The Edmonton Eskimos announce today that international linebacker J.C. Sherritt has officially retired from the Canadian Football League.

Sherritt originally signed with the club in 2011 and spent his entire eight-year career with the Green and Gold.

A 2015 Grey Cup champion and 2012 CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year, Sherritt appeared in 109 games where he recorded 552 total tackles, 15 quarterback sacks, 17 forced fumbles, 14 interceptions, six fumble recoveries and one touchdown.

The West Division and CFL All-Star attended Eastern Washington for four seasons where he appeared in 49 games, and as a senior, he finished the regular season ranked 10th in the FCS with 11.36 tackles per game. He became the first player in school history with more than 400 career tackles and helped lead his team to the FCS Championship. He was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year and won the Buchanan Award as the FSC’s Top Defensive Player of the Year. Sherritt led the FCS with 170 tackles in 2009.

“J.C. will go down as one of the best Eskimos of all time,” said Eskimos General Manager and Vice-President of Football Operations Brock Sunderland. “He defines what it means to do things the Eskimo Way, and I know he will have as much success in his post-playing career as he did on the field.”

“The last eight years in the Green and Gold have been one of the greatest honors and experiences of my life. I have had opportunities and developed relationships that would not have been possible without this great country and without this league. My admiration and love for this country and league will last for the rest of my life, and I wake up a better person due to my time in the CFL.”

“I would like to thank the Edmonton Eskimo organization from top to bottom for treating my family and myself with the utmost love and respect. It’s not every day that you get to play for an organization that believes and supports you through all the bad and good times alike. I want to thank Brock Sunderland for having my back and showing trust and support when I was a 29-year-old undersized linebacker with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“I want to say thank you to all the incredible coaches that have made me a better player and more importantly a much better person; the medical staff and doctors that have time and time again made it possible for me to go out and do what I love; for the countless hours Donnie and Nate spent helping me be the best player I could be physically, it truly would not have been possible without you both. To my very short Canadian step-father Dwayne Mandrusiak and the entire equipment staff for being the best in the league, day in and day out, making every day easier and getting the best support possible, thank you. Not a day went by that I wasn’t bugging Dwayne, Kenzie, Dan, or Graeme. Thank you for putting up with that for eight years…especially you old man. More than anyone I would like to thank my teammates through all these years. Whether we played a year together or all eight, there was no greater honor in my life than getting to put on a helmet and compete side by side with you. For everything we have been through we are better for it and you know you have gained a brother for life.

To the City of Edmonton and the fans that have been there from the very first snap I took to the very last, thank you. I had no idea the magical city and community that I was joining back in 2011, a city I feel fortunate to have called home. The time to move on to the next chapter of my life is here, and it will be met with the same dedication and joy that these last eight years have been met with. Edmonton and the Eskimo organization will always have a place in my heart. B.O.N.E..”

-J.C. Sherritt