Detroit Lions

Rashean Mathis announces his retirement after 13 NFL seasons

Published Feb. 16, 2016 2:30 a.m. ET

foxsports

Veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. He played 13 seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2007) and Detroit Lions (2013-2015).

Mathis, 35, made his announcement from a golf course near his offseason home in Jacksonville.

Via Lions multimedia journalist Tori Petry:

Rashean Mathis tells me he is retiring. Our exclusive conversation: https://t.co/FSAF5iO0Hj pic.twitter.com/npwyRX8hBj
— Tori Petry (@sportstori) February 16, 2016

Mathis was a second-round pick out of Bethune-Cookman in the 2003 NFL draft. He was an immediate starter for the Jaguars and did not miss a single game in his first four seasons, leading to the only Pro Bowl appearance of his career in 2006. He recorded a career-high eight interceptions that year, earning him a first-team All-Pro bid as well.

After 10 seasons with the Jaguars, Mathis played out the twilight of his career with the Lions. He was a full-time starter for Detroit until a concussion forced him to the sideline midway through the 2015 season and eventually landed him on injured reserve.

The Lions have a trio of young, rising cornerbacks -- Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson and Quandre Diggs -- in position to fill the void left behind by Mathis' retirement.