Rashean Mathis announces his retirement after 13 NFL seasons
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.
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