Cowboys Tyrone Crawford announces retirement, “Wow, has it really been 9 years?”

It has been almost a week since Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy took to the podium to discuss what the team has been up to over the offseason, and in his press conference he accidentally revealed something noteworthy. Tyrone Crawford is retiring.

The news of Crawford’s pending retirement wasn’t exactly shocking, but he played for the Cowboys for almost a decade so it is significant. Social media was ablaze with Crawford’s teammates, past and present, congratulating him on his career and wishing him well in what he will take on next.

While Crawford shared and interacted with some of these posts on social media he hadn’t yet officially put out word himself. This changed on Tuesday when Crawford shared a lengthy post thanking many people in his life and announcing that he is stepping away from the National Football League.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Crawford out of Boise State in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Always a team-first guy, he played all across the defensive line and did a lot of the dirty work in the trenches.

Perhaps the thing Crawford will be remembered for the most is the leadership he exhibited within the locker room at AT&T Stadium. Crawford became a valued veteran presence and one who set the tone for the defense and team as a whole.

All the best to him in whatever comes next.