It might be more accurate to say "parts of eight seasons," as injuries were a pretty frequent part of his career. He played only six games each in 2013 and 2014 before playing in sixteen games this past season, before being injured in the Patriots' first playoff game and missing the rest of their run.
Mayo was 29, but an old 29. The injuries had taken their toll on his physical abilities in his final three seasons with the Patriots, not just on his playing time. Rumors had been floating in the late weeks of the NFL season that Mayo would step away from the game, so the actual announcement wasn't necessarily a surprise to many players.
Apparently Calvin Johnson's announced plans to retire caught more people by surprise. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that this determination was apparently one Johnson. a.k.a. Megatron, made before this most recent season, and was actually kept secret by Johnson and the few (including two Detroit Lions teammates) he told before the season began. Johnson then told the Lions' coach on the final day of the season.
The Lions are caught in a bit of panic, it seems, and are striking the pose that there is still opportunity for Johnson to change his mind. That is certainly true. Their statements seem a little on the desperate side to me, though.
Like Mayo, Johnson has taken his share or perhaps more of lumps and beatings. He still performed at an awfully high level, though.
For the most part, as with Mayo, most commentators have been relative respectful of Johnson's apparent decision, although in one of the videos linked above, ESPN troll Stephen A. Smith is at his most trollish in taking the occasion to trash the Lions organization (this is known as "shooting fish in a barrel") rather than actually talking about Johnson.
Meanwhile, it seems Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks has a lean towards retirement as well, at least if those ubiquitous "sources" and Twitter are to be believed. He's 30, as is Johnson.
Jared Allen also announced his retirement after his Carolina Panthers team lost in the Super Bowl. His twelve-year career across several teams left him as the active NFL leader in quarterback sacks at the time of his retirement. Likewise, tight end Heath Miller of the Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to hang 'em up after this season just ended. Rashean Mathis of the Lions is also retiring after thirteen seasons, although his choice is even less of a surprise than some of these others.
And of course the potential big retirement announcement is still yet to be made.
Of course it won't be a shock if Peyton Manning retires. He has a lot of years on him.
Similarly, one could argue that Allen and Miller had enjoyed decently full careers (twelve and eleven years, respectively) at positions (defensive line and tight end) that involve pretty good potential for impact and bodily damage. Mathis (thirteen-year career) also had a decently long career and had been making his feelings known for a while. Lynch is one of those unpredictable characters who is fully capable of not retiring amidst all the speculation.
I don't know that there's anything meaningful in all this. No one (aside from Mathis, who did experience concussion issues this season) mentioned concussions or CTE at all in their retirement announcements. Of course, we've established in this blog that concussions or CTE aren't required in order for football to be a painful sport long after players give it up.
I'd say none of the announced or hinted retirements so far this season will have the shock value of Chris Borland's surprise retirement last season. And unlike last season, when the San Francisco 49ers took the brunt of the surprise retirements, the choices have been spread among multiple seasons this year (with the Lions possibly facing two).
So what of it?
I think mostly football followers need to start adjusting to the idea that there might be fewer players sticking around for those fifteen- to twenty-year careers that the likes of Mike Webster stuck around for. Running faster into bigger and faster players, increasingly crashing into artificial turf instead of natural grass on the field, and playing longer seasons are plenty of reason to decide to cut it short after eight or nine or ten years instead.
So, mostly, this is to suggest that this is possibly a foreshadowing of the new normal in the NFL.
Maybe it's just good sense.
The NFL and its franchises, after all, benefit from this in a way. Even players with eight or nine years in the league cost money, and a player like Mayo or especially Johnson represents a pretty hefty salary-cap number that can be written off if that player retires, and can be replaced with someone younger and cheaper. A team will make plenty of noise about their respect for the retiring player, but won't get too bent out of shape over the cap savings.
Meanwhile the player hopes he got out in time, while there might still be some chance to heal.
And if we're lucky, fans don't decide to be jerks about it.
Jerod Mayo decides it's time to "say when"
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