Last year, with Christmas and New Year approaching, the San Francisco 49ers were preparing for their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 22. However, an offensive lineman of the 49ers spent his day off donating 250 free meals to South Florida families. Yes, you read that right, families from the city of the rival camp. Not only that year, but he had been doing that for three years. He had to do that. Not just because he grew up in Miami and Davie, but the cities, especially Davie, are the witnesses to his rise from a homeless child to the ranks of a football pro. And it was this battered childhood that dragged him from the hardwood to the gridiron.

Born in East Meadow, New York, he was just 3 when his parents were divorced. His mother, Alicia, is a two-time cancer survivor, while his younger brother Chris was born deaf. He moved to Miami after the divorce, then moved north to Davie when he was in fifth grade only to live in a trailer. Adding to their woes was his older brother, Rafael, who used to be violent at times towards him and his mother. It is precisely for this reason that he left his favorite basketball and turned to football. “He would beat me up,” he said of Rafael in a 2017 feature for ESPN. “That was one of the reasons I started playing football. I wanted to work out so that I could fight back.”

While he was in 10th grade, the trailer he lived in was condemned. His family moved back to New York, but he stayed back in Florida to realize a dream: to become a Miami Hurricanes. With that in mind, he slept at different homes, including those of his girlfriend and his best friend Sean Cole, who kept telling him, “You can do this.” Cole was behind his nickname “Mongo”, a Short form of “humongous”! He eventually could and finally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2015. But fate played a cruel game on him when he lost Cole in 2016 in a car accident. That derailed him to such an extent that he even had suicidal thoughts back then.

But being a fighter he was, he would go on making an NFL career, having played his first four seasons with the Raiders, followed by three years with the Bills and one with the New York Giants before joining the 49ers in the 2023 season. However, that 10-year-long career came to a tragic halt as this time he could not get over his knee injury suffered in a training camp that made him miss the entire 2024 season.

In a long Instagram post on February 20, San Francisco 49ers’ star guard Jon Feliciano called it a career. Feliciano said, “After months of weighing my options. I realized I had to leave the game. The fire is still there. But I know I can’t last a full season and can’t bring myself to let people down. Being on a team and unable to help out your boys is rough.” At 33, that setback of not being able to play a single snap in 17 games was just too much for Feliciano to go through.

Feliciano underwent knee surgery in August last year. However, in November, 49ers coach, Kyle Shanahan shared a not-so-positive update. “Jon is going to stay on IR. Knee hasn’t responded the right way, so unfortunately for Jon, and us. But just had a talk with him here a little bit ago and he’s going to have to stay on IR,” Shanahan had updated.

Feliciano himself had tweeted back then, that time how disappointed he was for failing to recover from his knee injury. “Tried my hardest. Father Time real. Hoping this ain’t the end but if it is, Hell of a ride.” Now, after three months, the worst possible news about Feliciano’s future comes up. Yes, he couldn’t contribute this season from the O-line. But Feliciano did make the most of his time whenever he was healthy. His journey started with the Raiders, where he was picked No.128 overall. He then went on to play three years for the silver and black before switching to the Bills.

Feliciano spent 2019 to 2021 Bills and said in his statement that, “Buffalo is a unique place I will always call home. Thank you Buffalo for all the love you showed me, my family, and support staff.” After joining the Feliciano instantly took upon the role of a starter. In his first season, he started all 16 games at right guard while earning his first Pro Bowl mention. He even earned a three-year, $17M contract extension in 2021 for being a valuable member of Josh Allen’s O-line.

However, after his sudden release in 2022, a year after signing his extension. Feliciano was again on the move, this time to New York. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants in 2022. And his final destination came in the Bay Area, where he truly excelled at guard. Again signed for a one-year contract, Feliciano played 16 games, starting 7 of them. However, his time with the Niners will be fondly remembered for his contributions to them, making a trip to the Super Bowl LVIII.

He supplanted Spencer Burford as the 2023 49ers’ starting right guard by midseason and entrenched himself in that role up until an elbow injury sidelined him late in the third quarter of their Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss to Kansas City. Burford replaced Feliciano and missed a block on the 49ers’ final offensive play, a blown assignment Feliciano pointed out on social media the following day in defense of right tackle Colton McKivitz.

With Feliciano announcing his decision to hang up his cleats. His former teammates were quick to express their love and respect for him. Christian McCaffrey was one of the first ones to congratulate Jon Feliciano on a wonderful career.

Christian McCaffrey and others react to Jon Feliciano’s shock retirement

Feliciano wasn’t the only one in the Bay Area who had his troubles with injuries. 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was just coming off a two-year, $38M contract extension, was on and off the gridiron last season. He first suffered an injury setback in August before the season, just like Feliciano in the offseason. That pedal Achilles Sprain Grade 2 kept him out of the Niners opening week.

Then, by week 2, it was confirmed McCaffrey had just suffered Achilles Tendinitis on both of his feet. Well, those dual setbacks threw him to the injury reserves until week 10, when he finally made his season debut. However, injuries again caught up to him when McCaffrey ruptured his PCL against the Bills a month later.

This ended his regular season, playing just 4 games in total. So, McCaffrey probably knows all too well how it feels to stay from the gridiron. That’s why when Feliciano announced his retirement, he wrote in his IG story, “Real one It was an honor,” tagging the 49ers star guard. And he wasn’t the only one to pay his respects to Jon. Saquon Barkley, who spent a season with him in 2022, also commented on his retirement post, “Love brother.” However, there’s a twist. With Feliciano walking off from his gridiron duties, he had one final message. “That being said, Buffalo or SF, I’ll be ready for a playoff run in December if you need me.” 

So, it seems he isn’t done after all. That fire to return still lingers deep in Feliciano’s mind. But let’s see whether he does get a call if the Niners or the Bills do make the playoffs. If it does come true, it would be one hell of an emotional return for Feliciano. And we are all counting on it!!