CSN Bay Area

Raiders running back Maurice Jones-Drew announced his retirement from professional on Thursday afternoon via a Twitter account.

The Oakland native and Concord De La Salle grad played eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the 2014 season with his hometown Raiders.

He finishes with 1,847 carries for 8,167 yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. He also had 346 receptions for 2,944 yards and 11 TDs in the passing game.

Jones-Drew was contemplating retirement or playing another year in Oakland under new head coach Jack Del Rio, who was his head coach for many years in Jacksonville.

[RELATED: Jones-Drew: With Del Rio, 'great things on way' for Raiders]

He ultimately chose to hang up his cleats.

Here’s the statement he posted on Twitter:

“After much discussion with my family and business team during the offseason, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League. The past nine years were absolutely amazing? I’ll be forever grateful to the countless people who have assisted me throughout me NFL journey. To my fans, and NFL fans worldwide, you are the absolute greatest! But for you, our league would not exist. Football has been a central part of my life for the past 24 year. But now I’m excited about and looking forward to the next chapter of my life.”

Jones-Drew is a Bay Area football legend. He starred at De La Salle, which never lost a game during his varsity career. He scored four touchdowns in a game against Long Beach Poly, which pitted the nation’s top prep teams against each other. He was a running back, return man and linebacker for the Spartans.

He moved on to UCLA, where he was a consensus All-American in 2005. He was selected in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Jaguars. He was named to three Pro Bowls in eight seasons with Jacksonville. He was named a first-team All-Pro in 2011, when he won the NFL rushing title.

He signed with the Raiders last offseason, and never made a real impact. There was a possibility Jones-Drew would get released this offseason or late in training camp, but he chose to retire instead.

Jones-Drew was well respected by teammates and the press. He was also heavily involved in the community with charitable endeavors he plans to continue in retirement.