Patriots LB David Harris retires after 11 years in NFL

Linebacker David Harris, who spent one season with the Patriots, called it a career on Friday.

In a statement issued by his reps, Harris wrote: "After 11 years of having played the greatest team sport at its highest level, it's now time for me to announce my retirement from the NFL."

The 34-year-old Harris, who spent 11 years in the NFL (10 with the Jets, one with the Patriots) signed with New England last spring. In 10 games with the Patriots this past season, he finished with 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

BSJ analysis: What’s next for Harris?


Harris retires after a distinguished career in the NFL -- a former second-team All-Pro in 2009, he was one of the more well-respected guys around the league. Smart and informative, he could follow any number of paths when it comes to his post-playing career. One possibility is coaching; I asked several of his teammates this past season about the idea of Harris as a coach, including Dont’a Hightower.

“Absolutely. I mean, I’m not saying just linebacker coach. I’m saying like defensive coordinator-type stuff,” Hightower said. “I mean, coming from two different organizations back whenever he was at the Jets, guys know that if there’s one thing about David, it's that he’s a real smart linebacker.

“I think that guys here saw that real quick and appreciate it. He’s helped that other waves of guys that are coming in, so for him to come in and learn the playbook as well as he has and still help the younger guys like (Elandon Roberts) and the second and third year guys in the secondary, it really helps to have that extra bag of leadership in the back end.”