Ohio State great James Laurinaitis retires from NFL

Former Ohio State star linebacker James Laurinaitis has announced his retirement from the NFL after eight years in the league:

After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the St. Louis Rams, the team’s departure for Los Angeles left many of their veteran players looking for roster spots in other cities. In those seven seasons since the team drafted him in 2009, Laurinaitis didn’t miss a single game and set franchise records along the way -- including the team’s record for most tackles.

The move to cut the Buckeye was even further head scratching once you look at his production during his time with the organization. As a Ram, Laurinaitis never had a season with less than 100 total tackles (852 overall), had four seasons with 3.0 sacks or more (16.5 total), and only one season without snagging an interception (10 total).

Unfortunately, the 30 year old had a hard time reclaiming excellence in 2016 after signing with the New Orleans Saints. He only appeared in five games during the regular season, due to being benched and then later being placed on IR. When Laurinaitis was finally healthy enough to return, the team decided to part ways with the linebacker before the end of the season. He went on to workout for several playoff-bound teams, but didn’t ultimately sign with any of them.