HARRISONBURG – Former James Madison football standout Arthur Moats announced his retirement from the NFL via Twitter on Monday.

“I have to give a big thanks to the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers for giving me this opportunity to play 9 seasons in the NFL!” Moats wrote in his post. “Last but certainly not least, I have to give a big shout out to #BillsMafia & #SteelersNation for all the support! #DontCrossTheMoats #Retired.”

Moats spent nine seasons in the league while playing four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, before the next four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and part of this past season with the Arizona Cardinals.

A product of Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Moats had 202 total tackles to go along with 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries over the course of his pro career. He is also known for delivering the hit on Brett Favre that ended the quarterback’s consecutive start streak at 297 games.

Off the field for his charitable work, Moats was the Bills’ Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee in 2013 and again for the Steelers in 2016. Moats even frequently returns to Harrisonburg to visit Big Brothers Big Sisters, an organization he began working with while he was in school at JMU.

For the Dukes, Moats had 218 total tackles, 29 sacks and 48.5 tackles for loss and was the winner of the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top defender in all of FCS.