Another piece of the winning history of the New England Patriots is leaving the building.
This one is not headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; he is headed for retirement.
Patriots safety Patrick Chung announces retirement after 11-year career. pic.twitter.com/xHgwFZI3Hr
— NFL (@NFL) March 18, 2021
Veteran defensive back Patrick Chung announced his retirement from the NFL on Instagram today.
“I want to say thank you to the Patriots organization, my family, my fans, coaches, just everyone. I’m in tears writing this but I’ve decided to hang up the cleats. Bill [Belichick] Mr. Kraft (mean mug) thank you for fiving me the opportunity to play for your team for 11 years. I love you. Bill for teaching me life on and off the field, I will not forget that. To my teammates, trainers, Eq team, video guys, meal room employees, janitors, etc. I love you guys and ladies. Thank you for being the rock to the organization. For cleaning up, feeding taking care of me for 11 years. You will forever be family. But it’s time to start a new life. Patriot until I die!!! Love you all.”
Patrick Chung’s Career
Chung, 33, was born in Jamaica.
He went to college at Oregon.
The Patriots selected him in the second round (34th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.
This morning S Patrick Chung announced his retirement. Here are some of his achievements in the NFL provided by @MikeReiss. https://t.co/P44NNM0qj1
— Patriots Insight (@NEInsight) March 18, 2021
He left the Patriots to join the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2013 season but returned in 2014.
Chung is a three time Super Bowl champion and a member of the Patriots 2010’s All Decade Team.
In his career, he had 521 solo tackles, 56 pass deflections, and 11 interceptions.
Chung opted out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic so the last time he was on the field for the Patriots was during the 2019 season.
The decision to sit out in 2020 was difficult for Chung.
At the time, he said:
“Of course, it’s a tough decision. You want to play football. I’m in the latter end of my career, so I wanted to play football. But when it comes down to it, I feel that money is not that important. I have a girlfriend that’s pregnant, a baby girl coming soon, my son has a little asthma, my dad is 75 years old. I just felt like this was the best decision for my family to keep everyone safe. I don’t think it’s fair to them. So I decided to do that.”
Reaction To Chung’s Retirement Announcement
Tom Brady congratulated Patrick Chung on his retirement.
“What an incredible career. It was an honor to be your teammate!!”
Brothers. One hell of a career. pic.twitter.com/sshyzuYMrQ
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) March 18, 2021
Though there has been no official statement from Coach Belichick, over the years he has spoken very highly of Patrick Chung.
In September 2018, he said:
“[He’ll play] anywhere. I mean, not on the interior line. He can go hard all day. He’s a very, very well conditioned athlete with good playing strength, good instincts, good toughness. He’s just a very versatile guy.”
Belichick put Chung in esteemed company.
“Guys that come to mind are [safety Rodney] Harrison, [linebacker Mike] Vrabel. They’re just kind of out there on [practically] every play, whether it’s their period or someone else’s period.”
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