A three-time Super Bowl champion is calling it a career. On Friday, New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty announced his retirement after playing for 13 seasons. He will join his twin brother Jason who announced his retirement after the 2021 season.
“I’m officially retiring from the NFL,” Devin McCourty said in an Instagram post, per NFL.com. “It has been a great ride. I’ve got the opportunity to Mr. (Robert) Kraft, to talk to Bill (Belichick), a lot of the guys on the defensive staff. Unbelievable ride, man. I think it’s always tough to kind of come to the end, as you know. This whole offseason has been so much back and forth for me mentally, probably not even sharing as much of the thoughts that I was just going between from one day to the next day. But ultimately, I think this is the best decision for me, my family, for my career, is to be able to now look back now at my 13 years and just enjoy it.”
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McCourty was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. In his career, McCourty was selected to the Pro Bowl twice, named to the All-Pro Second Team three times and helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Patriots named him a team captain 12 times, and he’s one of 90 NFL players to start 200 games. McCourty is also one of 24 NFL to start 200 games with one team.
“It is a rare group of players who win games at a historic rate, exude team culture, lead, win awards, and win championships,” Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. “And then there is Devin McCourty. Devin did all of those things as a player and more. But, what I think of first when I think of Devin is the type of man he is, his character, his values and how high he raised the bar for spreading goodness and justice in the community. For 13 years, Devin made everyone in our organization feel better and be better because of who he is – a pillar of professionalism, unselfishness, work ethic, preparation, intelligence and performance. I am excited to see him bring those same traits to his next chapter and brighten the lives of even more people.”
