Longtime San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday, describing his pro football career as the "time of my life."
Hardwick; who played 11 seasons in the NFL, all of them with the San Diego Chargers; is a former Pro Bowler and five-time team captain.
His 2014 season was abruptly cut short in early September after he was placed on the Reserve-Injured list for a neck injury.
Questions surrounding his future swirled for much of the season.
Hardwick, looking much different after a significant weight loss, told the media Tuesday, "This has been the time of my life, the pleasure of my life."
Hardwick, 33, first came to the team as a third-round draft choice in 2004 and has been a starter ever since.
The Chargers say Hardwick has started in all 136 games he has played in the NFL and in the last 67 in a row.
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“This is a passage,” NBC 7 Sports Director Jim Laslavic said about Hardwick’s retirement. “Philip Rivers is moving forward without his good friend and confidante. This is a big step”
Laslavic, a former linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, recalled how Hardwick was in the center of all the action when LaDanian Tomlinson was reeling off all of his yards.
The offensive line has a strong bond and the center is the leader of that whole group, Laslavic said.
