NY Jets OL Cameron Clark forced to retire due to spinal cord injury

NY Jets offensive lineman Cameron Clark is retiring at the age of 24 due to a spinal cord injury he suffered last training camp.

In August of 2021, Clark suffered a neck injury during practice that left him motionless on the ground. Medical tests revealed Clark had suffered a spinal cord contusion, and at the time, Clark was expected to make a full recovery.

Heading into the 2022 season, though, Clark's injury has not gone away. Clark's agent recently told ESPN that Clark chose to retire after finding out he would risk paralysis if he continued to play football.

Robert Saleh and the team will miss Clark, but obviously they fully understand the situation he is in.

NY Jets OL Cameron Clark retires from football over risk of paralysis

" A great young man, with a bright future, I am thankful for Cameron's peace in making his decision, however bittersweet it may be. He made it to the league because of his talent, hard work and attitude and I have every confidence that they will all continue to serve him as he transitions to the next step."

- Robert Saleh

A fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Clark never played a regular-season snap for the Jets and had struggled to stay healthy since his rookie year.

It is truly unfortunate that Clark's NFL career was cut short by injury as the lineman was working his way up into the starting roster. There was even some talk he could compete for the starting right guard job in training camp this past summer.

The Jets' offensive line will instead feature rookie standout Alijah Vera-Tucker as well as a rotation of George Fant and Mekhi Becton, who both have a fair chance at landing the starting left tackle job per Saleh.

We all wish Cameron Clark the best both in his near and distant future. Truly a shame.