Dat Nguyen gave a brief interview while signing books at an appearance on Monday night. While he didn't confirm his retirement, he came pretty close.
"I've still got a couple of weeks to sit down and do a final evaluation of where I stand," Nguyen said. "I'm not (leaning any particular way), but if anything, it doesn't look good and I'm going to do what's best for my health and my family. The game has been good to me and I had a good run. When I first started in this game as a profession, I knew that one day it was going to end."
That's pretty close to confirming it and later in the article when he talks about not walking with a cane and being able to play with his two daughters, he's ready to go. I've written often about the kind of player and the kind of person Dat is, and how he's represented this franchise with excellence and class. I wish nothing but good fortune for his future and salute his career with Dallas.
It's interesting how he knew the time had come. It all crystallized for him on one play against Oakland.
"I knew I had (Lamont Jordan) tackled, and I couldn't get there," Nguyen said. "From then on, I knew something was wrong. You know your body better than anybody else and when the body tells you something that you don't want to hear, you better listen."
By the way, Dat rules out coaching as a post-football career instead saying he wants to focus on charities.
I'll give Dat the last word.
"I never even thought I'd play college ball, much less play in the NFL," Nguyen said. "It's been a great ride. I played this game and it's a great game and it was fun, but I knew that it was going to end and that chapter of your life is going to close one day."
