Former Pittsburgh Steelers DL Breiden Fehoko has officially retired from the NFL. In an Instagram post shared to his Twitter/X account, Fehoko announced he is stepping away from the game at the age of 29.
“29 years old and I couldn’t be happier with the journey of where this game has taken me,” he wrote, in part.
Fehoko thanked his family, coaches, and teammates for supporting him throughout his football career. Undrafted in 2020, he spent three years with the Los Angeles Chargers. He appeared in 19 games and made four starts, recording 36 tackles as a run-stuffing nose tackle. Breaking into the NFL during the COVID year was no small feat.
Pittsburgh signed him ahead of the 2023 season. He bounced on and off the team’s practice squad and was once briefly put on the 53-man roster, dressing for one game but not entering it. He officially never appeared in a game for the Steelers. In 2024, he suffered a shoulder injury during training camp and landed on injured reserve. Later, he was waived and then brought back to the practice squad later in the year.
During his first stint with the team, he was briefly teammates with cousin WR Simi Fehoko before Simi was poached by the Los Angeles Chargers. Simi remains in the NFL and is currently on injured reserve with the Arizona Cardinals.
A free agent throughout the 2025 offseason, the Steelers signed Fehoko back on August 2 after suffering multiple defensive line injuries. A new-look Fehoko had slimmed down 37 pounds, playing defensive end instead of nose tackle. He played well in preseason action but was cut on August 18th.
In July interview with Steelers Depot, Fehoko told us he still wanted to pursue a football career but was already thinking about what could come next. He also referenced the Steelers were willing to give him a coaching assistant job, though it’s unclear how far those talks got and if the offer could still be on the table.
“He said, the door’s open for business,” Fehoko said in the interview of his interactions with Mike Tomlin. “He was always appreciative of the way I handled myself, especially the last two years there. I knew Mike T. was very open to me.”
Since his release, Fehoko has offered his football insights on Twitter/X and regularly given his opinion of the Steelers. Now, he’s getting ready to officially move on with life’s work.
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