Malcolm Jenkins Retires as a Heavyweight On and Off the Field
A unique player on the field and a revered leader off of it, Malcolm Jenkins retired Wednesday after a 13-year career defined by Super Bowl wins for two different organizations and his tireless efforts in the social-justice movement.
A six-year stay in Philadelphia for Jenkins was bookended by two stints in New Orleans, which originally drafted Jenkins, 34, as the 14th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Ohio State.
Jenkins reached his greatest heights with the Eagles, however, who signed him as a free agent after the 2013 season.
Jenkins became a staple on the back end of the Philadelphia defense, first for Chip Kelly and Billy Davis and then for Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz.
It was under Schwartz where Jenkins defined himself as perhaps the most versatile and durable defensive player in the NFL, playing seven different positions at times while playing every snap as a Swiss Army Knife who understood the roles and responsibilities of the entire back seven.
"He never took a single snap off – not in a game and not in a practice,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. “Few players have ever had a personality and a style of play that meshed more perfectly with the City of Philadelphia. He contributed to so many memorable moments during his six years in Philadelphia, including our first Super Bowl Championship.”
All three of Jenkins’ Pro Bowl berths came in Philadelphia (2015, 2017, and 2018) and his lone All-Pro berth came in 2015 with the Eagles.
Jenkins was the defensive leader of Philadelphia’s only Super Bowl-winning team in franchise history and retires as the only player to beat Tom Brady (Super Bowl LII) and Peyton Manning (XLIV as a rookie with the Saints) in the big game.
"I played the game at the highest level for 13 seasons," Jenkins said while sharing his decision on The Pivot podcast. "And I have accomplished Super Bowls, Pro Bowl, all that there is to do in this game. And when I came in, I always wanted to make an impact on the game on and off the field. And I just feel like at this point I've accomplished that."
Jenkins played in 133 consecutive games before COVID-19 protocols ended that streak in 2021 with the Saints. Overall he played in 213 NFL games (including playoffs) and was a consistent playmaker with 21 career interceptions, 20 forced fumbles, 13.5 sacks, and eight defensive touchdowns scored.
Jenkins was also a heavyweight in the communities he served being nominated by both the Eagles and Saints for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award at different times. He also won the NFL Players Association's Byron "Whizzer" White Award for his efforts in the Philadelphia community in 2017.
A co-founder of the NFL’s Players Coalition, Jenkins’ interests were varied and eclectic, from his high-end men's store Damari Savile to creating his own production company, or serving as a CNN political analyst and also speaking in front of government legislators from the local to federal level on criminal-justice reform.
"In so many ways, Malcolm Jenkins defined everything we want a Philadelphia Eagles to be. He was talented, intelligent, versatile, and reliable," Lurie noted. "He was physically and mentally tough. He led with his words, with his actions, and with the professionalism he brought every single day to our building."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
