On Tuesday, Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell announced that quarterback Ryan Burger would medically retire due to ongoing concussions. This comes on the heels of Burger being held out of Liberty’s season-opening win over Maine this past Saturday, where he was on the sidelines in street clothes.

“Ryan Burger has been medically disqualified,” Chadwell said. “So, he will no longer play anymore. He’s going to help us coach. He had a setback last week during practice from head injuries/concussions that he’s had. He’s just had too many that if he got another one it could jeopardize his future. The doctors and everybody, we all felt like that was the best course of action.”

Burger competed with Ethan Vasko throughout the off-season and into training camp for the starting quarterback job for the Flames. Last Thursday, just two days ahead of the season opener, Chadwell announced it was Vasko who had won the job. This past Saturday, Burger did not dress in his uniform for the game, as he was held out due to an injury suffered during practice.

Ryan Burger joined the Flames a year ago through the transfer portal, coming over from Appalachian State where he began the 2023 season as App’s starting quarterback before suffering a hand injury in the first half of the first game that caused him to miss the remainder of that season. Burger served as Kaidon Salter’s backup in 2024 at Liberty. He got playing time in five games, most notably in the Bahamas Bowl against Buffalo, where Liberty lost 26-7. Burger started that game as Salter was already in the transfer portal. He completed 4 of 12 passes for 40 yards and was sacked 3 times. He also rushed 11 times for 57 yards.

Burger has had issues with concussions, especially over the past year. He suffered a concussion in the 2024 regular season finale at Sam Houston that forced him to miss several practices leading up to the Bahamas Bowl. He returned to the field and started the bowl game for the Flames, but suffered another concussion during the game and missed the entire spring practice session as he recovered.

The 6’4″, 205-pound quarterback is originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He spent two seasons at Appalachian State and was entering his second year at Liberty. He played in seven games total during his college career with two starts. He finishes his time in college completing 19 of 36 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 23 times for 83 yards and a touchdown.

“He will help us coach, be a student assistant while he finishes up his degree,” Chadwell continued. “We are disappointed for him. He put a lot of work in to come back from the injuries that he had. I hate it for him, but also I know he’s at peace, as well, because it’s got to be bigger than football. With his future, you don’t want to risk some type of serious injury there. We are disappointed for him. He’s got a great knowledge. We are excited that he’s going to help us coach. He’s pretty good at schemes. So, we are going to put him to work already.”

With Burger sidelined, North Carolina transfer Michael Merdinger moves up from his third string spot on the depth to being Vasko’s backup. Chadwell says he is not completely settled on who is the third-string quarterback now as redshirt-freshman Jayden Bradford and true freshman Ethan Houck will continue to work in practice to solidify the depth chart behind Vasko and Merdinger.