Bills' Christian Kirksey to Retire from NFL at Age 31; Drafted by Browns in 2014

Linebacker Christian Kirksey is retiring after nine-plus NFL seasons, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network:

Kirksey landed on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad this season after playing for the Cleveland Browns (2014-2019), Green Bay Packers (2020) and Houston Texans (2021-2022).

He's best known for his time on Cleveland, which selected him with a third-round pick in 2014. Kirksey notably amassed 286 total tackles in 2016 and 2017, including a career-high 148 in the former year.

Linebacker A.J. Klein will replace Kirksey on the practice squad, per Garafolo.

Unfortunately, injuries forced Kirksey off the field for large portions of the 2018-2021 seasons, and he missed 32 games during that span. However, he started all 17 games for the Texans in 2022 and finished with 124 tackles (82 solo) and three sacks. Kirksey even served as team captain and earned his team's domination for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award.

Per ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime, Kirksey sat most of the 2023 training camp with a strained hamstring. The Texans released Kirksey on Aug. 28 and saved $5.2 million in the process. Three days later, Kirksey signed with the Bills' practice squad.

But now the former Iowa star's NFL career is over after a successful nine-year stint in the pros. At his best, he was a tackling machine easily capable of anchoring the middle of a defense, and he certainly proved to be a good pick for Cleveland.