Former Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin retiring

July 9 (UPI) -- Former Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin is retiring from the NFL.

Quin told ESPN he is "walking away" from the game after 10 seasons. The 33-year-old defensive back played his first four seasons for the Houston Texans. He signed with the Detroit Lions in 2013. Quin made his lone Pro Bowl in 2014. He had 74 tackles, three passes defensed and a sack in 16 starts last season for the Lions.

The fourth round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft had 740 tackles, 84 passes defensed, 25 tackles for a loss, 24 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, four sacks and two touchdowns in 159 games during his NFL tenure.

"Playing professional sports was always a dream of mine. Football was the route I chose and God blessed me to be able to persevere through all the hardships and play 10 years in the NFL," Quin told ESPN. "I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to play in the NFL with such great players and two great organizations."

Quin's 423 tackles with the Lions rank second all-time among franchise defensive backs. The Lions released Quin in February, saving $6.25 million in salary cap space.

"Football was never who I was as a person," Quin said. "It was always what I had done. I wanted to use football as a stepping stone into the rest of my life and not let football be my life. I always only wanted to play 10 years.

"Said if I was able to walk off the field after the last game in Year 10, it would be really hard for me to walk back on. I'm young, I'm healthy and I got a lot of life to live. So I'm walking away from the game of football."

Quin started every game in his six seasons with the Lions. He only missed one game during his 10-year NFL tenure. He made 148 consecutive starts.