Saints Injured Former All-pro Right Tackle Ryan Ramczyk Retires After Missing Entire 2024 Season

Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, a 2017 first-round draft choice and former All-Pro who sat out all of last season because of a lingering knee injury, has announced his retirement from pro football.

"What an incredible journey it's been," the 6-foot-3, 314-pound Ramczyk wrote in a social media post Thursday night, referring in part to his brief pursuit of a career in welding after high school.

The Wisconsin-native ultimately decided to give football another try, starting his college career on the Division III level at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He transferred in 2016 to Wisconsin, where he became an AP All-America selection. The Saints made him the second of their two first-round draft choices in 2017, at 32nd overall.

"My path to the NFL wasn't a straight line, it wasn't the story most people expect," Ramczyk wrote. "There were moments when people doubted me, moments when I doubted myself. It's funny how life works out. Sometimes the road less traveled leads to places you never expected, but it ends up being exactly where you were meant to be."

The Saints made Ramczyk a starter at the beginning of his rookie season and he went on to start all 101 NFL games in which he played. In 2019, he was named first-team AP All-Pro.