Giovani Bernard Announces Retirement After 10 Seasons with Bengals, Buccaneers

Longtime NFL running back Giovani Bernard announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday.

Bernard, 31, spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals (2013-20) before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the last two (2021-22).

Bernard was often utilized as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield, pulling in 367 catches for 2,989 yards and 14 touchdowns in 135 career games. He added 3,783 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground, averaging four yards per carry during his career.

He set career highs in receptions (56) and receiving yards (514) as a rookie, and he scored three receiving touchdowns in three different seasons (2013, 2020, 2021). His career high in rushing yards (730) came in 2015, and he put up five rushing touchdowns in both 2013 and 2014.

But the Bengals moved to Joe Mixon as the feature back after drafting him in 2017, and Bernard's role in Cincinnati decreased. He also found himself in a smaller role in Tampa Bay in his two seasons there, both because of injuries and because players like Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones II, Rachaad White and Ke'Shawn Vaughn earned bigger roles.

That said, Bernard had impressed enough during his time in Cincinnati that both former Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bruce Arians reportedly requested his signing ahead of the 2021 season:

His longtime teammate, Andy Dalton, told reporters in 2021 that Bernard was "very reliable" and an excellent weapon in the passing game.

"You always knew that he was going to know exactly who he had in protection, and when he needed to get out and get to a checkdown," he said. "That's such a valuable thing to have, especially in third-down situations with all the different looks the defenses can give you. He puts a lot of time into it, and for a guy who's not huge in stature, he does a great job in protection."

"He's a tremendous pro, very diligent in his job and his work, a great teammate for everybody," former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis added at the time. "No matter what is, it's not too big for Gio."