Perhaps not coincidentally, the real love of Roach’s life, his wife, lives in Omaha, Neb., where she is a nurse.
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That was also a factor in the undrafted free agent from Nebraska deciding two years trying to make a go of it in pro football were enough.
“She really loves her job and we would have been living apart again for a lot of the year,” Roach said. “There were a couple of factors, but mainly it was falling out of love with it. And I want to start my own career and I’ve seen guys play for 10 years and have their bodies beat up and I didn’t want to do that.”
Of course, it is also worth noting Roach was far from an established member of the team, something that might have made the often emotional decision to give up the game easier.
He played in four games last season after making his NFL debut in the playoff loss to the Steelers during his rookie year.
Roach leaves behind eight linebackers on the active roster in Cincinnati, where an infusion of youth could be in order this year.
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