Two of the NFL's better defensive players of this generation announced on Monday that they are retiring.
Rashean Mathis, a cornerback who spent the first decade of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the final three with the Detroit Lions, and New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, who played for eight years, are hanging up their shoulder pads.
Mathis, a second-round pick of the Jaguars in 2003 out of Bethune-Cookman, missed half of the 2015 season due to concussion. An All-Pro and Pro Bowl pick in 2006, when he had eight interceptions and 21 pass break-ups, he left the Jaguars after the 2012 season as the franchise's all-time leader in picks.