On Wednesday, a former Detroit Lions first-round choice formally announced his retirement from the NFL, falling into the “didn’t he already do that?” category.

The tight end Eric Ebron, who was selected by the Lions with the 10th overall choice in the 2014 NFL Draft, announced his retirement on Instagram along with a selection of pictures from his time as a college student at North Carolina to his final two NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“A career is a career!!” Ebron wrote. “I’m proud of me! Thankful for everyone along this journey.”

Ebron caught 186 passes for 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns in 56 games during his four seasons with the Lions (2014–2017). In 2016, he collected 61 receptions for 711 yards and one touchdown, his best season as a Lion.

It was enough to anger supporters and commentators to take a tight end so early. In order to choose Ebron 10th overall in the 2014 draft, the Lions most notably passed on defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who went on to become a superstar and a future Hall of Famer (Donald was selected by the Rams two choices later).

Lions first-round bust formally announces retirement

In March 2018, Ebron was released by the Lions. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts, where he had his best season to date (66 receptions for 750 yards and 13 touchdowns) and was selected to his only Pro Bowl.

Ebron spent another season in Indianapolis before having another respectably successful season with the Steelers in 2020 (56 receptions for 558 yards and five touchdowns). After that, he only appeared in eight games for the Steelers in 2021 and produced minimal results (12 catches for 84 yards and one touchdown).

The writing was on the wall long before Ebron (apparently at random) made his retirement “officially official” on Wednesday, as he had been out of the league for over three full seasons. Nevertheless, even though he will undoubtedly be remembered as a draft bust in Lions history, spending eight seasons in the NFL is no small feat.