Two-time Pro Bowl CB Johnathan Joseph retires from NFL after 15 years

Johnathan Joseph, a 2006 first-round draft pick of the Bengals who played his first five NFL seasons in Cincinnati and spent last season with the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals, announced his retirement on Thursday.

"Today I retire from the NFL," Joseph wrote on Twitter. "In the summer of 2006, I signed my first NFL contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Fifteen years later, I can say I accomplished my childhood goal of making it to the NFL. I will never forget as a kid telling my father I wanted to be in the NFL."

In March, Joseph told SiriusXM NFL Radio that a conversation he had with J.J. Watt, his former teammate with the Houston Texans, may have helped convince Watt to sign with the Cardinals. Joseph, 37, said he talked up Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph - who coached Johnathan with the Texans from 2011 to 2013 before becoming the Bengals' defensive backs coach in 2014 - to Watt.

Joseph became a free agent in March of last year after nine seasons with the Texans. He signed with the Titans, but Tennessee released him in November. He signed with Arizona and appeared in four games for the Cardinals.

In 15 NFL seasons, Joseph was twice named to the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2012. His career best for interceptions was in 2009 for the Bengals, when he had six. He has 32 career interceptions, eight forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in 211 career games.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Johnathan Joseph, former first-round NFL CB, retires after 15 years