Former Panthers defensive end Wes Horton has announced his retirement at 30 years old after spending seven seasons with the Panthers.
Horton played from 2013-18 for the Panthers after joining the team as an undrafted free agent out of Southern California. During the 2013 season, he was the only undrafted rookie in the NFL to have two or more sacks in a game; after most of six seasons in Carolina, Horton spent some time with the Saints in the summer of 2019 before being resigned by Carolina in Week 10 of 2019 and finishing his career where it began.
Horton played in 83 games with 35 starts for the Panthers, notching seven forced fumbles, 15.5 sacks, 97 combined tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 24 quarterback hits over his career.
“I’ve made this decision off two reasons,” Horton said via Instagram post. “The first is my overall health. The little injuries I’ve accumulated over the years have finally caught up to me and when weighing the risk, I’d rather preserve what’s left of my body. Second reason being the conviction Christ has put on my heart to help teach and mentor the next generation. All my life has been about me and what I needed to do to find personal success. I believe I found that success as a undrafted rookie playing 7 seasons and at one point being tied for the most sack fumbles in the NFL.”
Horton will coach defensive line at his former high school in Sherman Oaks, CA. He promises to “bring G2X to the high school level to help these next generation of rushers.”
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.
