Dark Horse Tavern » Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas retires from

Former Dolphins Akeem Spence Jersey , the NFL After being released by the Miami Dolphins back in March, Julius Thomas is officially hanging up his cleats.Thomas, 30, is closing out his seven-year NFL career, one that started as a fourth-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos back in 2011. While in Denver, Thomas emerged as one of the league’s most dangerous tight ends, especially in the red zone. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, he accumulated a whopping 24 touchdowns, over 1,200 receiving yards, and 108 receptions while catching passes from Peyton Manning under then-offensive coordinator Adam Gase.Thomas turned that production into a five-year, $46 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars Christian Wilkins white jersey , where injuries and poor quarterback play from Blake Bortles brought his numbers down to a sputtering low. After the 2016 season, the Jaguars top brass decided they’d overpaid for Thomas long enough and traded him to the Dolphins for a seventh-round draft pick.In Miami, the former Pro Bowler signed a new two-year contract. Both Thomas and Dolphins fans were hoping that being reunited with now-head coach Adam Gase would be enough to rekindle that spark that led Thomas to being a star in Denver. Unfortunately a combination of nagging injuries and horrendous quarterbacking from Jay Cutler proved to be insufficient fuel, and Thomas failed to become a useful weapon in Miami’s offense. The veteran looked slow on the field and was simply outmatched by more athletic defenders. Only on the hook for $1 million in guarantees, the team cut him loose this offseason.Thomas released a statement through The Players’ Tribune discussing his reasons for walking away from the game he’s played over the past seven years. “The ability to assist with the latest research being done on brain trauma and the pursuit to better understand CTE. To study it not just from the perspective of a psychologist or a clinician, but also as a person who has played for several years at the highest level, is something that excites me,” he wrote. “It fills me with a sense of purpose. It’s a way to help while growing intellectually that I had been searching for. I know I have so much to learn, but that’s what I’m most looking forward to.”Thomas is hoping that by making an impact, he can cement his legacy beyond football. “I believe helping others is what I’m supposed to be doing at this point in my life. Hopefully I can help by encouraging more of my peers to connect with who they are outside of the game. If ultimately that’s what I’m remembered for, I’d be very thankful.” INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Miami Dolphins thought they had solved their road woes.Ryan Tannehill's return from a shoulder injury jump-started a stagnant offense. The defense forced three turnovers and pressured Andrew Luck. Then over the final nine minutes, everything went awry and their old troubles came roaring back.Luck made the most of Miami's mounting miscues by directing the Indianapolis Colts to three late scoring drives Christian Wilkins Jersey Womens , culminating in Adam Vinatieri's 32-yard field goal as time expired in Indy's 27-24 victory Sunday. "We shot ourselves in the foot," Miami defensive end Cameron Wake said. "They made some plays too, nothing to take away from those guys. But in a critical moment, we have to be the ones to make it harder."Instead of celebrating, the Dolphins (5-6) went home with their 10th road loss in 11 games and fell one game behind Indianapolis (6-5) and Baltimore in the chase for the final AFC playoff spot.This one might go down as the most frustrating trip of the road slide because the Dolphins were perfectly positioned to close it out.They picked off Luck twice in the final minute of the first half, ended their touchdown drought on a 33-yard pass from Tannehill to Kenyan Drake on their opening possession and scored another TD at the end of the half . Miami retook the lead on Jason Sanders‘ 29-yard field goal in the third quarter and made it 24-14 on Drake's nifty 14-yard TD run with 13:36 remaining.Then Luck started to rally the Colts.A fourth-down conversion led to a field goal that cut the Dolphins' lead to 24-17.Following a three-and-out, Luck hooked up with Eric Ebron on a 12-yard TD pass with 4:25 left. After another three-and-out, Luck stepped through the pressure on third-and-9, somehow maintained his balance and found a wide-open Chester Rogers for a 34-yard gain to set up Vinatieri for the win.Even Luck acknowledged the Colts had been mystified by the Dolphins' defense."I was a little confused because they lined up in a look they had only showed once before all year," Luck said, referring to the crucial third-down conversion. "The guys did a good job of protecting and I saw Chester in the right spot at the right time."The Dolphins, of course Christian Wilkins Jersey Cheap , viewed the game as another chapter in an old story."(Andre) Branch has got the guy wrapped up, and it looks like we're going to have a sack and get the ball back," coach Adam Gase said. "He (Luck) squirms out of that and makes a great play. That's what the NFL is. It's one or two plays at the end."It wasn't just the big plays that cost the Dolphins.Two penalties in the waning moments hurt, too.Following Ebron's second score, cornerback Xavien Howard drew a personal foul call that allowed Indy to pooch kick the ball from midfield to just outside the goal line. On the ensuing return, Senorise Perry was called for holding, pinning the Dolphins at their own 6-yard line.Colts coach Frank Reich cited the kick, the coverage and the ensuing punt return that put Indy at its own 42 as the decisive twist.Dolphins running back Frank Gore, who spent three years as Luck's teammate, knew what to expect and that the Dolphins only had themselves to blame."We just have to finish as a team. Everybody," Gore said.