Ex Patriot Retires After 13-year NFL Career

It’s the Year of retired Patriots players. First, Tom Brady called it career. Well, he changed his mind and came back for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Second, tight end Rob Gronkowski called it career and it seems like he will stay retired this time. There’s more. Danny Amendola has just announced his decision to retire from the NFL. The former Patriot retires after 13 seasons and two Super Bowl wins.

Adam Schefter was among the first to confirm the retirement decision. “It was better than I could have ever imagined,” Amendola told Schefter.

Undrafted players don’t really win Super Bowls, especially when they are undersized like Amendola. He did things differently and got a couple of rings as a Patriots player. It’s interesting to note that NFL teams showed great interest in him, but Amendola didn’t change his mind. He will stay retired.

The former Patriot retires after a few stops in the NFL

Amendola spent the first four seasons with the St. Louis Rams and then joined the Patriots for the next five years. The former Patriots WR joined the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. He spent the final season of his career in Houston.

The WR had a decent career in the NFL. He did 617 receptions for 6,212 yards, and 24 touchdowns. Amendola didn’t eclipse the 1,000 mark in his career. Moreover, he didn’t do more than 689 yards.

Bill Belichick was happy with Amendola though. The WR had 230 receptions, 2,383 yards, and 12 touchdowns during his five years with the Patriots. He averaged 10.4 yards per reception and was able to catch over 70% of his targets.

In the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, Amendola had five receptions for 48 yards. In the game against the Atlanta Falcons, he had eight receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Patriots fans will always remember the two touchdowns Amendola delivered in the fourth quarter of the 2018 AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Amendola had eight catches for 152 yards. So yes, it was a good trip!