Branden Albert Retires Before Ever Playing A Down With The Jaguars

In March, the Jaguars sent a 2018 seventh-round pick to the Dolphins for Pro-Bowl left tackle Branden Albert. The 32-year-old Albert played in the 2013 and 2015 Pro Bowls with Miami, and he mostly remained productive in 2016, starting 12 games and picking up just three penalties while dealing with a handful of injuries. However, Laremy Tunsil projects out as a left tackle, and Albert carries a hefty base salary over the next two seasons, so a trade up to north Florida wasn’t exactly surprising.

What was somewhat surprising was that Albert retired before ever seeing the field for the Jaguars. Albert skipped an offseason conditioning program as well as OTAs while looking for a new contract, and even though he attended mandatory minicamp, he abruptly retired today.

This is such a special league and it’s been an honor and a privilege to play this sport professionally for the past nine years. I wish Coach [Doug] Marrone and my Jacksonville teammates the best of luck on their journey this season. During my short stint in Jacksonville, I quickly realized that they are working incredibly hard to turn the corner and I truly believe that they will find success in the coming years.

As the officials Jaguars release noted, 34th overall pick Cam Robinson was competing with Albert for the job and even starting to get first-team reps. Albert said he’ll go back to Miami to run his business, where he’ll miss out on the forthcoming Jaguars renaissance to be closer to average.