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Ex-Patriots OL Sebastian Vollmer has dropped 75 pounds since retiring

Frank Schwab
NFL writer

We can put to rest any thought that former New England Patriots offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer will return to the NFL, unless someone wants him as a linebacker or a big running back.

Vollmer has done what many NFL offensive linemen do when they retire: He lost a lot of weight in an amazingly short period of time. At some point in the past year, Vollmer retired and dropped about 75 pounds. Vollmer talked about his weight loss on Sirius XM Radio (h/t to NESN) and confirmed he won’t play football anymore, though we could have figured that out by his new physique.

Vollmer was listed at 320 pounds when he was a Patriots tackle, so he’s probably about 245 now. The photo on the left his Vollmer’s mug shot with the Patriots from last May. The one on the right is from his appearance this week at NFL Films’ “Broadcast Bootcamp,” via @SiriusXMNFL on Twitter:

Sebastian Vollmer pictured last year (left) and now (right). (AP/Twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL)
Sebastian Vollmer pictured last year (L) and now (R). (AP/Twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL)

You can also see some photos of the new, svelte Vollmer here:

Vollmer began training camp last year on the physically unable to perform list, started the regular season on the PUP list and eventually landed on injured reserve in late November. He had hip and shoulder injuries. So it’s hard to pinpoint when he decided he was done with football and started to drop all that weight, but it’s sometime within the last calendar year.

It’s fairly common for NFL linemen to drop a staggering amount of weight upon retirement. Guys like former Carolina Panthers tackle Jordan Gross, former San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick and former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday looked like brand new people a few months after retirement due to substantial weight loss. It leads you to wonder how unhealthy the lifestyles of NFL offensive linemen are, carrying way too much weight that’s easily discarded when they don’t have to consume thousands of extra calories every day.

Vollmer had a solid career, starting 80 games for the Patriots from 2009-15. Injuries held back the former second-round pick, but he also got to start at right tackle in a Super Bowl XLIX win for the Patriots.

Hopefully he’ll have a fine post-playing career, in broadcasting or something else. He certainly looks healthier than he did a few months ago.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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