Glover Quin deserves credit for knowing when to walk away

For six seasons Glover Quin was the epitome of leadership for the Lions. A man who led by example, worked as hard, if not harder, than any of his teammates and was always doing his best to mentor and teach young players. Truth be told, he was the coach on the field.

And he rarely had a bad day on the field. Not necessarily because of how he played, but because he loved to play the game and enjoyed the camaraderie of his teammates as he pointed out in his retirement announcement on Instagram.

"“Thank you to the 2 great organizations I had the honor to play for! Thank you to my great coaches over the years! Thank you to my great teammates over the years!!!! Thank you to the fans!! It was a blast!! Thank you to everyone that supported me and didn’t support me over the years!, it is all love on this side!!”"

His enthusiasm and leadership will be missed. And even though the Lions had already released him back in February, it had been a decision based solely on the future of the franchise and to give Quin his best opportunity to find another home for the coming season if he had wished to continue playing.

Instead, he stayed true to his original game plan from when he arrived in the NFL. He had wanted to play 10 years then move on. He has now officially done that.

But while life after football beckons him, last season may have been the hand-writing on the wall.

When players are beloved in a town, it’s always hard to see them lose a step. To become less than the player the fans had always counted on. Glover Quin’s final season last year was exactly that.

He had lost a step and it showed. For the first time since 2011 when he played for the Houston Texans, he did not record an interception for the entire season. Meanwhile young Tracy Walker, in limited action, proved he was the future.