Former OSU great OL Andy Levitre retires from NFL after 10 seasons

After ten seasons, former Oregon State Beavers lineman Andy Levitre is retiring from the NFL, he announced Tuesday in an Instagram post.

 

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It all started as a big kid growing up in the mountains of Santa Cruz. I had a fire in my belly and a burning desire to be the best football player I could be. I was never the the most talented athlete on the field so I made the conscious choice to outwork everyone else. Coming from a high school that wasn’t highly recruited I spent many nights piecing together my own VHS tapes to send off in hopes of being recruited. Some of my fondest memories are of my grandfather driving me around the country to meet with some different colleges. Although I may not have been able to reach all of my goals as an athlete, I can end this chapter of my life knowing I gave the game of football everything I had. I have memories that will last me a life time. I met my wife while I was playing in Buffalo. I fell in love with the city of Nashville while playing for the Titans. I also had to rush out after my first playoff game with the Falcons to attend the birth of my first child. Unfortunately, due to injury my body won’t allow me to continue any longer. Thank you to my wife and children, my family, friends, coaches, teammates and all of the fans who have supported me on this journey. I am looking forward to shifting my time & energy to focus more on family, friends, restoring my health & pursuing other passions of mine. I hope you all have enjoyed my career as much as I have.

A post shared by Andy Levitre (@andylevitre) on May 14, 2019 at 8:53am PDT

Levitre played for Oregon State from 2005-2008, and was on a pair of Beaver squads that finished in the top-25 of the final AP Poll in ’07 and ’08.  He was drafted in the second round, 51st overall, by the Buffalo Bills in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Consistency was part of Levitre’s strength, as he played, and started, all sixteen games in each of his first first 8 NFL seasons.  A torn triceps cut Levitre’s 2018 season in Atlanta short, playing just two games.

He was on the 2016 Atlanta Falcons offensive line that played together in every game all season, helping them with the NFC Championship and reach Super Bowl 51.  Atlanta lost a 28-3 third quarter lead as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came back to win unforgettably in overtime, 34-28.

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