James Hurst From Plainfield Announces Retirement After 10 NFL Seasons

Source: Ric Tapia / Getty

James Hurst, a Plainfield High School Alumni is retiring from playing in the NFL after 10 years in the league via his instagram on Wednesday April 24th.

Hurst’s football journey:

Plainfield High School (Indiana)
University of North Carolina
Undrafted free-agent to the Baltimore Ravens (played there from 2014-2019)
Signed with Saints (Played there from 2020-2023)

He played in 150 games and started in 95 of them over his 10-year career.

His main quarterbacks he protected in Baltimore were Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson (helped Lamar Jackson win MVP in 2019).

Source: Patrick Smith / Getty | Photo of James Hurst and Joe Flacco

His main quarterbacks he protected in New Orleans was Drew Brees, Taysum Hill, Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, and Derrick Carr.

James Hurst was a veteran in the NFL and did everything the right way.

Below you will find his retirement message along with some videos from each destination during his career.

He added in the comments:

First and most importantly, I have to praise God for allowing me to play this sport for 24 years, with 10 of those being at the highest level in the NFL. I’m not naive enough to believe that my abilities were strong enough alone to earn a spot on a NFL team for so long. For reasons that I won’t know until meeting God in heaven, He had me on the field and in the locker room for ten seasons. However, I can speculate that He placed me there to be salt and light in that environment and to make Jesus known. I truly believe He kept me there to use me to impact the large sphere that is the NFL for the Gospel. Was I perfect? Definitely not. But I do hope that my coaches, teammates, and fans noticed something different about the way I carried myself. My faith was tested many times during my career, but it was strengthened so much more.

Secondly to my wife, Amanda. We’ve been together these last twelve years and I know that my career would have ended much sooner without your support, guidance and love. Mentally and emotionally, you helped me through some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my life. All of the things you did for our family that allowed me to strictly focus on football will likely never be understood by anyone outside of the NFL. While these past 8 years married have been incredible, this next chapter as new parents will be even better.

Third, to my family. Mom and Dad, you raised and supported me to be the person I am today. You’ve been there since Day 1 and have been a steady presence of love throughout. I hope that I’ve made you both proud. As I am about to become a parent, I know that my perspective for what you did for me will drastically change, and I will feel all the more grateful. To my brother Nelson, you’ve always supported me and kept me grounded in my views and expectations of myself and the business of football around me. From playing alongside and against each other in high school and college, to leading the way in my recruiting journey, your role in my development and career cannot be overstated.

Fourth, to all of my teammates. Thank you for the laughs and the memories. Thank you for your effort and risking your bodies alongside me because I can’t talk about football without recognizing the dangers of the sport and the sacrifices that each of you make. You gave everything to help accomplish our mutual goals and I hope that you all felt the same of me. Many of you became some of my best friends off the field and I’ll always cherish our time together.