After six seasons with the Green and Gold, Edmonton Eskimos receiver Nate Coehoorn has decided to call it a career.
In a post on Instagram over the weekend, Coehoorn said he made the decision to retire after a lot of thought and prayer.
“I know I could still play a couple of years,” Coehoorn wrote. “However, with how my body — and more importantly my head — have been acting up in the last couple years due to injuries, I feel that long-term health and quality of life are my priority now.
“The spark and passion to play that I once had isn’t as strong as it was when I first started.”
Coehoorn, 30, was selected by the Eskimos fifth overall in the first round of the 2011 CFL Draft. The Medicine Hat native played his entire CFL career with the Eskimos and won the Grey Cup with the team in 2015.
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“I have given a lot to this game and have given a lot up for it. People always say, ‘you’ll know when it is time to walk away’ and I have complete peace with the decision I am making,” Coehoorn wrote in his Instagram post Sunday.
He went on to thank those who helped him throughout his career, including his wife, Tegan, his parents and the Edmonton Eskimos.
“I have created lifelong relationships in my six seasons here in Edmonton that I will have forever. I will miss my teammates, coaches and fans that supported me over the years. I’m hanging up my cleats and stepping into a new future that I feel God has called me into.”
Coehoorn was born in Medicine Hat and spent two years playing junior football with the Calgary Colts and Okanagan Sun before joining the Calgary Dinos.