Mercilus calls it a career

Green Bay Packers linebacker Whitney Mercilus announced his retirement from the NFL on his instagram account Wednesday afternoon.    The 10 year veteran played his first nine seasons with the Houston Texans where he was the team’s number one draft choice in 2012.   Selected 26th overall that year out of Illinois, Mercilus became a full-time starter by his third season.   His best years were in 2015 when he collected a career high 12 sacks., then in 2016, he recorded 7.5 sacks and was named second team All-Pro by the Associated Press.      Mercilus was released by the Texans in October of last year and the Packers signed him on October 21 after starter Za’Darius Smith underwent back surgery and former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylen Smith didn’t pan out.    He played just four games before tearing his biceps against Seattle on November 14, after recording his only sack as a Packer.   He was placed on injured reserve but remarkably, came back to play 12 snaps in Green Bay’s NFC Divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January.   For his career, Mercilus appeared in 138 games, with 102 starts and he compiled 58 sacks.