Mike DeVito says he retired due to concussions

Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Mike DeVito said he retired in large part due to concussions.

DeVito split a nine-year career between the New York Jets and Chiefs before withdrawing from the game in April.

The 32-year-old revealed that his wife coerced him into retiring after suffering numerous concussions and Achilles injuries.

"If it was just me up here and I didn't have a family, my wife and two sons, that'd be one thing. I probably would have went back," DeVito said Sunday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "But my wife has really helped me make that decision, to say, 'OK, you know, I can't sit through watching you get these concussions and watching you tear your Achilles and all those kind of things.'"

The latter part of DeVito's career was riddled with injuries and he played a full season just three times.

With an increasingly high number of players ending their careers in the midst of their primes due to fears of their lives after football, DeVito hinted the concussion epidemic factored into his decision.

"I think the more and more stuff that comes out about the injuries and, obviously, the concussions is a big thing now," DeVito said. "Just the long-term effect of stuff and the studies that are being done, I think guys are trying to find that balance between, 'OK, I'm playing it as well as I can and I'm doing things on the field, but at the same time I'm making sure my quality of life after football is also going to be something that's not struggling.'"