After playing his entire career with Edmonton, Elks offensive lineman Matt O’Donnell announced Thursday he is going to retire.
“It’s come to a point in my life where I feel I could still perform at the peak of my professional abilities on the field, however, every athlete eventually has to make a difficult decision regarding life after athletics,” O’Donnell said in a statement.
“With that being said, having taken a few months to deeply reflect on my situation, I’m truly content to start that next chapter of my personal and professional life outside of football here in Edmonton.”
O’Donnell said he’s struggled with knowing when the right would be to retire because he wanted to play one more season in 2021. The 2020 season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID situation made me think about that in 2020,” O’Donnell said. “I was leaning toward retirement back then, but I didn’t want a COVID cancellation to be my last attempt at professional football. I really wanted to go out on my own terms.
“Obviously a better season than a 3-11 (record) would have been great, but no matter how you retire, there’s no proper way to do it unless you’re Tom Brady who has seven (Super Bowl) rings. I got one (Grey Cup ring) so I’m happy about that and I got early in my career so that took a lot of pressure off.”
There was some persuading from Elks general manager and head coach Chris Jones and assistant general manager Geroy Simon, but O’Donnell felt he played the final game of his career on Nov. 19 in Vancouver.
“I was 90 to 95 per cent sure I was retiring after the last game,” O’Donnell said. “I thought if I took some time away from football, cleared my head, and let the body heal up it might shift. I don’t think my feeling shifted a single per cent.
“I was in talks with the Elks from the end of December through early January and I made it clear to them I was going to retire. They tried to talk me out of it, but in the end my stubbornness won out.”
Playing in 130 CFL regular games, O’Donnell spent nine seasons with Edmonton after making his debut in 2012.
Named a CFL all-star in 2017 and a division all-star in 2019, O’Donnell was also Edmonton’s nominee for most outstanding lineman in 2103, 2017, 2018 and 2021. He was the team’s nominee for most outstanding Canadian in 2017.
“In addition to his excellence on the field, which was highlighted by his peers as a CFLPA all-star in both 2017 and 2021, O’Donnell was also one of the green and gold’s best ambassadors in the community,” the Elks’ statement read.
Originally drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the second round (15th overall) of the 2011 CFL Draft, O’Donnell was traded to Edmonton in September 2012.
O’Donnell went on to make 121 regular-season starts and 11 post-season starts with Edmonton.
“To all my teammates, coaches, athletic therapists, trainers, equipment, and support staff over the years — I want to truly thank you for being there for me and each other,” he said. “I had the luxury of crossing paths with some of the greatest people I’ve come to call friends here in this building.”
On Thursday, O’Donnell was also announced as the team’s 2021 David Boone Award winner for the second season in a row. The award is given annually to the player who best displays the characteristics of former Edmonton defensive lineman David Boone on and off the field.
– With files from Dave Campbell, 630 CHED