ALLEN PARK: Devon Kennard, a former Detroit Lions team captain and Walter Payton Man of the Year contender, has announced his retirement from the NFL.

“My goal was to walk away from the game healthy and on my terms, and that’s exactly what I am doing now!” Kennard made the announcement in a statement. “I’d like to thank every owner, general manager, athletic trainer, strength coach, coach, equipment manager, media team, and so on who helped shape my career.”

“You all know who you are and you can call on me whenever!”

While with the Lions in 2018 and 2019, Kennard had his most productive seasons in his nine-year career. The 32-year-old started 30 games for ex-Lions head coach Matt Patricia’s defense in two seasons. He has 14 sacks in that span before signing a three-year, $20 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency.

After leaving Detroit, Kennard only had three sacks in three seasons.

He played for the Cardinals for parts of three seasons. And the linebacker was most recently seen with the Baltimore Ravens, when he appeared in two games and started one. However, he was released late in the season and did not join another team.

He entered the league in 2014 as a fifth-round pick out of USC by the New York Giants. In New York and Detroit, Kennard was a teammate of Romeo Okwara and current Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard.