As the NFL offseason gets ready to shift into gear, a two-time Super Bowl champion has decided to call it a career.
New England Patriots offensive lineman James Ferentz announced Monday on his Instagram account that he would be retiring from the NFL.
Ferentz’s statement can be seen below, via Ben Belford-Peltzman of The Patriots Beat.
Breaking: Veteran #Patriots OL James Ferentz is retiring from the game of football, per his instagram.
Ferentz is a 2X Super Bowl champion and has been with the Patriots since 2018. pic.twitter.com/0UWomQEpmd
— Ben Belford-Peltzman (@thepatriotsbeat) February 19, 2024
Naturally, Ferentz thanked his family, teammates, coaches, and fans for the good memories during his 10-year NFL career.
Ferentz is the son of longtime Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz, and he played for Kirk at Iowa from 2008-12. The 2012 second-team All-Big Ten center was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and spent the entire season on the team’s practice squad.
He was then waived by Houston at the start of the 2015 season and claimed by the Denver Broncos. Ferentz played 13 games at center for the Broncos in the 2015 season en route to the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory over the Carolina Panthers. He remained with the Broncos through the 2016 season before being released and signing with the Patriots.
Ferentz spent 2017 and most of 2018 on the Patriots’ practice squad, but was activated in November 2018 and with the team for their run to Super Bowl LIII, which New England won 13-3 over the Los Angeles Rams.
He went on to spend the final five seasons of his career bouncing between New England’s main roster and practice squad, starting a total of 10 games in his time with the Patriots. He made 40 appearances overall for the team.
[Ben Belford-Peltzman]
