Free agent defensive end John Cominsky, who was a member of the Detroit Lions the past three seasons, announced Monday he is medically retiring from the NFL.
"I am proud of the career I had, but have accumulated a combination of injuries that are overwhelming my desire to continue playing," he wrote in a post published on his personal Instagram account.
Cominsky, 29, spent six years in the NFL after he was selected by Atlanta in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. Five days after he was waived by the Falcons in May 2022, the Lions picked him up and so began a career revival.
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Ohio native made 14 appearances for Detroit that year and started eight games while contributing four sacks and 12 quarterback hits. He was then rewarded with a two-year, $8.5 million contract extension the following offseason and continued to serve as a key rotational piece along the defensive front. He helped the 2023 team advance to the NFC title game, collecting 36 tackles and two sacks while playing 663 snaps.
"He's just a steady piece that does things right," coach Dan Campbell said last summer.
But Cominsky would never play again after the conference championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January 2024. In training camp last July, he tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and was placed on injured reserve the following month.
"I walk away with my family in mind and therefore, have found peace in this difficult decision," Cominsky wrote in his farewell message. "Time marches on."
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Former Detroit Lions DE John Cominsky announces medical retirement
