Jets, Commanders players among young, rising stars who abruptly step away from NFL

A couple of experienced but young NFL players in recent times made their shocking retirement announcements New York Jets running back Zach Evans and Washington Commanders offensive guard Nate Herbig each decided to call it quits this week The decisions come shortly before the NFL opens the preseason with Thursday's Hall of Fame contest in Canton Ohio CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMEvans revealed his plans to retire on Monday He was moved to New York's reserve retired list GIANTS JETS HEAD COACHES SPEAK ABOUT MASS SHOOTING AT BUILDING OF NFL HEADQUARTERSEvans finished his lone season at Ole Miss in with rushing yards and nine touchdowns His average yards per carry led the vaunted SEC that season The Los Angeles Rams drafted Evans in the sixth round in He appeared in games in his rookie season Evans spent parts of the season on the Rams and Jets practice squads One day after Evans reported his retirement plans Herbig broadcasted he would step away from the league Herbig went undrafted in He ultimately spent the first three years of his professional football career with the Philadelphia Eagles He also had a one-year stint with the Jets and a two-year run with the Pittsburgh Steelers Herbig signed with the Commanders earlier this offseason and is credited with career starts Training camps opened across the NFL last week The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers will meet on Thursday in Canton Ohio to officially kick off the preseason Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter