Colts cornerback Xavien Howard retires, picking family over football

Omar Kelly, Miami Herald on Oct 1, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MIAMI — Xavien Howard saw what life was like on the other side, as a civilian in the one season he was away from the NFL in 2024 and the former Pro Bowl cornerback decided abruptly to return to it after playing four games with the Indianapolis Colts.

Howard told the Miami Herald he decided to retire from football Wednesday morning after realizing he’d lost the love for the game despite serving as a starter for one of the hottest NFL teams in 2025.

“I was out too long, taking my kids to school, picking them up. Spending time with my kids. I loved it,” said Howard, who returned to the NFL two weeks before the regular season began when he signed with the Indianapolis Colts after sitting out the 2024 season rehabbing a foot injury he suffered late in 2023.

To continue his NFL career this season, Howard had been living on his own in temporary housing in Indianapolis and the time away from his kids made him begin to resent the NFL.

“My oldest called me and she was crying and that hit me so hard,” Howard said. “My purpose in life on the football field, I did that. At that moment I realized my kids were more important than football.”

Howard, 32, said the Colts (3-1) gave him space to to reconsider his decision, and tried to talk him out of retirement. But Howard claimed that after his season-opening debut against Miami Dolphins, his former team, he was never able to get excited about the upcoming opponents. He even asked himself, “why am I not happy anymore?”

That’s when Howard, a four-time Pro Bowler who gained a reputation as a ball-hawk in the NFL after delivering 29 interceptions in the 104 games he played, knew it was time to walk away from the sport while he could.

“Being out there on the field and not being happy, that’s not how I want to remember the game. That’s not how I wanted to do it,” Howard said. “I always put my family second to football. I had a hell of a career and I’m cool with that. I’ve lost too much on the family side to continue doing this when my heart isn’t in it.”

The Colts placed Howard on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday evening and signed practice squad safety Trey Washington to it’s 53-man roster.