Following a lengthy career that saw three Super Bowl championships, New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk has decided to retire from football.
Faulk announced his retirement at a ceremony at Gillette Stadium in front of his coaches, teammates and family members. He was heaped with praise from many people, including former teammate Troy Brown and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
''No matter what he was asked to do, nobody did it better than Kevin,'' Belichick said to ESPNBoston.com. ''He always put the team first, he always worked hard. Nobody contributed more to the team winning than Kevin.''
Faulk played on three Super Bowl winning teams and is New England's franchise leader in all-purpose yardage.
'I never thought I'd be saying I'm retiring from football,'' Faulk said, ''and I never thought I'd have three of these.''
Faulk played his entire NFL career for the Patriots, including two games in the 2012 season before going down with an injury. He spent the last two years being nagged by injuries and played seven games in 2011. He was also inactive for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis against the New York Giants in which the Patriots lost 21-17.
Faulk played a big part in each of the Patriots Super Bowl-winning teams, including in Super Bowl XXXV against the Carolina Panthers when he had 42 rushing yards and 19 receiving yards in the game.
"The bigger the situation or the play, the more you could count on him," Belichick said.
Faulk was used mostly as a third-down back for the Patriots, but was the team's primary option in the running game for years. According to ESPN.com, Faulk is "the all-time leader in career all-purpose yards (12,349) and return yards (5,041)."
"I've known for about three weeks now," Faulk told ESPNBoston.com. "It was right around the time they were making the announcement of Troy (Brown) being inducted into the (Patriots) Hall of Fame. I held out the last couple of weeks (before making it official). Maybe it was a mourning process."
This season the Patriots have completely improved their running game behind Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden, gaining 165 yards per game, good for third in the NFL.
Faulk was drafted by the Patriots as the 46th pick in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft out of LSU, where he set numerous career rushing records. While in college Faulk was prolific, setting records for most career rushing yards (4,557 yards), yards per rush and career touchdowns with 46.
Throughout his Patriot career Faulk was a known to be skilled runner and was valuable as a receiver from the backfield and as a returner in the kicking game. In his first season he complied over 1,000 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns. His best season rushing the ball came in 2003 when he amassed 638 yards on the ground.
"Kevin Faulk helped define the way an entire generation of Patriots fans have come to view and appreciate our brand of football," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "He worked so hard to get better every year. He was always one of the first to arrive in the building and among the last to leave."
His 4,098 kick return yards are a Patriots franchise record and for his career he rushed for over 3,500 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. He also scored 15 receiving touchdowns, nearly all of them coming from quarterback Tom Brady.
Wide receiver Matthew Slater had nothing but glowing things to say about Faulk. The two were teammates for four years.
"More than anything, he epitomizes the kind of player this organization has built its success on," Slater said on Monday to ESPNBoston.com. "The kind of guy who's been unselfish over the course of his career, and really stepped up in big moments. He was a huge role player. He became a star as a role player, made plays for this team time after time in big clutch situations."
Faulk's last game action came in December of 2011 against the Denver Broncos. He was credited with one rushing attempt for one yard in the Patriots 41-24 win. He ended his career the way he spent most of it: gaining positive yards.
''His work ethic, enthusiasm for the game and clutch performances, especially on third down, earned him the respect of his coaches, teammates and fans alike," said Kraft. "He retires a Patriot whose career will always be celebrated for helping deliver three Super Bowl championships to New England.''
