NFL free agent wide receiver Chris Conley, who played the last two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, announced his retirement Saturday after 10 seasons, choosing film school over a continued football career. The former third-round pick out of Georgia finished his NFL career with 221 receptions, 2,926 career receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
According to his agent during an interview with NFL Network, Conley will re-enroll at Georgia and study film. An avid Star Wars fan, Conley will purse filmmaking and already has worked on one intergalactic project previously.<\/p>\n
In an announcement on his personal Instagram account, Conley said, “when I was a kid I wrote down a set of goals. On that list was ‘Play 10 years in the NFL.’ Now that this goal has been accomplished, it’s time to set sights on something new.”<\/p>\n
Previously, at the end of his collegiate career, Conley stressed the importance of education in a letter to Bulldogs fans.<\/p>\n
“I would like to set an example that we as people should have a goal to unite families, neighborhoods, and cities for the well-being of our state and then our country,” Conley wrote. “Call me an idealist but I believe that all it takes for change to take root is a willing participant and the faith that it will happen. That same willingness and faith is what allowed a 2-3 star recruit to defy the odds and contribute at the greatest school in the country.<\/p>\n
“Let us be the change we want to see in our homes, cities, and state. I am standing with you all.”<\/p>\n
Conley signed with the 49ers ahead of the 2023 season following stints with Tennessee, Houston, Jacksonville and Kansas City.<\/p>\n
“The past 10 years have been a dream,” Conley wrote on Instagram. “Getting the opportunity to play in the league was an honor and whether it was catching touchdowns or blocking for them, I truly gave it my all.”<\/p>\n
One of Conley’s best seasons came during his final campaign with the Chiefs in 2018 when he tied a career-best with five touchdowns. Kansas City lost in the AFC Championship that season and Conley signed a free agent deal with the Texans prior to the start of the Chiefs’ various Super Bowl runs.<\/p>\n
Conley’s career-high marks of 47 receptions (on 90 targets) for 775 yards came with the Jaguars in 2019. The veteran had a reserve role with San Francisco last season and played in 15 games despite an elbow injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The former SEC standout is returning to school<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n