A veteran NFL wide receiver that won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots is leaving the game. Danny Amendola announced he is retiring from the NFL after a 13-season career. He told ESPN’s Adam Schefter “It was better than I could have ever imagined,” when talking about his time in the league. The 36-year-old took to Twitter to show highlights of his career and wrote, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Amendola began his career with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. He didn’t see any action that year as he was on the practice squad. It was the same situation at the beginning of the 2009 season as Amdeola was a practice squad player for the Philadelphia Eagles. That changed in September 2009 when he signed with the St. Louis Rams and caught 43 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown in 14 games. He would spend four seasons with the Rams before signing with the Patriots.
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During his time in New England, Amendola helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl during the 2014 and 2016 seasons. He played in 13 playoff games for the Patriots in five seasons and caught 57 passes for 709 yards and six touchdowns. Once his time in New England was over, Amendola spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans before retiring.
“I love Danny,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters Tuesday morning. “He was a very good player for us. Had a lot of skill, mostly played inside but could play outside, could return, very smart, tough, dependable, great hands, concentration — just a good football player. Glad we had him here and he certainly was a big contributor for us.”
Belichick went on to say what made Amendola a great player for the Patriots. “Very dependable, very dependable. He was tough. He blocked. We’ve been very fortunate to have some good players at that position,” Belichick said. “Guys that have played in that spot have been different, but they’ve all been productive and they’ve all brought some of the same common characteristics to the inside receiver position. It’s been a very productive spot for us through the years, through a lot of different types of plays, quarterbacks, play calls, defenses. We’ve been very, very fortunate with the players that we’ve had here, but Danny certainly ranks high in that group.” Amendola finished his career with 617 receptions, 6,212 yards and 24 touchdowns in 163 games.
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