Patrick Chung Announces Retirement After 11-Year Career with Patriots, Eagles

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Longtime New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday at the age of 33.

In an Instagram post, Chung thanked his fans and many within the Patriots organization, including owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick.

“Patriot until I die,” Chung wrote.

Chung did not play last season, as he was one of several New England players who opted out of the 2020 campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During an 11-year NFL career, in which 10 seasons were spent with the Pats, Chung appeared in 153 regular-season games and 23 playoff contests. He also won three Super Bowls with New England.

Chung was a second-round pick out of Oregon by the Patriots in the 2009 draft, and he established himself as a full-time starter in his second season.

After spending his first four NFL seasons in New England, Chung signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. Chung was released after just one season, however, and returned to the Patriots in 2014.

Chung was best known for his hard-hitting, accumulating 778 tackles during his career as well as 21 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.

Although he was never great against the pass, Chung did manage to record 57 passes defended and 11 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

In 2019, his final NFL season, he started 12 of the 13 games he appeared in and finished with 51 tackles and no picks.

The writing may have been on the wall regarding Chung’s retirement earlier this week, as the Patriots signed former Eagles safety Jalen Mills to a four-year, $24 million contract, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

That gave New England a ton of safety depth with the 26-year-old Mills joining Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger.

With Chung stepping away from football, the Patriots now have even fewer holdovers remaining on the roster from their incredible 20-year run that yielded six Super Bowl wins.