Dan Connolly Retires: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

After 10 NFL seasons, primarily as a member of the New England Patriots, 32-year-old offensive lineman Dan Connolly announced his retirement from football Thursday.

The Pats' starting left guard decided to step away from the game while still in good physical condition, telling ESPN.com's Mike Reiss:

"

It's important to me to leave the game healthy. I'm able to be here for my kids and walk away on my own terms. I feel like I got everything I could out of football in playing 10 years, winning a Super Bowl, and playing alongside some truly great players.

"

Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal provided a statement from Bill Belichick on Connolly:

Connolly was an unrestricted free agent, and although he likely would have caught on with a team due to his experience and versatility, he was happy to go out as a champion. He told Reiss, "[Winning the Super Bowl] definitely played a part in it; helped me sleep better. I'm more at ease with the decision."

Reiss added, "Health was the 'biggest factor' in his thought process, as he had four diagnosed concussions in the NFL, as well as a fifth when playing at Marquette High School in Chesterfield, Missouri."

Connolly entered the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent out of Southeast Missouri State in 2005, and he signed on with New England's practice squad in 2007.

After a few seasons of serving primarily as a reserve, Connolly started 13 games in 2010, and he started at least 11 games in every subsequent season at left guard, right guard and center.

Connolly was the type of player Belichick has come to love over the years due to his toughness and ability to adapt. Belichick said this of Connolly in September 2014, according to Mike Petraglia of weei.com:

"

Dan's been good. He's been good every year. He's been one of our most consistent, dependable players; smart. You can always count on him. He played left guard, he's played center, he's played right guard. He played tackle in college. He's played all those positions along the line. He's really kind of been pretty seamless when he's had to move from one spot to another.

"

Although Connolly was rarely in the spotlight during his time with the Patriots, he played an integral role as a plug-and-play offensive lineman. His contributions will be missed as the Pats move forward with younger options such as Marcus Cannon, Ryan Wendell and Bryan Stork on the interior of the line.

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