FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – Patrick Chung, who has been safe in the New England Patriots for years, who planned to play this season after opting out of the 2020 NFL campaign, turned his course and announced his retirement on Thursday .
Chung, 33, said on Instagram that “it’s time to start a new life.”
This would have been Chung’s 12th season in the NFL and 11th with the Patriots. He played in 153 regular season games (122 starts) in addition to 23 playoff games (20 starts).
Chung, who originally joined the team as a second round draft pick in 2009 from the University of Oregon, was part of three Super Bowl championships in New England. He had spent a season with the Philadelphia Eagles, in 2013, but returned the following season, saying the only coach he planned to play for was Bill Belichick.
In his Instagram post, Chung said he announced his retirement through tears, thanking Belichick for “ teaching me life on and off the field. ”
Chung, whose toughness, versatility and work ethic were often noticed by Belichick, is the only player in NFL history to appear in the playoffs in each of his first eleven seasons. He was selected as a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team of the Patriots.
Chung chose the 2020 season for family reasons and told CBS in an interview, “It was a tough decision. You want to play football. I’m at the end of my career, but when it comes down to it, I feel like money isn’t that important. I have a girlfriend who is pregnant, a daughter is coming soon, my son has a little asthma, my dad is 75. I just felt like this was the best decision for my family to keep everyone safe. not over, it’s just been delayed a bit. “
In that sense, Chung was recently training at Gillette Stadium, indicating that he plans to play again in 2021. But things have clearly changed in recent weeks.
The Patriots are deep in safety, with returning starters Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips, and top 2020 draft pick Kyle Dugger returning. They also signed a four-year $ 24 million deal with free-defender Jalen Mills, who had switched from cornerback to safety with the Eagles last season.