What player in the NFL, past or present, would you have wanted to see succeed so badly but due to injuries, off the field issues, or whatever happened just derailed their career? For me it was unfortunate to see players like Josh Gordon or Justin Blackmon have their careers end or never getting back on track because of off-field issues.
The injury revealed that he had a particular condition that made him more susceptible to neck injuries, so the doctors wouldn’t clear him to keep playing because a similarly innocuous hit could paralyze him. If memory serves, it’s the same reason Sterling Sharpe retired, plus another promising young WR named Terrence Murphy for the Packers. (That one was again the Panthers too, coincidentally.)