Chris Streveler spent 23 years chasing a dream he wrote about in a fifth-grade notebook. On March 29, he finally closed the book. The 31-year-old quarterback announced his retirement through an Instagram video, a mix of career highlights and a voiceover that felt as honest as the career it was summing up.
Three NFL seasons split between the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets, eight years as a professional, and a CFL run with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that turned him into something the football world doesn’t produce often, an undrafted, position-switched, overlooked kid who made it work anyway.
“I love football but today is my last day as a professional football player,” Streveler said in the video.
“This game has given me opportunities beyond my wildest dreams. This game has challenged me with obstacles I thought I’d never overcome. This game has forged lifelong bonds with people I would have never met otherwise. I’ve been playing this game since I was eight years old.” Strevler added. “Today, I’m 31. I remember a little fifth-grade Chris Streveler, practicing his autograph in his notebooks at school and telling everyone he’s gonna be a professional football player. If I could rewind time and tell that kid the journey he would go on in this game, he’d never believe me.”
Streveler’s path to professional football was anything but straightforward. He went undrafted out of the University of South Dakota, was told to switch positions in college, and entered the NFL with nothing guaranteed.
Still, he carved out eight years at the professional level, earned roster spots across multiple teams, and became one of the more reliable goal-line weapons in the CFL.
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His breakout came in Winnipeg in 2018 and 2019, where he helped the Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup that year. He bounced between the CFL and NFL over the following seasons, finishing out his career back with Winnipeg. In 2025, his final season, he threw for 1,103 yards with six touchdowns and 11 interceptions across 18 games and added nine rushing scores.
Across 66 CFL appearances, all with the Blue Bombers, he finished with 4,144 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 41 rushing touchdowns. His NFL stint covered nine games with Arizona and New York, where he eventually backed up Zach Collaros before stepping away.
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