Zach Orr was trying to focus on the positives, but it wasn’t easy. He was just 24 years old. He was an ascending player on a proud Baltimore Ravens defense. Just weeks earlier, his first full season as a starter ended with him getting some All-Pro votes. The inside linebacker, who came into the league as an undrafted free agent from North Texas, was closing in on a significant payday.
Yet, just like that, his career was over. A congenital neck/spine condition, discovered in his year-ending physical, forced him to announce his retirement in January 2017 following just three professional seasons.
“When I found out the news and found out how serious it is, it was something that I just looked at as a blessing,” Orr said then at a news conference at the Under Armour Performance Center. “I look at it as when a door closes, another one opens. I am ready for that next door to open, and I am ready to jump at that opportunity, whatever that is.”