Ex-Kansas State star Todd Weiner retires from NFL Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Todd Weiner, widely regarded as one of the NFL's good guys, announced his retirement today after playing 11 years in the NFL. Weiner, a standout at Kansas State during 1994-97, was a second-round draft pick by Seattle in 1998. He spent 1998-01 with the Seahawks and signed with Atlanta as an unrestricted free agent in 2002 and has been a fixture with the Falcons ever since. Weiner started in 118 of 152 career games and was a stout offensive lineman who was recently voted to the USA Today All-Joe Team after starting in 11 games while battling a knee injury in 2008. He was part of a Falcons rushing attack that led the NFL in 2004 (2,672 yards), 2005 (2,546 yards), 2006 (2,935) and ranked second in the league in 2008 (2,443). Last season, the Falcons averaged 152.7 rushing yards per game as running back Michael Turner ranked second in the NFL in individual rushing (1,699 yards) while topping the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his career. Weiner also paced a rushing game that totaled 23 rushing touchdowns last season, a franchise record that tied a 2002 mark, his first season with the team. Atlanta’s offensive line allowed only 17 sacks in 2008, a franchise record, as rookie quarterback Matt Ryan became one of only two rookie quarterbacks in the NFL to ever throw for over 3,000 yards in his first season (Peyton Manning, 1998). "Todd Weiner epitomizes toughness, grit and everything a championship caliber football player should be," said Falcons head coach Mike Smith. "As good of a player as Todd was for the Falcons, he was an even better person in our community through a variety of highly publicized charitable endeavors working with children. He will be sorely missed by our football team on and off the field, but one thing is for certain – Todd will always be a Falcon." Weiner is also known for his dedication throughout the community and this season was voted as the Falcons nominee for the 2008 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. He supports numerous organizations such Eagle Ranch Academy, the Rally Foundation, 4 Quarters 4 Research, Pro Athletes Outreach, WellSpring Women's House, Life Ministries Today, Grace Summit, Calvary Chapel of Gwinnett, Garth Brooks Foundation and Cool Girls. In faith-based involvement in 2008 alone, Weiner committed nearly $320,000 to organizations, including Mission of Mercy, The Seed Company and In Touch Ministries International, which supports initiatives such as outreach to poverty-stricken children in Swaziland, Africa and Bible translation efforts that provide in-language religious manuscripts to native people throughout Kenya. "I want to thank (owner and CEO) Arthur Blank, (general manager) Thomas Dimitroff and Coach Smith for the opportunities they gave me to play here," said Weiner. "The Falcons are a first-class organization and due to the positive experiences my family and I have had here in Atlanta, we will continue to live and be active members of this community." |
