The Honey Badger is done. Tyrann Mathieu, expected to play a 13th NFL season this year for his hometown Saints, instead announced his retirement on social media on Tuesday.

And all I could think of -- like most -- is what a remarkable player he turned out to be given the bumpy nature of his arrival into the NFL.

He was a Cardinal first, the team's third-round pick in 2013, an amazing talent in a small package that had been kicked off his college team at LSU. He was a risk as a pick, but the Cardinals (in large part thanks to the assurances by Cardinal and one-time Mathieu LSU teammate Patrick Peterson) took him.

It turned out to be brilliant.

Whatever issues Mathieu had before he became a pro, the guy was never anything but a pro when he showed up in Tempe. One of my all-time favorites to talk to and interact with, Mathieu was introspective, self-aware and driven to prove to all what he was as a football player. That was as the Honey Badger, a whirling dervish of a playmaker.

He tore his ACL as a rookie. He tore it again in 2015, and the latter interrupted one of the best seasons I ever saw a defensive back have and might've undercut the Cardinals' Super Bowl hopes. He never lost his focus coming back. His last season in Arizona was 2017, and the Cardinals wanted him to take a pay cut and he declined. He wasn't happy, and that's understandable.

He went on to play for the Texans, Chiefs and Saints. He has a Hall of Fame case. He won a Super Bowl with Kansas City. I've had the chance to say hello to him here and there.

But the foundation was laid with the Cardinals. I wrote about his emotions on draft day. I went to New Orleans and talked to him about a complicated relationship he had with his hometown (although I was happy to see him get a chance to play there to end his career.)

Tyrann was a community guy, in New Orleans always and also wherever he played. He was smart as hell. The fans loved him, as well they should.

It was an incredible ride. He earned every bit of what he accomplished.