It’s St. Patrick’s Day but the 49’ers have been dealt another stroke of bad luck. Chris Borland, the team’s leading tackler and former Wisconsin Badger standout is retiring.Borland cited health concerns as the reason he is walking away from the game after just one season.
Borland had experienced two concussions and reportedly thought he had a third during training camp, but did not report it as it may have hurt his chances for making the team.
Borland played a brutal position in a brutal sport. He decided that the reward was not worth the risk. The 49’ers have been dealt another blow to their chances for next season, but the question is bigger than that? Chris Borland is a smart guy, and he made the decision to walk away. Will more young players make what seems to be the unlikely choice of choosing their long-term health over the..well…the money? It seems that more and more players will be taking a long look inside before staying in the league for 8-10 years. If that is the case, it makes it less and less likely that a record like Brett Favre’s 321 consecutive starts (including playoffs) will EVER be broken.
It is rare that a record gets protected because of the direction the game is moving but that might just 
be the case here. Records, for the most part, are made to be broken and perhaps Brett Favre’s consecutive starts record will be one day. As the League adds games to the season, a player could potentially reach that mark in less seasons.
Bur regardless, today we wish Chris Borland well and stand in awe of Brett Favre for being there for his team every time they took the field.
This is why he is one of greatest of all time ! Hands down Brett Farve is the iron man of pro football !!!!
Yeah, hearing about Borland, a young guy (24) walking away after one season really reinforced that Brett played for the love of the game. It struck me how unlikely it is for any player to ever beat that streak.
If he was truly afraid of getting injured or having head problems from playing the game then he absolutely made the right choice!
Football can’t be played scared…
Back in the 90s, QBs were not protected as much as they are today. Another factor is that the concussion-dementia link did not become public until the last few years; so players back then didn’t know how much of a risk they were taking w/ their health. Favre has said that he was proud of his iron man streak, but if/when he starts having cognitive problems, his feelings about that record may change.