Originally posted on 12/09/2013:

Lions' Sanders Retires From NFL
Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders is only 1,458 yards shy of breaking the NFL career rushing record. (Reuters)
By Leonard Shapiro and Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writers ; Page D1Barry Sanders dashed away from professional football yesterday, announcing his retirement while still in the prime of his career. He left the Detroit Lions grasping for answers the way defenders often grasped for the elusive running back with the breathtaking moves, only to catch air instead."The reason I am retiring is very simple," Sanders said in a statement released yesterday. "My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it."