BREAKING: Patriots fullback James Develin announces his retirement

The New England Patriots suffered some major losses over the course of this offseason — from quarterback Tom Brady and linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins, to assistant coaches Dante Scarnecchia and Joe Judge. Now, another name joins them on the list: veteran fullback James Develin took to social media on Monday to announce his retirement from pro football.

Develin originally arrived in New England in 2012 and went on to become earn the team’s fullback job the following season. Over the years that followed, he appeared in 83 regular season games as well as 14 playoff contests and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls. Continuously among the best fullbacks in the NFL, he was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2017 and time and again proved himself as reliable a player as any on New England’s roster.

Unfortunately, Develin also suffered some major injuries during his time with the Patriots: he missed the entire 2015 season after breaking his tibia during the preseason, and ended the 2019 season on injured reserve as well after suffering a neck injury in Week 2. That neck injury has now played a big role in Develin’s decision to hang up his cleats at the age of 31 as he mentioned in the statement he released: