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Former NFL Quarterback PJ Walker Announces His Retirement At 31
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- Former NFL Quarterback PJ Walker Announces His Retirement At 31
After two years without an NFL snap and limited snaps in the CFL, quarterback P.J. Walker is calling it a career.
On Thursday, the Calgary Stampeders announced that the 31-year-old QB informed them he has decided to step away from football. Speaking to 3DownNation , Walker's agent Marty Magid confirmed that he is leaving the sport.
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"The Calgary Stampeders have been informed by American quarterback P.J. Walker that he has decided to step away from football after nine years of playing professionally," the Canadian Football League team announced in a transaction report.
Walker in the NFL
Walker joined the Stampeders in 2024 after failing to make the final roster for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2024 NFL offseason. He started one game for the team in 2025 - a 31-11 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks.
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Walker is better known for the underwhelming NFL career he enjoyed after being one of the few breakout performers of the XFL's short-lived 2020 campaign. The XFL's second run in 2020 was unfortunately cut short after just five games due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But while the short-lived experiment sent many prospective pro players back to the unemployment line, Walker emerged as a star.
After dominating with the Houston Roughnecks, going 5-0 as a starter with 15 touchdowns, a 65-percent completion rate and 1,338 yards, the Carolina Panthers took a chance on him and signed him to a two-year contract.
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 16: P.J. Walker #11 of the Houston Roughnecks walks on to the field before the XFL game against the St. Louis BattleHawks at TDECU Stadium on February 16, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Thomas Campbell/XFL via Getty Images)
But Walker found - as so many other quarterbacks have - that dominance in non-NFL leagues rarely translates to dominance in the NFL itself. Between 2020 and 2022, he started seven games for the Panthers, going just 4-3 in 15 games while completing under 58-percent of his passes for 1,461 yards and five touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
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Walker joined the Cleveland Browns in 2023 and went 1-1, completing 48.6-percent of his passes for one touchdown and five interceptions across six games.
Nevertheless, for a quarterback who went undrafted out of Temple and was lucky enough to simply be a practice squad player for several years, the fact that he got to start nine games in the NFL is still nothing to be ashamed of.
We wish Walker luck in the next phase of his career.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Apr 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
