When Rashean Mathis started his NFL career, he thought he might be done by now. Maybe he would be long retired and spending his time refining his golf swing on courses throughout his home state of Florida and the rest of the United States.
Mathis can still tinker with his swing, but golf will continue to be a side project for the Detroit Lions cornerback, who agreed to a two-year deal to return to the franchise for a third season on Wednesday. That he is about to embark on his 13th NFL season is something he never imagined.
"Definitely not," Mathis said on a conference call Thursday. "There’s always a number that each person gives himself. Mine definitely wasn’t 13, but life happens, you get smarter, you get wiser and you realize you didn’t know nearly as much as you thought you did when you first entered the league.
"I think my number was probably eight coming into the league, because you think you have everything set. Once I got to six, I saw that eight wasn’t really a realistic number."
The realistic number kept jumping up to where he is now -- he will reach 14 years if he plays both years of his contract with Detroit. That he’s still in the league at all is in part because of the Lions, who signed him after training camp started in 2013. Back then he was coming off injury and had spent his entire career in Jacksonville.
So all of this was new to him. New city. New role. One last chance at continuing his career. Now, he couldn’t see himself going anywhere else to finish his career other than the Lions. He said he never seriously considered playing for another team once he made the decision to continue to play.
"I wasn’t going to bounce around," Mathis said. "I felt like I laid a solid foundation there, so I wanted to stay there."
Mathis experienced a career resurgence in Detroit. He took the starting job from then-rookie Darius Slay before the third week of the 2013 season, and hasn’t relinquished it. In two seasons with the Lions, he has 98 tackles and an interception, and last season he graded out as the No. 12 cornerback in the league.
It is part of why the Lions were able to take a chance on bringing back a cornerback who will be 35 by the time the 2015 season kicks off. Mathis has played in every game but one during his time with the Lions, and he missed because of illness, not injury.
Part of why he’s been able to keep playing has been how he trains. He detailed his in-season regimen to ESPN.com last season, but some of what he does in the offseason has helped, too.
"Lifting heavier on my legs has changed," Mathis said. "I know that’s kind of crazy being that I’m older, and why would I lift heavier, but it has worked. That’s something that has always seemed to get me ready.
"Pounding my legs is something that I do early so I maintain strength during the season, and I do it within the season as well. That is something that has always kept me (healthy), and I’ll stick with that routine because going on, what, 13 years and it has served me very well, so I don’t see any reason to stray away from it."
It’s a message he’ll impart to the other Detroit cornerbacks. He understands his role now is as much of a groomer as it is as a player. The Lions will almost definitely bring in a young cornerback this season to eventually replace Mathis.
That is part of the gig for him now, much like it was when he first came to Detroit and mentored Slay. Slay, who starts opposite Mathis now, has become one of the top young cornerbacks in the league. He’s hoping to keep that going next season.
"Whoever we bring in, whether it’s a young guy or whether it’s a draft pick, I will definitely try to do everything I can to allow him to know what it takes to play in this league," Mathis said. "That whatever influence I had on Slay, hopefully I can have even more of an impact on the guys we bring in. Even the guys last year, with (Nevin) Lawson, I want to impact.
"That’s something, it means more to me than on the field, actually. Just understanding that this is a business, understanding that there is a life after, understanding that we have to prepare for it, and understanding that it could surprise you at any moment."