The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation has been in the news a lot lately. Longtime starter Ben Roethlisberger decided to hang up the cleats after this past season and now another former Steelers quarterback has announced that he is retiring from the game of football at age 26.
Devlin “Duck” Hodges, who started six games for the Steelers in 2019, announced last Friday that he was retiring from the sport after spending last season with the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks.
Thank you and we wish you the best in retirement, Duck.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced that quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges has retired from professional football.
→ https://t.co/qFvorayMcA pic.twitter.com/4bPx3K7Ydz
— Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) April 22, 2022
I’d like to thank the REDBLACKS for bringing me to Ottawa and giving me this opportunity,” wrote Hodges. “I have gained a lot of respect for the CFL and its fans – particularly RNation! I’m excited to see what the future holds but I know that the next chapter in my life is going to be fun.”
Hodges, a four-year starter for Samford, signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in 2019. While he was cut a short while later, he was signed to the practice squad. When Mason Rudolph went down with an injury, coupled with Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending injury, Hodges was elevated and appeared in eight games for the NFL squad, starting six of them. He finished 3-3 as a starter and put up 1,063 passing yards, five touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
Duck Hodges answers the call for the @steelers 🦆
@DevlinHodges10
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/z0X3wVmTP5— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 24, 2019
Duck was waived the following year and spent 2020 on the practice squad, briefly spending time on a reserve contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 before leaving for the CFL. Despite signing a three-year deal with the Redblacks, Hodges struggled on the season and decided to hang up the cleats afterward.
Still, Steelers fans will always remember the brief magic that Duck Hodges brought to the field, helping them avert disaster in a season that could have been much worse.
