Charles “Peanut” Tillman announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday in amazing fashion.
Tillman sent out a tweet saying, “It’s been real”, with a YouTube video attached. The video is a short film of Tillman using his “Peanut Punch” to knock things out of the hands of his family members and former teammates. It ends with Tillman clocking out and hanging up his cleats.
Check it out:
Tillman leaves the NFL after a tremendous 13-year career, with 12 of those years being with the Chicago Bears, before playing his final season in 2015 with the Carolina Panthers. He was one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over those years — and a perfect fit in Lovie Smith’s defense — and was particularly incredible at his ability to force turnovers. Tillman forced an unbelievable 44 fumbles, hence the “Peanut Punch” label for that remarkable skill. He also intercepted 38 passes, and had eight defensive touchdowns.
The play Tillman may be most remembered for — and really got his name known around the league — actually came in his rookie year in 2003, when he flat-out took a touchdown away from Randy Moss:
I don’t like to usually get too personal on here, but I’m a huge Chicago Bears fan with Peanut being one of my very favorite all-time players, and his retirement video just perfectly shows how awesome the dude is. He even has a Walter Payton Man of the Year award to back that up. So, thank you, Charles Tillman, for providing many incredible moments on the football field, and for being a fantastic role model to top it off.
