One of the best of his generation is calling it a career.
Three-time All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu announced in a post on his Instagram page that he is retiring from the NFL. The 33-year-old defensive back was entering his fourth season with the New Orleans Saints but won’t step onto the field this year.
‘As I hang up my cleats, I’m filled with gratitude as I close this chapter of my life and officially retire from the game that’s shaped me in every way,’ Mathieu wrote in his announcement. ‘From my first snap in college to my final play in the NFL, this journey has been nothing short of a blessing. Football gave me purpose, discipline, and memories that will stay with me forever. But more than anything, it gave me a community.’
Mathieu was drafted in the third round, 69th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 NFL Draft. A Heisman finalist at LSU in 2011, he slid to the third round due to off-field concerns following his dismissal from LSU in 2012.
He ended up a steal for the Cardinals and finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2013. In 2015, he made his first All-Pro team as the Cardinals made the NFC championship game.
He spent five seasons with the Cardinals and played well alongside standout cornerback Patrick Peterson. Arizona released him in 2018 and he signed with the Houston Texans for one season before signing a multi-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
Mathieu was part of the Chiefs Super Bowl-winning team in 2019 and made his second All-Pro team that season. He made his third a year later with the Chiefs in 2020.
Kansas City did not retain him after 2021 and he made his way back to Louisiana to play for his hometown Saints. He started every game for New Orleans from 2022 through 2024.
‘To every coach who believed in me, every teammate who battled beside me, and every fan who showed up, cheered, and rode with me through the highs and lows, thank you,’ Mathieu wrote in his announcement. ‘You gave me strength when I needed it most, and your love carried me farther than I ever imagined.’
He did tease that he’s not done with football yet, writing ‘this isn’t goodbye – it’s just the next chapter.’
Is Tyrann Mathieu a Hall of Famer?
Mathieu has a list of accolades. Three-time first-team All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decades Team of the 2010s. He certainly has a case to be a Hall of Fame player.
Mathieu entered the league three years after Earl Thomas, widely considered one of the best safeties of the 2010s and almost certainly a Hall of Fame player. They’re equal on first-team All-Pro honors with three but Thomas holds an edge with seven Pro Bowls.
Pro Football Reference provides an index of Hall of Fame players using statistics and awards to calculate a Hall of Fame Monitor score (HOFm). It’s not the definitive way of deciding who should make the Hall of Fame or not but is a useful tool for this exercise.
All defensive backs (cornerbacks and safeties) are grouped together in this metric. Mathieu’s HOFm score is 65.20 which is far below the defensive back average HOFm of 97. But Thomas only measures in at 79.03 and Mathieu’s HOFm ranks ahead of Hall of Fame safeties John Lynch (64.28) and Eric Allen (58.95).
Mathieu wasn’t the best player on a title-winning defense but he was one of the best safeties in the league for most of a decade. That will get him serious consideration for induction.