St. Pete's Shaquem Griffin Retires From NFL After Making History

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin, a St. Petersburg native, has retired from the NFL.

The Lakewood High School graduate, known as the first one-handed player in the NFL, announced his retirement from the league in a piece he penned for The Players’ Tribune.

His mother learned one of the twins she was carrying had a rare condition, amniotic band syndrome, where a strand from the amniotic sac entangled itself around his wrist in the womb, according to the Tampa Bay Times. As a toddler, his left hand was amputated at the wrist because of the pain.

The former University of Central Florida player said he’ll be joining the NFL Legends Community, a program where retired players mentor current and formers players as they navigate their lives moving into and out of their professional careers, including navigating mental health issues.

“It’s a resource to provide guidance and support to players in whatever they might be going through or trying to achieve, including assisting with community service initiatives,” Griffin wrote.

In 2018, Griffin was the No. 5 draft by the Seahawks. By 2020, he was waived by the team and signed to the practice squad, according to ESPN.

In his piece for The Players’ Tribune, he wrote, “I didn’t want people thinking, ‘Aw, the one-handed player got cut.’ I don’t do sympathy, man. I don’t like people feeling sorry for me. But at no point did I ever think that that was it for me in the NFL.”

He was later signed as a free agent for the Miami Dolphins – while his twin brother played for the Jacksonville Jaguars – and was later released by the team.

“The Dolphins cut me before the 2021 season. I worked out for the Cardinals, the Titans and the Jets, and then I got calls from Buffalo, Dallas and Atlanta,” Griffin wrote. “But after that Jets workout, I realized something. All this traveling around, working out for teams, trying to catch on somewhere, trying to hang on — it wasn’t what I wanted. Football had already given me so much, and the only thing I still really wanted from the game was to play with my brother again.”

As he mulled his future, he told his agent, “Unless it’s Jacksonville, I’m good.”

Football was always his “Plan B,” he added. “Plan A” was attending college, getting an education and a life off the field — essentially the work he looks forward to with the NFL Legends Community.