Former New York Jets offensive lineman Brandon Moore has backed out of a deal with the Dallas Cowboys and told the team he plans to retire.
A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Moore changed his mind Wednesday morning after agreeing to a deal the night before. The person spoke on conditioning of anonymity because no announcement was planned.
Moore didn't immediately return a message from the AP seeking comment, but head coach Jason Garrett addressed Moore's retirement during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
"We thought we were close to an agreement with him. He decided when he woke up this morning that he didn't want to play football anymore, so we respect that decision and will continue to try to evaluate that position and see if we can address it as we go forward," Garrett said.
The Cowboys have been dealing with injuries at guard since training camp began more than two weeks ago. Last year's starters, Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau, have missed time.
Livings may not be ready for the season opener after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee for the second time in six months. He missed the start of camp with a cut on his foot. Bernadeau strained a hamstring in the pre-camp conditioning test and missed almost two weeks.
The 33-year-old Moore played 10 seasons for the Jets and started all 16 games for the last eight of those. He became infamous last Thanksgiving, when Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez fell down and lost a fumble after running into Moore's backside in a 49-19 loss to New England.
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Moore told ESPN he didn't want to leave his family for the cross-country trip to California. He had ties to Dallas through Cowboys offensive coordinator Bill Callahan, who was the Jets' line coach for four years before joining Dallas last season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team was looking for a veteran at guard because they plan to start rookie Travis Frederick at center and possibly another young player in second-year guard Ron Leary.
The planned move was a sign that Dallas is losing faith in Livings and Bernadeau just a year after signing both as free agents.
"I think the fact that they're limited, they've had injury, they've been out of camp, they were out of the preseason," Jones said. "I think that you could say yes that had something to do with it. That and the fact we're relatively young in there."
