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Curtis Martin will miss the rest of the season for the New York Jets - and may never play again.
The NFL's fourth all-time leading rusher, Martin has a bone-on-bone condition in his surgically-repaired right knee.
"I'm officially not playing the rest of the year," Martin said at a news conference on Wednesday.
"Retirement may be the inevitable result of this, but I'm not retiring right now."
The 33-year-old Martin sounded like a player who is resigned to the possibility he may never play again.
"If I don't play again, the doctors say I have a chance to live a normal life," Martin said. "If I do play again, I can jeopardise that."
Martin has been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since the start of training camp. On Wednesday, the Jets placed Martin on the reserve-PUP list, ending his season.
"It is not retirement. It is reserved PUP which means he will not be able to participate this season," Jets coach Eric Mangini said.
"He will still be part of the team. He will still take part in all the meetings and help us in any way he can."
Martin underwent surgery last December.
At the time, it was believed to be an arthroscopic procedure, but more damage than expected was found in the knee.
Martin has worked out daily at the Jets' facility, attending most meetings and rehabilitating his knee.
But Martin was not at the point in his rehab where he could try cutting on the knee.
There were strong indications in the pre-season that Martin would not play again. He accepted a huge pay cut from US$2.5 million to US$810,000 or US$450,000 if he didn't play at all.
The Jets then acquired running back Kevan Barlow from San Francisco for a draft pick.
Martin played 11 seasons in the NFL - three with the New England Patriots and eight with the Jets - and rushed for 14,101 yards and 90 touchdowns.
His 3,518 rushing attempts is the third highest in league history.
Martin also had 484 receptions for 3,329 yards.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Martin was signed as a restricted free agent by the Jets in March 1998.
He is the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 10,302 yards.
In 2004, Martin won the rushing title with 1,697 yards and joined Barry Sanders as the only players to begin their careers with 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
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Source: Sporting Life |
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