started every single regular season game over eight seasons. His streak stood at 112 consecutive starts at the time of his release. Laurinaitis attended meetings with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans Saints On March 16, 2016, the New Orleans Saints signed Laurinaitis to a three-year, $8.25 million contract with a signing bonus of $1.80 million. Head coach Sean Payton named Laurinaitis the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season, along with outside linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Stephone Anthony. He started in the New Orleans Saints' season-opener against the Oakland Raiders and collected a season-high seven combined tackles and deflected a pass in their 35–34 loss. On September 26, 2016, Laurinaitis recorded seven combined tackles during a 45–32 loss against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. Laurinaitis sustained an injury to his quadriceps during the Saints' loss to the Falcons and was sidelined for the next two games (Weeks 4–5). His injury ended his streak of 115 consecutive starts. On November 5, 2016, Laurinaitis was placed on injured reserve after re-injuring his quadriceps. On November 17, 2016, Laurinaitis was waived by the Saints from the injured reserve. He finished the season with 17 combined tackles (nine solo) and a pass deflection in five games and three starts. Retirement On April 11, 2017, Laurinaitis announced his retirement after an 8-year career in the NFL. NFL career statistics Coaching career Laurinaitis entered the coaching profession in 2022 when he was named a graduate assistant and assistant linebackers coach for Notre Dame under former Ohio State teammate Marcus Freeman. The following season, he was named to the same position for his alma matter, Ohio State. Personal life Laurinaitis is one of two children born to Joseph and Julie Laurinaitis. He has Lithuanian roots on his father's side. Laurinaitis has a half-brother, Joseph, Jr., from his father's first marriage, who is a veteran of the Iraq War and training to become a police officer. His younger sister, Jessica, played on her high school hockey team and graduated from high school in 2008. Laurinaitis comes from a family that has significant ties to Professional wrestling. His father Joe wrestled as Road Warrior Animal, one half of legendary wrestling tag-team The Road Warriors with Road Warrior Hawk. His uncle Marcus wrestled in Europe, Japan, and the United States as The Terminator and later Fury. His other uncle, John, wrestled as Johnny Ace