New England Patriots: James Develin is retiring after 8 years

Starting fullback James Develin has announced his retirement from the NFL after eight seasons with the New England Patriots.

After eight years, James Develin has played his last down for the New England Patriots.

After going undrafted in 2010, Develin joined the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in the Arena Football League for one season before making the switch to the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, where he was coached by Jay Gruden for one year.

He eventually landed a practice squad opportunity with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011 before signing with the New England Patriots in 2012, where he would go on to play for the duration of his career.

After eight seasons and three Super Bowl championships with the Patriots, the time has officially come for the 31-year-old fullback to retire.

Develin’s retirement should come as no surprise, as the Patriots workhorse had his season cut short last year due to a season-ending neck injury suffered in the fall. Develin made his retirement announcement via Instagram:

"“Due to unforeseen complications with the injury that ended my season last year, I have decided it is both in my and my family’s best interest to retire from the game of football… I have to prioritize my team at home before anything else.”"

Develin has become one of the most well-known fullbacks in Patriots history and is one of the only Patriot running backs to win three Super Bowls during the second half of the franchise’s dynastic 20-year run.

In eight years with the team, Develin has played in 83 games and is best known for being an excellent blocker for Tom Brady and his running mates. Although Develin carried the ball only 15 times and scored five touchdowns in his career, he also had 31 receptions for 222 yards throughout his career in New England.

The role and expectations of a fullback that Develin has provided the Patriots with have all been first class and something that is going to be hard to replace. Due to the 2019 injury, the Patriots saw firsthand what life without Develin looked like and it definitely did not look good by any means.

This is what Bill Belichick had to say last year in regards to losing Develin for the rest of the season, per WEEI’s Andy Hart:

"“First of all, I think we’re fortunate to have one James Develin on our team. He works extremely hard. He’s a versatile player that does things for us offensively and in the kicking game. Very dependable and has a lot of experience in our system. So we’re lucky to have him. To have two of him, and be able to replace him with another James Develin, it’s just unrealistic. So there is no one person that can do what he does. He has a number of different roles on our team.”"

It’s worth mentioning that the Patriots signed fullback Danny Vitale to a one-year deal at the start of free agency and also drafted tight end Dalton Keene, who will be capable of holding some fullback duties this upcoming season.

There will be a special place for the three-time Super Bowl champion James Develin in the Patriots Hall of Fame at One Patriot Place.