A.J. Klein retires after 11 seasons in NFL

Retiring on his 33rd birthday, former Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Klein announced the end of his 11-season NFL career. Klein played for the Carolina Panthers (2013-16), New Orleans Saints (2017-19), Chicago Bears (2022), Baltimore Ravens (2022), and Bills (2020-21, 2022-23). He started 82 games out of 146, accumulating 465 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 45 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits, and four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. Drafted by the Panthers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Iowa State, Klein expressed his retirement on his Instagram account, stating, “Today is the first birthday I’ve celebrated not at a training camp in 15 years and it only seemed fitting to celebrate two milestones on this day. Today, I’m proud to announce that I’m officially retiring from the NFL after 11 seasons.” –Field Level Media