Donte Whitner spent 11 seasons in the NFL after being selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2006.
Whitner spent time with the Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders before retiring. On Monday, Whitner was on “The Jim Rome Show,” and the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker said it was so hard that he drank almost every day at first.
“The first two months that I retired, I drank almost every day, Jim, because I didn’t know what to do,” Whitner said. “My schedule was stripped. I didn’t have the people around me.”
"The first two months that I retired, I drank almost every day because I didn't know what to do."@DonteWhitner shares his struggles following his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons. pic.twitter.com/IapuFQ3aYC
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) July 20, 2026
Whitner said he had a nightmare that changed everything and led him to take a job covering the 49ers on television in a bit of a wake-up call.
Whitner signed a four-year deal worth $28 million with the Browns in 2014, and he was released before the 2016 season. Whitner then fired a parting shot at the Browns due to the timing of his release.
Whitner’s final season was with Washington, and he played in 11 games before retiring from the league. After NBC Sports Bay Area dropped Donte Whitner, he started his own show, “The Grit Code Podcast.”
