For the second time in recent days, a young member of the Lions is ending his career. Defensive lineman John Penisini announced (on Instagram) that he is retiring from the NFL.
“I have made the decision to retire from football,” the 25-year-old defender wrote. “I’m definitely going to miss my teammates and the coaching staff but I’m glad I got to experience it. I’m happy and excited for whatever life has for me. For my family, friends, teammates, coaches and all the people who supported my dream along the way I appreciate and love you guys.”
During a three-year career at Utah, Penisini put himself on the NFL draft radar. In his final two campaigns, in 2018 and 2019, he put up identical stat lines of 38 stops, seven tackles for loss and two sacks. The Lions drafted him in the sixth round, and he saw significant playing time right away.
The six-foot-two, 335-pounder played just over half of Detroit’s defensive snaps in 2020, starting 12 of 16 games. He totaled 35 tackles, showing promise to be at least a rotational player moving forward. However, he had offseason surgery to “remove large masses from each of his shoulders,” as noted by Justin Rogers of the Detroit News.
He played in 16 games again last season, but at a greatly reduced workload. The fact that he wasn’t able to spend as much time on the field, and that he was absent from the team this offseason, points to the ailment not recovering as expected. Having played for two of the four seasons on his rookie contract, Penisini will have earned roughly $1.9MM.
Beside Penisini, undrafted corner Jermaine Waller also announced his retirement earlier this week.
This guy must get his balls busted on an everyday basis.
… and is walking away (presumably) in good health, $1.9M richer. Sounds like a win to me.
Being a strong 335 probably keeps a fella from getting his name mocked too much.
3 years isn’t retiring. Its quitting
God forbid a young person leave an incredibly punishing job by choice and move on with their life.
Hopefully he’s qualified for a NFL pension and the benefits associated with it. Not sure how long a player needs to be in the league to do so
Have some great years moving forward big man. Always good to see someone go out on their own terms and not be forced out. Definitely a shock though.
Why do these players decide to retire AFTER the draft?
Not pointing the finger at Penisini alone, but it can leave their team in a lurch, esp if they play a skill position or are thin @ the position that they play.
That certainly doesn’t apply here. They’ve spent four top 75 picks on DL in the last two drafts. Alim McNeil was drafted to usurp him a year ago.