Veteran linebacker Tedy Bruschi is hanging up his cleats, leaving a big vacancy on the field and in the clubhouse at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. He announced his retirement Monday.
Bruschi, who has spent the last 13 seasons and his entire NFL career with the New England Patriots, said he’s retiring with only one unachieved goal, a fourth championship. "How do I sum it up? How do I feel about Tedy Bruschi in five seconds. He's a perfect player. He's helped create a tradition here we're all proud of." Belichick walks off the podium and the two embrace," Bill Belichick said during the news conference, the Boston Globe reports. The 36-year-old inside linebacker was part of all three of the Patriot’s Super-Bowl winning teams and even returned to the field eight months after suffering a minor stroke in February 2005. Bruschi is one of the six remaining Patriots to have been part of all three Super-Bowl championships. The Boston Herald reports he was drafted in the third round from Arizona in 1996 and went from being a special teamer to one of the club’s most pivotal players, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 2004. Bruschi missed much of training camp with an undisclosed injury. He did play in the past two of the team’s three exhibition games. While we won't see him on the field, he said he plans to settle in New England with his family, the Globe reports.