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Long a fantasy-football favorite, Maurice Jones-Drew announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday afternoon via his Twitter account.
“After much discussion with my family and business team during the offseason, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League," Jones-Drew wrote. "The past nine years were absolutely amazing. ... Football has been a central part of my life for the past 24 years. But now I’m excited about and looking forward to the next chapter of my life.”
A second-round pick of Jacksonville in 2006, Jones-Drew burst on the scene as a rookie, scoring 15 touchdowns, which endeared him to Jaguars fans and fantasy-football owners alike.
He played eight seasons with the Jaguars and the 2014 season with his hometown Raiders.
Characterized by Profootballtalk.com's Mike Wilkening as "One of the most unique backs of any era," the 5-foot-7, 210-pound Jones-Drew finishes his career with 1,847 carries for 8,167 yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. He also had 346 receptions for 2,944 yards and 11 TDs in the passing game.
Jones-Drew was contemplating retirement or playing another year in Oakland under new head coach Jack Del Rio, who was his head coach for many years in Jacksonville, but with a younger and more explosive Latavius Murray looking increasingly like feature-back material, the writing was on the wall.
Indeed, MJD could only muster 96 yards on 43 carries last season.
So now, as Wilkening summed up: "The 29-year-old Jones-Drew’s career is at a close, by his choice, and there will forever be a place for him in the game’s lore as a back who, for many years, played bigger than his program weight and height."