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U.S. Army veteran and two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva will retire after seven NFL seasons.
The Baltimore Ravens confirmed the 33-year-old offensive tackle has been placed on their reserve/retirement list in a news release shared on their official website Wednesday (March 9).
The Ravens will save $6 million in cap space by placing Villanueva on the reserve/retirement list, according to overthecap.com.
Villanueva spent the 2021 season with Baltimore after six seasons with the AFC North Division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, which included playing 113 consecutive regular season games and making 107 starts at offensive tackle, as well as being selected to the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018.
The Army veteran was initially spotted by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during a preseason game and signed to Pittsburgh's practice squad eight days after being waived by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014.
Villanueva switched positions from defensive end to offensive tackle upon joining the Steelers and went up from 250 pounds to 340 pounds during his first year with the team before signing a two-year, $960,000 reserves/futures contract in 2015.
Villanueva initially saw playing time in the absence of then-second-team tackle Mike Adams, who was unable to recover from an injury prior to the regular season.
The Ravens acquired Villanueva after trading Orlando Brown Jr. to the Kansas City Chiefs last April.