Former St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis has retired after eight seasons in the NFL.

The 30-year-old provided a message to fans on his Twitter account:

He was waived by the Saints in November and did not sign with a new team.

New Orleans placed Laurinaitis on injured reserve because of a quad injury in November, and though he worked out for the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs prior to the end of the 2016 season, he remained unsigned.

He appeared in just five games for New Orleans, totaling 17 tackles.

Prior to the disappointing 2016 campaign, the linebacker was a consistent contributor for the Rams. The 2009 second-round pick out of Ohio State started all 16 games for seven straight seasons, tallying at least 100 combined tackles every year. 

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