ORLANDO, Fla. — Former UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin announced his retirement from football on Wednesday in a tweet and article on The Players Tribune.
“Thank you to the people who helped me achieve this dream, but it’s time to move on from the game of football,” he tweeted.
Griffin, along with quarterback McKenzie Milton, led the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017 and a victory against Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl and then parlayed that success into a spot in the NFL, even though he only has one hand.
Griffin did not let that discourage him, and his story of perseverance inspired people nationwide.
In his Players Tribune article, Griffin wrote, “Football was always Plan B.” Plan A, he said, is to help others discover how to get through difficult times and achieve their own goals.
According to The Players Tribune, he said he will work with the NFL Legends Community as at least part of Plan A.
In reality, he had been helping others for some time, proving by example how hard work and dogged pursuit of a dream can help a person overcome adversity and naysayers to bring a dream to life.
He was born with amniotic band syndrome, a congenital birth defect, and had his left hand amputated when he was 4 years old. Nevertheless, he and his twin brother Shaquill grew up playing football together at St. Petersburg Lakewood High School and committed to play together at UCF, ignoring those who said he would not be able to succeed because he was missing a hand.
Shaquill played a lot from the start, but Shaquem did not get his opportunity until after Scott Frost was hired as the Knights’ head coach in December 2015. Shaquill entered the NFL draft after the 2016 season and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, the first time the brothers had been separated.
Before UCF’s 2017 season, Shaquem spent the preseason camp living in UCF’s football facility to immerse himself in the game. His leadership led him to be named a team captain, and he charmed fans, media and teammates with a smile that could light up a room and his enthusiasm. That season, he had 74 total tackles, including 13.5 for losses, an interception, three passes defended and two fumble recoveries. After the Peach Bowl, he and Milton stood on stage together accepting the trophy, the biggest win in Knights program history at that time.
In the 2018 NFL season, Shaquem was reunited with Shaquill on the Seahawks after being drafted in the fifth round. They spent three seasons playing on the same team in Seattle before Shaquill signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Shaquem worked out and signed with other teams but did not play in a regular season game after 2020.
He was approached with his latest opportunity by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and is looking at it with the same enthusiasm he brought to the field.