Jason McCourty Ends NFL Career After 13 Seasons

Since 1999, when they rebranded and moved into their current stadium, the Tennessee Titans have drafted 191 players.

Only two have played more NFL games than Jason McCourty, a sixth-round selection in 2009.

The cornerback, who spent his first eight years in the league with Tennessee, ended that career Friday with an announcement via an Instagram video narrated by him and his family that he has retired at 34 years old. McCourty played 173 games in all, 108 with the Titans, over 13 seasons and experienced competitive extremes after he left Nashville. In 2017, he started 14 games for a Cleveland Browns team that finished 0-16. The next year he was traded to New England and was a starter for the Patriots when they won their most recent Super Bowl.

“These past 13 seasons have been one hell of a journey,” McCourty said while seated in front of a large photo of him in a Titans uniform. “As I reflect and look back on my career, I have far surpassed any and every expectation I set for myself back in 2009.”

McCourty’s career concluded with one injury-shortened season as a member of the Miami Dolphins. He played seven games (four starts) in 2021 and was credited with 21 tackles and two passes defensed. Before that, he spent three years with New England and the one forgettable season in Cleveland.

The bulk of his career, however, was with Tennessee. Among the franchise’s draft picks in the Titans era (1999-present), only tight end Jared Cook (194) and defensive lineman Randy Starks (186) played more games in the NFL.

Additionally, McCourty is one of 12 players to date during that time who were drafted by the Titans and played at least 100 games for them. That puts him in a group with first-round picks Keith Bulluck (157), Micharl Griffin (141), Derrick Morgan (118) and Taylor Lewan (103 and counting) as well as second-round choice Michael Roos (148) among others.

For most of his time in Tennessee, McCourty was a constant at a time when things did not change much. Most notably, the Titans never made the playoffs.

From 2011-14, he started 63 out of a possible 64 games and had multiple interceptions three times. After a knee injury limited him to four games in 2015, he returned to health and started 14 games the next season.

With the Titans, he was credited with 506 tackles, 13 interceptions and six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. He set a career-high with four interceptions in 2012, and his 77-yard fumble return in 2013 was the longest in the NFL that season.

He was a team captain in 2012, 2013 and 2015.

“To all the organizations – all four of you – the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans: I’m so thankful for you,” McCourty said. “I just hope that the impact that I’ve made within these organizations is as special and as (meaningful) as the impact that they have made, not only on my life but my family’s life as well. I’ve always tried to put my best foot forward and be an example for everybody within the organization.”

And now, he is walking away.