NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, a 2017 first-round draft choice and former All-Pro who sat out all of last season because of a lingering knee injury, has announced his retirement from pro football.
“What an incredible journey it’s been,” the 6-foot-3, 314-pound Ramczyk wrote in a social media post Thursday night, referring in part to his brief pursuit of a career in welding after high school.
The Wisconsin-native ultimately decided to give football another try, starting his college career on the Division III level at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He transferred in 2016 to Wisconsin, where he became an AP All-America selection. The Saints made him the second of their two first-round draft choices in 2017, at 32nd overall.
“My path to the NFL wasn’t a straight line, it wasn’t the story most people expect," Ramczyk wrote. "There were moments when people doubted me, moments when I doubted myself. It’s funny how life works out. Sometimes the road less traveled leads to places you never expected, but it ends up being exactly where you were meant to be.”
The Saints made Ramczyk a starter at the beginning of his rookie season and he went on to start all 101 NFL games in which he played. In 2019, he was named first-team AP All-Pro.
He was a central part of a memorable 2017 draft class that included AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Marshon Lattimore and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara.
The trio helped the Saints emerge from a three-season playoff drought and start a run of four straight postseason appearances from the 2017 through 2020 seasons.
That included a 2018 campaign in which the Saints were the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed and hosted the NFC title game, losing in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams after what the NFL acknowledged was a missed call by officials for pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact in the waning minutes of regulation.
His retirement this year was widely expected after he was unable a season ago — after missing the final four games of the 2023 season — because of degraded cartilage in his knee.
“I'm filled with gratitude for everything this sport has given me,” Ramczyk said. “I owe a giant thank you to the game of football and to the countless coaches and teammate who have supported and challenged me along the way.”
Ramczyk also thanked Saints fans for making New Orleans “feel like home” and said he is “excited for what the future holds, especially the opportunity to spend more time with my two boys and watch them grow.”
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FILE - New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (71) looks on before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
