New Orleans Saints center Max Unger announced his retirement from football over the weekend, and he said that calling up quarterback Drew Brees to let him know he was calling it quits was a hard call to make, according to Josh Katzenstein of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Unger is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he started all 16 games and made the Pro Bowl, marking his only Pro Bowl appearance as a member of the Saints.
The 32-year-old originally joined New Orleans in 2015 and missed just one game during his four-year tenure with the club.
Unger, who played his collegiate football at the University of Oregon, was originally selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (49th pick overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.
He started all 16 games during his first season, playing both center and right guard. However, he played in just one game the next year due to a toe injury.
Unger made his return to the field in 2011, starting 15 games at center for the Seahawks, and the next year, he made the Pro Bowl and earned a First-Team All-Pro selection. He then earned another trip to the Pro Bowl in 2013.
The Kailua-Kona, Hi. native went on to spend one more season in Seattle before signing with New Orleans.
The Saints won 13 games this past season, not only capturing the NFC South division title, but locking up the best record in football.
After a first-round bye, they went on to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs before falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.