Football can be a brutal game, and players sometimes have to make decisions to quit the game based on their injury histories.

On Tuesday, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt revealed to WNML’s Jimmy Hyams that LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. and TE James Brown have given up football.

Per Hyams’ tweet, Brown is taking a medical hardship waiver, while Kirkland has already graduated from the university:

Kirkland’s departure, which seems to have been caused by chronic knee issues, doesn’t come as a surprise, as Pruitt hinted a couple of months ago that he was unlikely to return to the team.

Those are some hits to the Vols’ depth, but it sounds like Pruitt wasn’t caught off-guard by them, so there will be plenty of time to develop backups as these former Vols transition into the next phases of their lives.