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Cardinals' Mike Leach to retire

George Gojkovich / Getty Images Sport / Getty

After 16 seasons in the NFL, Arizona Cardinals long snapper Mike Leach is calling it quits.

The 39-year-old announced his retirement Wednesday morning on Twitter.

Every journey, no matter how great, must eventually come to an end. Today, I've reached the end of my journey as a player in the National Football League. It is rare in our profession that a player gets to choose when it's over and to go out on his terms. I am making that choice before waning abilities - or worse, an injury - make it for me. I know I'll miss it; nothing can replace the feeling of running onto an NFL field on game day or celebrating with your teammates after a big win. But I'm excited for whatever is to come next.

Leach joined the Tennessee Titans in 2000 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of William & Mary, and spent the first two seasons of his career with the team. He then moved on to the Denver Broncos, where he played for seven seasons before signing with the Cardinals in 2009.

A picture of consistency, Leach appeared in 216 consecutive regular-season games during his career.

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