Former Cincinnati Bengals and NFL running back Jeremy Hill is officially retiring from professional football. 

A second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Hill played four seasons in Cincinnati, three of them as the starter for most of the year. He rushed for a total of 2,873 yards and 29 touchdowns in 54 career games with the Bengals. 

The announcement, which came via Hill's instagram, makes two former Bengals ballcarriers retiring this offseason. Hill's former running mate Giovani Bernard also called it a career back in April. 

Here is Hill's statement regarding his decision to walk away from the game, five years after he played what would be his final snap.

"Unfortunately due to the injuries I sustained September 9, 2018, I will no longer be pursuing my career in professional football, that’s right I’m retiring from the game that we all love so dearly, it’s been one hell of a journey and I wouldn’t have been close to enjoying it without my family specifically my Mother, my coaches and all the great teammates I was blessed to play with. Now the fun part of life starts for me but in the mean time I will be doing everything in my power to help the next generation in our game so we all can continue to enjoy our great sport for decades to come." – Jeremy Hill

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsmstoQLlAx

Hill began his career in 2014 as the backup to Bernard in the Bengals' backfield, but he would quickly assert himself in an offense that needed a spark. Injuries to Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones put a reliance on the ground game, and Hill answered the bell. He broke out in Week 8 of that season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, carrying the ball 24 times for 154 yards and two scores. 

That performance kickstarted a dominant second-half run by the rookie. Hill amassed 929 yards and six touchdowns in the team's final nine games. His 1,124 total rushing yards came up just five yards short of Corey Dillion's rookie rushing yardage franchise record.

Hill would continue to be productive for the next two years, but not as efficient. He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry from 2015-16 after averaging 5.1 during his rookie year.

Unfortunately, most Bengals fans will remember Hill for his lowest moment, fumbling the ball late in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2016 Wild Card round. Hill's blunder lead to a collapse that still haunts the fanbase to this day. 

The Bengals moved on from Hill the moment they drafted Joe Mixon in Round 2 of the 2017 draft. Hill, Mixon, and Bernard all co-existed for the 2017 season, and then Hill left as a free agent the following offseason, signing with the New England Patriots for the 2018 season.

As Hill mentioned, an injury in Week 1 of that year ultimately ended his football career. Hill stayed with the Patriots for the 2018 season and became a Super Bowl champion, a fact that Hill has bragged about to Bengals fans who persecuted him for his previous playoff stumble. 

Hill would try to restart his career in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders, but that stint lasted just two days during training camp. It was the last opportunity he would get to play in the NFL.

While he was definitely a polarizing figure in Cincinnati, Hill provided exciting moments during the early portion of what ended up being a short career. Perhaps one day, fans will look more kindly on what he did for the team during its mid-2010s run.