Zach Orr


Zachary Orr is a former American football linebacker who played three seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at North Texas and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He currently serves as the coaching analyst for the Ravens.

Professional career

Orr was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He made the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie and finished second on the team with 7 special teams tackles.
Orr began the 2016 season as the Ravens starting weak-side linebacker, and sealed a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 with an interception in the waning seconds. He started all 15 games he played in recording 132 tackles, five passes defensed, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. He was placed on injured reserve on December 30, 2016, prior to the season finale. He was named second-team All-Pro after the 2016 season.
Orr announced his retirement from the NFL on January 20, 2017 due to a congenital neck/spine condition that ended his season. On June 28, 2017, Orr announced on Good Morning Football that he would be coming out of retirement and return to football after receiving encouraging diagnoses about the congenital spinal condition. Orr was set to be a restricted free agent in 2017, but the Ravens never placed a tender on him since they assumed he would retire, therefore making Orr an unrestricted free agent.
After visiting with six teams and talking with 11 others, no team would sign him due to his spinal condition and herniated disc. He officially announced his retirement for a second time on August 18, 2017.
11 days after announcing his second retirement, Ravens coach John Harbaugh announced that Orr would be joining the team as an assistant linebackers coach.

Personal life

Orr is the son of former Washington Redskins tight end Terry Orr. He has three brothers, all of whom have played college football: older brother Terrance, who played at Texas State, younger brother Nick, who played at TCU and youngest brother Chris, who currently plays for the Carolina Panthers.
Orr was born with a rare spinal condition where his C-1 vertebrae, the one located at the top of his neck below his skull, was not fully developed. It was revealed that if Orr took a bad hit, the C-1 could explode and may result in death. This promptly forced Orr to retire from professional football after his third season, coming off a breakout season where he led the Ravens in tackles and earned second-team All-Pro in 2016.