Bills center Eric Wood retires due to neck injury

Buffalo Bills center Eric Wood will formally announce his abrupt retirement from the NFL on Monday because of a neck injury.

"I was diagnosed with a neck injury as part of my season-ending physical with the Bills," Wood announced via Twitter on Friday. "After consultation with Dr. Cappuccino and other physicians, I was informed that I was no longer cleared to play football, even with surgery or further treatment."

Wood played every offensive snap for the Bills in 2017 and is one year into the two-year contract extension he signed last offseason worth up to $21.3 million.

Wood, 31, was a first-round pick in the 2009 draft. He spent his entire nine-year career with the Bills.

Knee injuries were an issue for Wood in three of his first NFL seasons, including a broken leg during his rookie season. Replays of that injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars were difficult to watch on replays, Wood later said.

But in 2013 he signed a four-year deal worth $25.4 million and went to his first Pro Bowl in 2015.

--Field Level Media