Bears Free Agent Squirrel White Is Retiring Just 16 Days Into His NFL Career

Plenty of NFL rookies only see limited action in the league, but it's pretty rare for someone to be signed to a team and then decide to retire before they've played a single snap. That's exactly what happened with Bears undrafted free agent Squirrel White, who was signed to the team in late April and has already retired.

Following news that the wide receiver had decided to retire before he'd ever even played in an NFL game, many naturally wanted to understand what motivated that decision. Here's what we know.

According to USA Today, the Bears placed Squirrel on their reserve/retired list on May 11, indicating that he had decided to retire from the NFL. Although this was a surprising move, we don't know exactly what motivated this decision, or whether Squirrel made it on his own or in consultation with the team. This comes several days after ESPN Bears writer Courtney Cronin reported that Squirrel left the Bears practice facility during stretches and did not return.

Courtney reported that the rookie receiver left with a trainer, and it seems he didn't return to the practice facility on subsequent days. This would suggest that Squirrel sustained some sort of injury that might have prematurely ended his pro career, but no details on exactly what happened to him have been reported. As an undrafted free agent, Squirrel was looking to prove that he deserved to make the team's final roster.

Before entering the NFL, Squirrel played in college for four years, beginning his career at Tennessee in 2022. He played in 38 games for the team, and in that time caught 131 passes for 1,665 yards and six touchdowns. He transferred to Florida State ahead of the 2025 season and played in 10 games for the Seminoles, where he caught five passes for 52 yards. He did not have an injury history in college, or at least not one that might make you concerned about his professional career.

It's unusual for players to retire from the NFL before they've even gotten the chance to prove they could make it. Whatever happened to Squirrel, it seems like he didn't make the decision to retire from the team entirely on his own. We don't know whether he might try to return to the league or play football somewhere else at some point, but at least for this season, it seems unlikely.

The NFL season is still months away, but this is the point in the year when teams begin to consider who is on their roster and who they might ultimately have to cut. Plenty of players don't make the final team and wind up having to look for work somewhere else.

It's rarer, though, for a player to take the decision out of his team's hands the way Squirrel has, and all before he ever had a chance to really show what he was capable of.