After 13 seasons in the NFL, three Pro Bowls and a pair of Super Bowl championships, safety Malcolm Jenkins told ESPN’s Ryan Clark that he’ll be retiring ahead of the 2022 season. Jenkins was drafted by the Saints in 2009, helping the franchise hoist its first Lombardi Trophy his rookie year. After five years in New Orleans, Jenkins signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency where he was a part of another Super Bowl win and was selected to his three Pro Bowls.
After his departure to Philadelphia, then-head coach Sean Payton remarked that losing Jenkins was one of the “biggest mistakes” the team had made. One year after Payton said that to Philadelphia reporters, he made up for it by bringing Jenkins back to New Orleans. The former first-round draft pick returned to his home NFL team for the last two seasons of his career and continued his high level of play at 33 and 34 years old.
This retirement was signaled a bit early after Jenkins took a pay cut in the final two years of his deal. He agreed to drop his salary in both seasons to the league minimum without any restructure or return of any kind. Drew Brees did something similar ahead of the 2020 season before his retirement was made official, so we knew this was coming.
Jenkins will be remembered as one of the best safeties to play for both franchises along with names like Brian Dawkins and Sammy Knight. He’ll also be celebrated for his ironman streaks. Jenkins didn’t miss a single snap in a three-year span, including the postseason, totaling 2,651 consecutive defensive snaps played. He also saw his streak of 133-straight games started come to an end thanks to last year’s COVID outbreak.
Jenkins will finish his career with 1,044 combined tackles, 21 interceptions, 13.5 sacks, and 8 touchdowns scored in 199 games played. He’ll also finished his career ranked second in franchise history for both the Saints and Eagles in defensive touchdowns. Despite playing his final season at 34 years old, he led the Saints in defensive snaps in 2021, what will be his final season in the NFL.
