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Arizona Cardinals tight end retires immediately due to neck injury at 28
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- Arizona Cardinals tight end retires immediately due to neck injury at 28
Arizona Cardinals tight end Travis Vokolek has made the difficult decision to hang up his cleats as the team reports to training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale this week.
During Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season, Vokolek collided with Indianapolis Colts linebacker Segun Olubi while blocking on a kickoff return. He suffered a severe neck injury and concussion, and was ultimately stretchered off of the field.
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That turned out to be the final play of Vokolek's professional career, as he announced that he is following his doctors' advice and medically retiring from football.
Vokolek announced the news in an emotional statement on social media .
MORE: 2026 NFL training camp schedule, report dates for all 32 teams released
Cardinals TE Travis Vokolek Calls It A Career
Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Travis Vokolek (81) at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
"After numerous visits with doctors and neurologists over the past couple of months, I have been advised to medically retire from the NFL due to a serious neck injury that I suffered this past season," Vokolek wrote. "I am extremely grateful and blessed to have been able to live out my childhood dream of playing football at the highest level for the past three years. Football has taught me many life lessons and given me unforgettable memories.
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"I am forever grateful to all my teammates, coaches, trainers, and others who have supported my family and I along the way. A sincere thank you to the Arizona Cardinals training staff for being first class with the care and support they provided my family and I during this hard time. I am especially grateful for my wife who has been there the whole time through the many ups and downs of the NFL. She has never wavered and has been extremely supportive through it all. I have attacked everyday of being a professional football player with passion, determination, and discipline. I can say that I truly left everything out on the field. Thank you for all of the love and support. Lastly, thank you football!"
Vokolek starred collegiately at Rutgers and Nebraska, before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He spent a majority of his rookie season on the Baltimore Ravens ' practice squad, before signing with the Arizona Cardinals' active roster in December 2023. He made the Cardinals' 53-man roster in 2024 and 2025, before his career-ending injury.
We wish the best of luck to Vokolek on the next chapter of his career.
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