Detroit Lions defensive tackle John Penisini retires after two NFL seasons

After two NFL seasons, Detroit Lions defensive tackle John Penisini has announced his retirement.

Defensive tackle John Penisini was one of few absences from the practice field at Detroit Lions mandatory minicamp this past week, and it seems he was the only player not anywhere at the facility.

On Tuesday head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged Penisini’s absence and said, via Ben Raven of MLive, “I am going to see him tonight.”

On Saturday morning Penisini, a sixth-round pick (No. 197 overall) by the Lions out of Utah in 2020, announced his retirement on Instagram.

"I have made the decision To retire from football,” Penisini, 25, 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. Go Lions.”"

John Penisini had a pretty serious-sounding issue going into last season

Penisini played all 16 games and started 12 as a rookie, with 35 total tackles, one sack and four tackles for loss over 576 snaps. The he didn’t say why he’s retiring, but heading into last season he had what Campbell described as “softballs” in his shoulders–calcium deposits he had to have surgically removed.

Penisini still played 16 games in 2021, albeit with a far smaller role in a different defensive scheme under Aaron Glenn (276 defensive snaps, 78 special teams snaps). But that he was even able to do that is notable, given the physical toll the NFL game had already taken on him.

Penisini is the second Lion to retire in the past few days. Undrafted rookie cornerback Jermaine Waller also announced his retirement on Wednesday. So Detroit now has two open roster spots on their 90-man roster to fill before training camp, if they wish to.