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PJ Walker joins a growing list of players who have retired from football.
Before Thursday’s announcement, the linebacker, who spent time with several NFL teams and had a title in the defunct XFL, was set to suit up for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League for the upcoming 2026 season.
Walker is retiring after nine professional seasons, the team confirmed. “The Stampeders have been notified that linebacker PJ Walker has decided to retire from football after nine years as a professional,” the Stampeders wrote in the X.
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Quarterback PJ Walker of the Seattle Seahawks yells before the incident during an NFL preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at Lumen Field in Seattle on Aug. 24, 2024. (Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)
Walker saw limited action last season with the Stampeders, serving as a backup. He started in one game in 2025, finishing the season with 395 passing yards and two touchdowns against four interceptions.
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Before becoming a champion, Walker starred at Temple, where he set many school passing records. He also led the Owls in multiple bowl appearances, becoming the first quarterback in program history to do so. Walker went undrafted in 2017, but eventually signed as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts.
Walker didn’t make regular appearances during his three-year stint with the Colts, where he was released multiple times, signed and re-signed to the practice squad, and inked multiple reserve/future contracts.
Walker did not see his first NFL regular season action until 2020, when he made four appearances with the Carolina Panthers.
PJ Walker of the Carolina Panthers looks to pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 30, 2022. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
He played six games in 2022 in his third – and final – season in Carolina, highlighted by a shocking 67-yard touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons.
The play was canceled by a penalty on a Panthers player removing his helmet, but the throw still went farther in the air than any pass completed since 2016, according to Next Gen Stats. Carolina eventually lost the game 37-34 in overtime.
Cleveland Browns quarterback PJ Walker warms up before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Oct. 15, 2023. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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In addition to his time with the Colts and Panthers, Walker made two offers to the Cleveland Browns in 2023. He also signed with the Chicago Bears that year and played in the preseason with the Seattle Seahawks in 2024.
Walker arguably had his best season in 2020 with the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks.
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