Under-The-Radar Patriot Retires After Seven Seasons In New England

James Ferentz is calling it a career.

Ferentz on Monday announced his retirement from the NFL after a decade in the league. The center spent seven of those seasons in New England, where he won Super Bowl LIII with the Patriots in the 2018 campaign.

Undrafted out of Iowa in 2014, Ferentz broke into the NFL with the Houston Texans as a member of their practice squad. The 34-year-old saw his first professional game action with the Broncos, playing 14 games in the 2015 season and helping Denver win Super Bowl 50. Ferentz spent one more campaign in the Mile Hity City before latching on with the Patriots as a free agent in May 2017.

Ferentz didn’t appear in a regular-season game for New England that season but played in at least one Patriots contest in each of his final six campaigns with the organization. He was particularly helpful for New England in 2019, playing in 15 games while longtime center David Andrews sat out the entire campaign due to blood clots.

Time will tell what the future holds for Ferentz, but it’s easy to see him staying in the game as a coach. His father, Kirk Ferentz, has been at the helm at Iowa since 1999 and James reportedly was a de facto coach for the Patriots in his final season with the team.