A few lucky NFL players go out on their own terms, but many fizzle out of the league despite feeling like they still have what it takes to contribute. Former Pittsburgh Steelers DL Breiden Fehoko is among the latter, and he shared the exact moment he knew it was time to move on.

“This is how I knew it was over with. Last year, when I got to Pittsburgh, we had just joint practiced with Tampa Bay…One-on-one, I am killing [their] ass. Mind you, I wasn’t doing nothing; I was unsigned straight off the couch,” Fehoko said on his The Fehoko Show podcast. “I’m back in the groove of things. We get to the game, this coach, and I won’t name him, he [doesn’t] put me in until about the fourth quarter with four minutes.

“Sometimes the writing is on the wall. From a pride perspective and from a mental perspective, if the writing is on the wall, sometimes you gotta accept it…I’m not going to fight this political battle of, like, I’m balling the fuck out, and I can’t play. I’m not getting an opportunity.”

He didn’t mention the coach’s name, but there’s a high chance that it was former defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.

Fehoko stepped into a difficult situation last offseason with two new draft picks along the defensive line. His path to the roster was already narrow, and he joined the team late in the process. By the time the week of joint practice with the Buccaneers concluded, there was one more preseason game before cutdowns.

Despite the limited playing time, Fehoko managed two tackles in that Buccaneers game. Two days later, before the final preseason game, Fehoko was released for the final time. Just a few months later, he announced his retirement from the league at 29 years old.

Going undrafted in 2020, Fehoko carved out a respectable career for himself. He played in 19 games and made four starts for the Los Angeles Chargers. He racked up 36 total tackles and a tackle for loss.

Professional football players put everything they have into the game, often grinding 365 days a year to stay relevant. The average career is just 3.3 years. Anything beyond that, especially for an undrafted player, is a huge success.

Once Fehoko didn’t feel like he had a fair shot despite his practice performance, he hung it up. For him, that meant moving onto the media side of things. Fehoko has already started to carve out a presence on X and YouTube, debuting his show with guests like Patrick Queen, Ben DiNucci, Kendrick Green, and Dylan Cook.