Rich Ohrnberger

Special for The Republic

Editor's note: Rich Ohrnberger was an NFL offensive lineman from 2009 to 2014. He played with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012. Ohrnberger is currently a national radio show host with Fox Sports Radio, and the host of "The Loose Cannons" on XTRA 1360 in San Diego. The story below was originally shared on his Twitter account and has been reprinted with his permission. It has been edited for clarity

Watching Andrew Luck's retirement press conference brought back a lot of memories.

My "last day" was Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015. My decision was made at a hotel lobby bar in Detroit after a group tryout with the Lions.

Here's my story:

My final season was 2014, I was playing for the Chargers and I was a MESS. I had been dealing with severe back pain for two years, and it was coming to a head.

I became the starting center during a Week 1 game in Arizona and by Week 3 in Buffalo I was very debilitated.

My mornings began at 4:30 a.m. crawling from my bed to the bathtub, my pregnant wife would help me get in the tub, and I would soak and stretch until I was able to walk.

I'd then go to the facility and do exercises to strengthen my back, but the pain was unrelenting.

It was determined that I would need spinal surgery, but I could continue playing as long as the symptoms were manageable.

Throughout the season I received five or six epidural injections. Some were less than two weeks apart. I would constantly fantasize about that surgery.

I wasn't sleeping because I couldn't find a comfortable position to alleviate the pain.

I was miserable because of the pain.

I was afraid because I wondered if the pain would ever go away ... but I kept playing.

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I didn't want to let down my family, coaches, teammates, or myself.

I had a pretty significant injury history (I'll get to all of that) and I was worried if I finished another season on injured reserve, it would be my last.

Unfortunately, the more I played the worse the symptoms became.

I remember one night, laying in bed, tears streaming from eyes, considering waking my wife to take me to the emergency room.

It's surreal to look back and review this ... it's hideously comical how much of myself I was willing to give, but the alternative felt like failure.

The last game I ever played was on Nov. 16, 2014. We were hosting the Raiders and while I was still dealing with my back, I partially tore some ankle ligaments during the game and received a numbing injection in the locker room so I could try to finish the game. I couldn't.

It was time to make some difficult decisions.

I was losing strength in my right leg. My leg was also "blanking out" or becoming momentarily paralyzed, sometimes while I was walking or running (I'd hit the ground every time).

I was told my loss of strength could be forever.

I elected to have back surgery in December 2014 and I was placed on IR.

The recovery was not easy. The first two months were especially grueling. The pain slowly subsided. I started feeling like myself.

My contract expired with the Chargers. I was a free agent.

After eight months of intense rehab and training, I had a training camp workout with the Bills — I was not signed.

I then had a training camp workout with the Steelers — no dice.

Then, nothing.

Preseason ended and the NFL season was underway. The phone wasn't ringing.

The Lions got off to an 0-5 start. I was brought in for a group workout on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015.

I was one of ten or so "guys" they dragged in for this workout. It was clear, they weren't kicking our tires, they were sending a message to their locker room.

That night, I sat down in a hotel lobby bar in Detroit, I ordered a steak and a bourbon, and retired.

There wasn't a press conference, no one broke the news, but it was over. I called my wife, who was at home in San Diego with our 4-month-old.

"I'm done," I said. She knew.

Over the course of my career, I was drafted in the fourth round, went to a Super Bowl, played in a playoff game, snapped footballs to two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, made lifelong friends, and lived a dream. but the trade off was significant.

I've had both shoulders operated on, part of a clavicle bone removed, spent a season on IR because of a concussion, ruptured my MCL, and had back surgery. That's the abbreviated list.

Football is about dealing with pain. It's unavoidable, but it wears you down.

I don't know Andrew Luck, but he isn't a coward, he loves football, and he isn't giving up because rehabilitating injuries is "too hard."

Everyone has their steak and bourbon moment eventually. His was in front of the world, and he handled it with class and poise.

Cheers.

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