Going Out On Top

Maurice Mann is ending his professional football career as a Grey Cup Champion. On Friday, the 30-year-old wide receiver announced via twitter that he would be hanging up his cleats following nine seasons of professional football.

The Santa Clara, California native was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He also had stints with the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and Washington Redskins prior to finding a permanent home in the CFL.

Over the course of his six-year CFL career, Mann recorded 226 receptions, 2,875 yards receiving, and 18 touchdowns. Mann spent three seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos from 2007-2009 where he posted career-best statistics. In 2009, Mann recorded an impressive 73 receptions, 917 yards receiving, and six touchdowns. Mann spent parts of two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats prior to being traded to the Toronto Argonauts at the 2011 CFL trade deadline. In 2012, Mann was slated to be a big-time playmaker in Ricky Ray’s pass-oriented offence. However, a leg injury during training camp left the veteran wide receiver awaiting an opportunity to crack the Argonauts starting line-up. In the Argos’ final four regular season contests, Mann recorded 17 receptions for 224 yards receiving, and one touchdown. In the 100^th Grey Cup playoffs, Mann played a pivotal role for the Boatmen in their Eastern Semi-Final victory over the Edmonton Eskimos. In the game, Mann recorded seven receptions for 82 yards, and one touchdown.

After breaking the news via twitter, Mann received several tweets from CFL fans thanking him for his time in the Canadian Football League and wishing him the best in his future endeavours.

Mann became a free agent on February 15 but previously began deliberating retirement following the Argonauts 100^th Grey Cup victory at Rogers Centre on November 25.