for the Martin shadow.
Regardless of the controversy Incognito had a great career and one that should never have seen him leave the Dolphins.