by Tony Renteria

SANTA CLARA–It was as early as the first pre season game in August when the 49ers Mike Borland 24 told his parents that he knew he would not last long in the NFL. He told them he was concerned about concussions in the game and saw what it did to many players in the league.

Although 2015 was his first year, he studied closely about what the consequences were regarding concussions and the long term effects it does to players throughout the NFL. Borland learned about former San Diego Charger Junior Seau who killed himself and that was alarming to him. He wondered could Seau’s suicide be related to head injuries from the game.

Borland said he wanted to have rich long life and played a very stellar rookie season for San Francisco and throughout 2014 season and gave retirement some very serious thought and realized the dangers of concussions. He saw playing the game what the injuries and the collisions were doing to players daily and he thought of his future and no longer wanted anything to do with pro football after thinking it over.

Borland told ESPN’s Outside the Lines he wanted what was best for his health, the retirement comes as a shock to his teammates, media and fans after the type of a rookie year he had in the NFL leading San Francisco in tackles with 108, one sack and two interceptions.

Borland was said to be off to one of the biggest careers in the NFL and off the field the 49ers brass was impressed by the way he carried himself and even general manager Trent Baalke who was shocked by the announcement saying Borland was the “consummate professional.”

Borland telling Outside the Lines on Monday regarding ending his one year career in football, “from what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced I don’t think it’s worth the risk. I feel largely the same, as sharp as I ever been. For me, it’s being proactive. I’m concerned that if you wait til you have symptoms it’s too late.” Borland is the second 49er to retire this month Patrick Willis said that he was having foot problems and said he had to retire.

Tony Renteria covers the NFL for http://www.sportsradioservice.com