Kordell Stewart gets his closure, officially retires from football

Slash finally has made the decision to retire. (US Presswire)

If you thought former Steelers Renaissance Man Kordell Stewart had retired before Wednesday, you were wrong. Dead wrong.

Stewart let everybody know that Wednesday when he returned to Pittsburgh to announce the retirement you thought you knew about seven years ago. No matter that he last played during the 2005 season and that he last played for the Steelers in 2002 and that he last started a 16-game schedule in 2001. Tuesday was the day Stewart officially called it quits.

So, um, why is he letting us know now? Closure, apparently.

“It's not closure in a negative way, it's closure in a positive way,” he said, via the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “... I had a great time doing it. It's about the experience."

Certainly, Stewart had some positive experiences while in Pittsburgh. He helped the Steelers to an 11-5 record in 1997, throwing a career-high 21 touchdowns in the process, and he made his only Pro Bowl in 2001 when he led the team to a 13-3 record while passing for 3,109 yards and rushing for 537 more.

By 2003, Tommy Maddox had taken over the starting quarterback role in Pittsburgh, and Stewart moved to Chicago, where he went 2-5 as a starter and threw seven touchdowns against 12 interceptions. His final two seasons were spent with the Ravens where he backed up Kyle Boller.

After the 2005 season, he was out of football. Sort of, I guess, because he never officially retired. Now, the 39-year-old has made it official. So, don't go picking Stewart for your fantasy football team this year, you guys, because, as of this moment, he is no longer in the NFL.

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