The Facts: Hanson is ending his remarkable career with the Lions with the same resolute professionalism that allowed him to perform at his peak for all 21 seasons. After weighing every option – most importantly, the one that he felt would determine whether he could meet his own lofty standards – Hanson is walking away from a career that made him one of the greatest kickers in NFL history and an icon in franchise history. "It was time to make a decision,” Hanson said Thursday afternoon. "It was the right time to step away."

Diehards Line: A heel injury that surfaced last season and continued to trouble him in the offseason as he prepared to play a 22nd season ultimately made Hanson make up his mind to retire. "Ultimately, it’s my heel – the problem I developed last year. Now that we’re starting a new year, it’s still an issue. I have the desire. I have the determination, as I said earlier, to come back. (But) I lost a little of my desire to play injured. ...” Injury aside, Hanson felt the 2013 season would be closer to 2011, when they went 10-6 and make the playoffs, than the 4-12 debacle of 2012. Hanson, who turns 43 on June 17, had been working out on his own, in preparation for the start of the team’s offseason program that begins Monday. The injury is to his left heel, the plant leg for the right-footed kicker, and is vital to get the torque and consistency that kicking demands. Regardless of when the end came – Thursday, after the 2013 season or even four or five more – Hanson has a secure place in history. He ranks third in NFL history with 495 field goals, first in regular-season games played with one team (327) and fourth in field-goal attempts (601).