LeGarrette Blount retires and thanks Patriots after calling them out

Former Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount announced his retirement this week.

Former New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount made headlines this week when he called out the organization’s supposed inability to find a viable replacement for him since he left after the 2016 season during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show.

There was legitimately zero reason for Blount to spew such hostile comments, but that’s just a testament to the type of confidence he flaunted as a player. Amazingly enough, they actually held a ton of value as he put together one of the most successful Patriots tenures from the RB position in the last decade.

Well, fans in New England might start to see Blount unleash his ego-driven opinion on sports talk shows more often moving forward because he penned an emotional statement on Instagram announcing his retirement on Friday.

That’s a lengthy caption, but here’s what Blount wrote about the Patriots.

"“Bill (Belichick) and RK (Robert Kraft), I can’t thank y’all enough! New England, I love you! PatsNation, I love you! 2 Super Bowl rings and a chance to play with the coldest QB to ever play the game in TB (Tom Brady)! I made the best of friends, a lot turned into family, and many doors were opened for me. Thank y’all so much!!”"

Calling out New England earlier in the week, then thanking them in authentic fashion a few days later? If that doesn’t perfectly encapsulate his personality, then nothing does. Despite that, however, Patriots fans should no doubt remember Blount in a positive light.

After all, he won two Super Bowls across his three-plus seasons (2013-2016) with the organization. Though he was by and large a consistent contributor, the 34-year-old will be most remembered among Patriots fans for the Pro Bowl-caliber season he put together in 2016.

That year, Blount took 299 carries (!) for 1,168 yards and a league-leading 18 touchdowns. He also found the end zone in the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh and logged an insane 148 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts in the AFC title game the year prior.

Given that the Oregon product hadn’t played in the NFL since 2018, this announcement was a long time coming and we wish him nothing but the best in retirement.

Insider thinks Patriots can land star wide receiver on a discount in offseason

New England Patriots insider Doug Kyed thinks the team can sign a game-changing wide receiver on a discount in the offseason