Longtime Redskins offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger is hanging up his cleats after an eight-year career. He started 75 games for the Redskins over seven years in Washington.
After eight seasons in the NFL – the last seven of which were with the Washington Redskins – Kory Lichtensteiger has retired.
Take a look back on Kory Lichtensteiger's seven years with the Washington Redskins.
"After much thought and consideration, I have decided to retire from the National Football League," Lichtensteiger said. "I am grateful beyond words to the Washington Redskins organization. I would like to thank the ownership as a whole and specifically Dan Snyder and his family for the opportunity to play the bulk of my career here in Washington."
Added head coach Jay Gruden: "We want to congratulate Kory on a very successful career. Kory has been a class act both on and off the field and worked tirelessly on becoming the best player he could possibly be. Kory defied the odds of being undersized because of his competitive spirit, accountability and attention to detail. It also helps to be tough as hell. We want to thank Kory for his relentless effort and leadership and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
During his time in Washington, the 31-year-old appeared in 77 games with 75 starts. He started his NFL career with the Denver Broncos after being selected with the 108th-overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
The Bowling Green State product was waived by the Broncos after his rookie season before a brief three-week stint with the Minnesota Vikings in Sept. 2009.
Lichtensteiger signed with the Redskins on Jan. 11, 2010, and was an immediate contributor in Washington, as he appeared in all 16 games that season with 14 starts.
After being a backup for the first two games that year, Lichtensteiger made his first career start in Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams.
In 2012, Lichtensteiger started all 16 games for the Redskins (he was named the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner after suffering a season-ending injury in 2011) and helped paved the way for an NFL-best 2,709 rushing yards. That season was also the start of 53 consecutive starts for Lichtensteiger between two different positions.
Despite having not played center since college, Lichtensteiger successfully slid over to center in 2014 under then-new head coach Jay Gruden. He would started 24 games at center over the next three seasons including five for the NFC East champion squad in 2015 prior to his retirement.
With Lichtensteiger moving on from his playing career, the Redskins currently Spencer Long – who started 12 games at center in 2016 -- under contract along with offensive lineman Ronald Patrick, who took center reps with the practice squad last year.
Veteran center John Sullivan, meanwhile, is set to be an unrestricted free agent after signing with the Redskins in September.
