Getty Richie Incognito sits on the bench during a Buffalo Bills game.
Richie Incognito, a Pro Bowl offensive lineman who had some of his best years with the Buffalo Bills, is hanging up his cleats.
The 39-year-old guard announced his retirement this week after spending two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders and then missing the majority of the last two years with an injury. Incognito gained a reputation for his tough play in the trenches and his troubles off the field, which led to a number of suspensions — though his two stints with the Bills went along mostly without incident.
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Incognito Calls it Quits
Incognito announced his retirement through the Las Vegas team website on July 15, thanking the organization for bringing him in and saying he was proud to go out as a Raider.
“My last few seasons couldn’t have happened with a better group of men, guys that embraced me. I wanted to finish on my own terms,” Incognito wrote. “Not a lot of people get to do that in this league and that’s why I’m so proud to retire with the Raiders. I came back. I set my mission. I accomplished my goal.”
Richie Incognito officially retires as a @Raiders
The Raiders signed Incognito in 2019, after he had sat out the 2018 season. Incognito only played in 14 games over the next three seasons as he dealt with injuries and suspensions.
The veteran guard said the injuries were too much to overcome.
“I’ve dealt with injuries the last two years I never had before in my career,” Incognito said. “My body told me it was time, and I knew I was ready to hang them up. And though some in my inner circle might not believe me – I’m ready. There’s no turning back.”
Banner Years With the Bills
After being drafted in the third round by the then-St. Louis Rams in 2006, Incognito spent three seasons there before being released. The Bills picked him up that season, with Incognito appearing in three games before joining the Miami Dolphins the next year.
Incognito returned to the Bills in 2015 and saw the best stretch of his career, making three consecutive Pro Bowls. Incognito also had his cleanest stretch in Buffalo, avoiding the trouble that he couldn’t seem to escape in every other team. He was suspended in college at Nebraska after getting into a lockerroom scuffle with teammate, released by the Rams after headbutting an opponent in a game, and suspended after a high-profile bullying scandal with the Dolphins. Though he didn’t get into trouble with the Raiders, he did serve a two-game suspension from the NFL to start his career there.
“I came back. I set my mission. I accomplished my goal.”
@68INCOGNITO is retiring as a Raider » t.co/n597ul1hPj
As The Athletic noted, Incognito found trouble off the field as well. In 2018, he was arrested for throwing weights at someone inside a Florida gym, then arrested three months later for threatening to shoot workers at a funeral home where his father’s body was being held.
Incognito said he underwent counseling after the incidents, which helped him find stability to resume his NFL career.
“I had my career taken away from me after the bullying incident and I spent a year out of the league,” Incognito told The Athletic in 2021. “And then I realized how precious it is and how much hard work goes into it. And this feeling of gratitude came over me, and I hadn’t had that before.”
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Controversial Former Bills OL, 4-Time Pro Bowler Retires at 39