Ex-Lions, Texans, Lobos safety Quin retires
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — One of the few remaining University of New Mexico football players in the NFL has retired.
Glover Quin, a fourth-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2009 and a standout with the Detroit Lions since 2013, announced his plans Tuesday on Instagram.
“Thank you to the 2 great organizations I had the honor to play for,” Quin wrote in a post that included a video montage of his playing days and a clip of his son making the informal announcement.
“Now my dad can take me to school every day,” the little boy said, spinning around in an office chair as he spoke.
Quin played three seasons for the Lobos and 10 more in the NFL, starting all but four games during his professional career. He led the league with seven interceptions in 2014 and finished his career with 24. He appeared in 36 games with the Lobos, intercepting seven passes and making 156 tackles.
Houston drafted him in the fourth round and he played four full seasons with the Texans. He started 12 of the 15 games in his rookie season, eventually making the move to strong safety prior to the 2011 season.
He remained in that position the rest of his career, leaving Houston for Detroit in 2013 when he inked a five-year deal with the Lions. He was given a two-year contract extension for $13 million in 2017 but was cut by the team when the most recent offseason began on Feb. 15.
He forced 10 fumbles and had four sacks during his NFL career. He had 582 solo tackles, recording 74 combined stops this past season with the Lions. He was selected to his only Pro Bowl in 2014 and was named one of the NFL’s Top 100 (No. 88) prior to the 2015 season.
He was twice named the defensive player of the week and returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, both times coming with the Lions.
He made four playoff appearances, twice with Houston and two more with Detroit. All four ended in first-round losses, the last coming in the 2016 NFC Wild Card round with the Lions.
Quin was a Lobo for the final three years of his college career, playing for then-head coach Rocky Long from 2006-08. The Lobos made reached the New Mexico Bowl in his sophomore and junior seasons, winning a combined 15 games.
Long’s last season at UNM coincided with Quin’s in 2008. UNM finished 4-8, its worst season in a decade. Quin was one of two Lobos taken in the draft the following April, joining defensive back DeAndre Wright (sixth round, New York Giants).
Only two Lobos have gone in the draft since then; offensive lineman Erik Cook (seventh round of the 2010 draft by the Washington Redskins) and kicker Jason Sanders (seven round, 2018 by the Miami Dolphins). The eight-year span between Cook and Sanders without a player going in the draft is the longest UNM has ever had.
Quin was one of nine Lobos drafted between 2005-10.
“It was a blast!!” he wrote in his Instagram post. “Thank you to everyone that supported me and didn’t support me over the years, it is all love on this side!”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.