Former Michigan State star Trae Waynes announces retirement via podcast

Former Michigan State star Trae Waynes announced his retirement via the Geary & Stein Sports Show podcast on Monday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The former Spartan standout put it quite simply when he decided to hang his cleats up earlier this week: “Honestly, in my head, I’m done. I’m not officially doing it just because I don’t give a (expletive),” he said.

Credit to Waynes for stepping up to the microphone and not reading off a scripted speech. Just knowing that it’s time for him to be done and he’s ready to be finished. More often than not, professional athletes often have difficulties coming to terms with leaving their respective sport. The good news is it appears that Waynes will clearly have no such struggles with coming to terms with the finality of his football career.

He was recently released by the Cincinnati Bengals in March. The long-awaited move saved the Bengals’ franchise roughly $10 million against this season’s cap by dropping the last year of his contract. Waynes signed a three-year deal worth $42 million in March of 2020, but he’s unfortunately battled through a number of injuries over the years. He suffered a season-ending injury to his pectoral muscle in fall camp of 2020. Injuries also kept him on the sidelines during the 2021 season, too. The former Michigan State standout only appeared in just five games in the 2021 season for the Bengals.

So, in a number of ways, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear Waynes say that he’s done with football. Sure, there’s a life-changing amount of money still out there to be made, but he’s likely done dealing with the physical toll the game has taken on his body.

He lasted six years in the National Football League, which is no easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. While his pro career didn’t quite match up to his first-round draft pedigree, Waynes had his best seasons in 2016 and 2017 for the Minnesota Vikings–the team that originally selected him with the No. 11 overall selection in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In 2016, he racked up 50 tackles, three interceptions, and 11 passes defended. In 2017, Waynes racked up 65 tackles, two interceptions, and 11 passes defended. He wrapped up his six-year career in the NFL with seven interceptions, 43 passes defended, and 259 total tackles.

Trae Waynes established himself as one of the best defensive backs in Michigan State football history

The best part of Waynes’ football career undoubtedly came during his sophomore and junior seasons at Michigan State. In the 2013 season, he teamed up with former Spartan great Darqueze Dennard (2013 Jim Thorpe Award winner) to form one of the best defensive back tandems in college football. Michigan State’s pass defense was ranked third in the nation in passing yards allowed (165.6) in 2013 and there’s no question Dennard and Waynes were huge reasons why.

They helped guide the Spartans to a 24-20 Rose Bowl victory over the Stanford Cardinal on Jan. 1, 2014. It was a classic game that featured hard-hitting by both teams throughout the contest. The Rose Bowl title was the first for the Michigan State program in 26 years and it completed one of the best seasons in Spartan football history.

Waynes was named a second-team All-American by a number of different media outlets following the 2014 season (junior year) which saw him tally 46 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions, one sack, and one fumble recovery. The Kenosha, Wisconsin native became the highest-drafted corner out of the Michigan State program in the modern NFL Draft era (since 1967). Waynes started 27 of 36 career games for the Spartans, racking up 101 tackles, six interceptions, and 13 pass breakups.