Former Atlanta Falcons safety Keanu Neal is officially calling it a career. The 29-year-old announced he was retiring from the NFL in a social media post that thanked the Falcons for giving him his start.
“Wanna give a big thank you to the Atlanta Falcons for drafting and giving me a chance to make an impact,” Neal posted on Sunday.
The Falcons selected Neal with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He spent five seasons in Atlanta (2016-2020) but suffered a few devastating injuries right when his career seemed to be taking off.
Neal made the Pro Bowl in his second season before missing most of the 2018 and 2019 seasons due to injuries. Falcons fans wished the former first-round pick well on Twitter.
Falcons fans react to Neal’s retirement:
An incredible ball player https://t.co/SBklj0jbHI
— Brice Spaulding (@CoachBSpaulding) February 23, 2025
Falcons légend
https://t.co/CXiHkeaMrE pic.twitter.com/dxXUMQDcJW
—
ChefDom
(@11ChefDom) February 23, 2025
One of the few players I’m actually heartbroken… he never recovered from those Injuries https://t.co/dnea4zI3Kl
— RUA (0-0) (@RUA200000) February 23, 2025
Low key sad what happened to him he was a really good safety his first 2 years in the league and looked like he was gonna have a great career and then tore his ACL and achilles in back to back years which pretty much cooked him https://t.co/b2piDZS3M1
— Brady (@bre1er) February 23, 2025
I saw this man get drafted bro. Im really reaching unc status
https://t.co/CXiHkeaMrE pic.twitter.com/DDcs1cX8vK
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— Anthony White (@RealAntsii) February 23, 2025
Neal appeared in 89 career games (69 starts), recording 523 tackles (361 solo), eight forced fumbles and four interceptions over eight years in the NFL.