This year’s divisional-round playoff matchup at Gillette Stadium was the final game of Vince Wilfork’s NFL career. Or was it?
The former New England Patriots and Houston Texans nose tackle said after that game he likely would retire. But he said Wednesday in a SiriusXM NFL Radio interview that he has yet to make his final decision.
“Right now,” Wilfork said, “I am not retired.”
Wilfork also discussed his NFL future in a “SportsCenter” appearance later Wednesday morning.
“Right now, I’m doing everything I possibly can to make sure, 100 percent, whatever I want to do, I’m good with it,” he said. “I’m not rushing anything. I’m in no rush to say if I’m going to play or not going to play. I’m just taking it day by day. … I just want to make sure that, 100 percent, whatever decision I do make, it’s the right decision.”
Wilfork currently is a free agent after the Texans chose not to re-sign him. The 35-year-old spent his first 11 seasons with the Patriots — earning five Pro Bowl nods and five All-Pro selections (one first-team, four second-team) — before playing the 2015 and 2016 campaigns in Houston.
One of the most dominant defensive tackles of the last two decades, Wilfork helped the Patriots win Super Bowls in his first and last seasons in New England.
“I enjoyed 11 great years in New England and I enjoyed two great years in Texas with these teammates, unbelievable teammates,” Wilfork told reporters after the Texans’ 34-16 loss to the Patriots in January. “I couldn’t have any better teammates from both organizations. You talk about the organization itself, top of the class. They’re just two owners that anyone would love to play for.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
