One football injury too dangerous to overcome caught up with a member of the resilient but snakebitten James family.

Rutgers junior linebacker Ronnie James announced Wednesday on social media that he is retiring from football due to multiple concussions. He will be placed on medical redshirt and remain on scholarship as he finishes his academics at Rutgers, a source told NJ Advance Media.

The once-promising three-star recruit -- James held an offer from Ohio State -- played in four games as a true freshman cornerback in 2015 and four more after switching positions last season.

James returned from groin surgery that kept him out of training camp only to miss the second half of the season with a concussion. He did not participate in spring camp.

"I was recently given bad news that I can no longer play football," James wrote. "It's not sit out a year and try again or anything of the sort. I have suffered from too many concussions to play the sport that I love."

Ronnie's older brother Paul James was an all-conference halfback for Rutgers from 2012-15 but his success was constantly interrupted whether by a hip injury in youth football, nagging injuries at Glassboro High School or a broken leg (2013) and a torn ACL (2014) at Rutgers.

The elder James, who started as a walk-on, took a year off from football to recover and showcased his health at Rutgers Pro Day earlier this year. He earned a rookie minicamp tryout with the Seattle Seahawks but did not secure an invite to training camp and remains a free agent.

The younger James finishes with four career tackles in two seasons. Considering Rutgers' shortage of depth at outside linebacker, a healthy 6-foot, 215-pound James likely would have been a prominent backup and possibly challenged to unseat a starter.

"This road isn't over for me," James wrote. "I will continue my studies at Rutgers and continue to support my fellow brothers of the Scarlet Knights! Now my future awaits and academics will be my tool. I thank everyone who has had a positive effect on my life and even those who didn't because I was only tested to grow through you all."

Rutgers put tight end George Behr and cornerback Jarius Adams -- who was part of the same recruiting class and forced into the lineup at the same time as James -- on career-ending medical redshirt during spring camp.

Here is what Paul James told NJ Advance Media about his younger brother in February, when expectations were still that Ronnie would return to the field:

"He was injured a lot, but he's doing well. They moved him to linebacker and now he's bigger than me. He's a little shorter, but he's stockier. I'm the biggest in my family, so it's weird to see."

"I wouldn't tell him this, but he's faster than me, I think. He can move better than me. At linebacker, I think he can be one of those guys like a Von Miller that can really just move."

Here is Ronnie's full Instagram post:

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.