LSU LEGEND TYRANN MATHIEU RETIRES FROM THE NFL AFTER 12 SEASONS: #7'S LSUODYSSEY & BEYOND

Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Jul 22
6 min read

Updated: Jul 22

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

On Tuesday, shortly before he was to report for New Orleans Saints minicamp, Tyrann Mathieu announced his retirement today through the New Orleans Saints' social media.

An unexpected announcement from one of the greatest players of our time, right before he was about to start his 13th NFL season.

Hearing rumbles about a Mathieu retirement only weeks ago, I hoped that wouldn't be the case, and didn't dig any further on the information, simply because my brain was almost conditioned into a routine: when I turn on the TV every Saturday in 2010 & 2011, as well as most Sundays from 2013-2024, I knew I would be watching one of the greatest...right there before my eyes again and again....

But now, we will all have to undergo a new kind of conditioning, one where we begin to accept the reality as it is today and will be from now on: Tyrann Mathieu won't play the game of football ever again.

Oh the duality of man...

I'm not only gutted to see that news become a reality, I'm also happy for Tyrann....

He made it happen.

The New Orleans kid....

The Pride of "St Aug" High....

The superstar freshman at LSU....

The legend that was and is still the Honeybadger...

The LSU legend that became a Heisman finalist....a Bednarik winner....an All-American, leading the Tigers to a storybook 2011 season.....

The Super Bowl champion....

The 3x NFL Pro Bowler....

....after his shock dismissal from LSU before his junior year for activities that are not only legal now (and accepted in college athletics), but should've been legal back then.....

....after all the things Bill Polian said about him right before the 2013 NFL Draft ("He's proven to be irresponsible and continues, in my mind, to show some degree of irresponsibility. That makes him a poor teammate and a poor risk. I don't know why you'd want him at any price..."), straight up warning franchises away from Mathieu....there's only one word to describe how the tables turned back in Tyrann's favor: God.

Mathieu was a raucous, rock and roll vibin' defender, somehow simultaneously photographed with the ball in his own hands just as much as he can be seen tackling or subduing ball carriers, locking down receivers, as well as demoralizing quarterbacks....

He was the best player on LSU's entire NFL Draft pick-littered squads in both 2010 and 2011, racking up a ridiculous resume during his iconic time in Baton Rouge:

2010, as a freshman, Mathieu racked up 57 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 7 passes broken up, 3 fumble recoveries, and an SEC-leading 5 forced fumbles.

2011, as a sophomore, Mathieu evolved into the Honeybadger, a fully-formed megalodon of savagery, fully becoming one of the greatest college football players of all time when he produced a year so outrageous in its achievement & so ridiculous in its rarity, it hasn't been matched since:

Scoring 4 total touchdowns (2 from punt returns and another pair from scoop and scores, while also narrowly tackled on the inch line by a West Virginia offensive lineman, just barely missing out on a 5th), recording 76 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, 5 fumble recoveries, and yet again another SEC-leading 6 forced fumbles (his 11 combined is still an SEC record).

He did things on a football field we still haven't witnessed since:

Ripping the ball out of #3 ranked Oregon returner Kenjon Barner's gut, before casually returning it into the end zone for a score, leading a much-needed comeback in the SEC Championship Game vs Georgia by returning 1 punt for a touchdown with dizzying skill & something that can only be described as supernatural verve (while also narrowly getting tackled after an even better return that nearly went the distance, later on), he was an inch away from scoring 2 defensive touchdowns vs West Virginia (a school he absolutely massacred in 2010 & 2011), and who can forget his return vs Arkansas, most likely one of the top 2 or 3 greatest returns in LSU history???

He did it all....and he was loved, celebrated, hyped, adored, anointed....although, he was also taken for granted, taken advantage of, even robbed of countless NIL dollars as bootleg or official merch made bank off the Honeybadger moniker, all as the weight of his persona began to grow heavier and heavier, working against him as 2012 dawned.

In a hometown National Championship Game, on a night where Mathieu would admit to playing stoned, The Honeybadger and John Chavis' historic 2011/12 LSU defense played almost 3 full quarters on the field vs Alabama's offense....powerless & exhausted in the end as they lost 21-0 in the National Championship Game inside the Superdome....

Like a rug pulled out from underneath someone, the desperate loss & slow death crawl of the 2012 BCS National Championship Game turned into a catalyst that brought about a temporary downturn in Mathieu's fortunes:

From there on, things went downhill as the drug experimentation deepened, his focus decreased, and his "negative weed-smoking" influence on teammates skyrocketed....even as the outside world labeled Mathieu a sure-fire candidate for the 2012 Heisman.

With Mathieu failing numerous drug tests (when asked by an NFL general manager 'how many drug tests he failed at LSU', he said, "I stopped counting after 10..."), these factors "forced" then-Head Coach Les Miles to kick his best player off the team...shocking the entire college football world, stunning NFL general managers / owners, and bringing LSU Nation to its knees....

During that dark 2012-2013 period, where Mathieu was dismissed from the program (something he made zero excuses for & took full responsibility), he sat out an entire season, entering drug rehab....as a result, he dramatically slipped down the NFL Draft boards from a 1st round lock to potentially going undrafted.

Some even balked at the idea that he would even be able to maintain an NFL career of any kind....and yet while all that noise was bellowing from NFL Network or Sportscenter, Mathieu turned inward, talked to God, faced his demons head on, and with the help of former Tiger teammate Patrick Peterson, vouching for Mathieu, the Arizona Cardinals drafted the boy from New Orleans.

Still, despite showcasing stratospheric abilities during his first few NFL seasons, more adversity was waiting around the bend.

At the end of his 2013 rookie season and again in 2015, Mathieu tore his ACL twice, cutting short incredibly strong campaigns; in 2015 specifically, Mathieu tore his ACL as he intercepted a pass vs the Eagles, ending a season where he was in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year...

Then, after a few team changes, Mathieu arrived in Kansas City right at the embryonic genesis of the Mahomes/Reid dynasty.

He would end up winning his only Super Bowl ring as one of the Chiefs' key defenders & best players, leading the double digit comeback over the 49ers with 6 must-have tackles, supplying late game stops while delivering constant, consistent leadership.

Yes, in the years after that Super Bowl LV title, Mathieu went to another finale game with Kansas City before heading home, suiting up for the New Orleans Saints....back where it all started.

But all of this just illustrates Tyrann as the player, when the real jewel of his makeup has always been who he is as a person....

Over the years, Mathieu gave untold amounts of time, money, and enthusiasm for the communities of Glendale, Houston, Kansas City, and his hometown of New Orleans, subsequently nominated twice for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (which recognizes those NFL players who help their communities most).

No, he didn't have the exact career we all expected....

No, he never played in an NFL defense built around his strengths....

No, in 12 NFL seasons, we never fully saw him enjoy the improvisational free role he made his own at LSU....

No, he didn't get a chance to run it back in 2012, perhaps delivering 2011's spoiled promise of a National Championship & Heisman trophy a year later....

However.....it wasn't to be....and yet, what has transpired for Mathieu is nothing short of triumphant:

Yes, at his lowest, when the world doubted him, Mathieu was able to grab redemption by the horns, prove many doubters wrong (including the embarrassed Mr Polian), play 12 strong seasons at the NFL level, win a Super Bowl as a defensive captain, play in another Super Bowl, earn 3 Pro Bowl selections, returning to LSU as a definitive icon & welcomed back with open arms, and most of all...Tyrann Mathieu is happy, healthy, and he's loving his ultimate role of father & husband more than anything else.

Could coaching be in his future???

Perhaps......at LSU???