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Cincinnati Bengals guard Clint Boling is retiring from the NFL, he announced Monday. Boling cited medical reasons for the decision to call it a career.
“After eight years in the NFL, it is time for me to step away from the game due to medical reasons,” said Boling in a press release. “This is not an easy decision, but it is the right one for me, my wife Kelly and our two young girls. I want to thank the Brown family for giving me the opportunity to play my entire career with the Bengals. I also want to thank my teammates, coaches, fans and everyone who has supported me throughout my career.”
Boling has been with the team since being a fourth-round pick out of Georgia in the 2011 NFL Draft. He’s been the full-time left guard since 2012.
“Clint is a first-rate person, someone we all counted on and looked up to,” said Bengals owner Mike Brown. “As a lineman, he never got the credit he deserved. That is often the case with good players who do their jobs well, but around the team, he was highly respected and appreciated beyond his playing abilities.”
Boling was held out of OTAs with an undisclosed injury, and rumors persisted that his career could be coming to an end. He finishes his NFL career with 111 game appearances (109 starts) all of which came in Cincinnati. Since becoming a full-time starter, Boling has never missed more than four games in a regular season. He played all 16 games in five seasons, including each of the past two years. He has also played briefly at both offensive tackle spots.
With Boling now hanging up his cleats, the Bengals will have a battle for the starting left guard spot between John Jerry, Christian Westerman, Trey Hopkins and fourth-round rookie Michael Jordan.
At this point, there wasn’t any real doubt that Boling was the Bengals’ best offensive lineman, so this is a big loss for a unit that’s already facing major questions heading into next season.
Hopefully, Boling is getting to retire with a healthy body and won’t face any post-career issues.
Adios, amigo.