Former Norman North High School standout and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Jordan Evans has retired from football.
A Norman legend and former Oklahoma Sooner has officially retired from football. Jordan Evans decided to quit from football because he no longer wanted to pursue a professional career on the gridiron.
“I knew this day would come, I didn’t know when, but now I do,” Evans said in his announcement on social media. “I have decided to hang up the cleats and retire from playing the game l love. Over the many years of my football career, I have dedicated so much time, hard work, dedication, and sacrifice to hit the goals I have set for myself. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what this journey has been. I’ve enjoyed every game, practice, workout, wins, and losses, ups and downs. 1 am beyond thankful to my support system. To my coaches, teammates, trainers, and agents, I thank you. To my church families, I thank you. To my friends and family, I thank you. I wanted to be someone that people could say they knew. An inspiration and an example to the next generation of athletes. Someone the city of Norman would claim. A brother that his little sisters could look up to, a son a mother could love and support, and a man that his father would be proud of. To the little kid trying to fit into his dad’s jersey, you had the dream. At 6, you had the vision, at 26, you had the growth, and to 50, you stayed true to yourself. I am proud of myself because now I can look back and see that it was all worth it. Ultimately, I thank my God for He blessed me with all things, and I’ll continue to serve Him, and as He provided before, He will provide again, and I look forward to what is to come.”
Evans, a three-star linebacker in Oklahoma’s 2013 recruiting class and a Norman, Okla. native, was ranked as the state’s No. 11 player out of high school. Evans has 98 total tackles, 9.5 for loss, and 2.5 sacks in his final season with the Sooners in 2016. Evans also had four interceptions for Oklahoma that season, returning two of them for touchdowns.
Evans, a sixth-round choice from Oklahoma in the 2017 NFL Draft, was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals to begin his professional career. He played for the Bengals from 2017 to 2021 before being sidelined due to injuries, including a torn ACL in week five of the ’21 season. He’d return to the professional ranks in 2023, signing with the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. Evans was selected by the DC Defenders in the 2024 UFL Dispersal Draft earlier this year, in January, but was waived a few months later.