Super Bowl-winning OL announces his retirement

Ferentz joined the league as a Texans UDFA in 2014. He did not make his debut until one year later after joining the Broncos, and he made 14 appearances that season. He was an auxiliary member of Denver’s O-line as the team won the Super Bowl, marking an eventful start to Ferentz’s playing days at the NFL level.

The Iowa alum remained in the Mile High City for another campaign, though he again did not see any starts. That changed after he joined the Patriots, as he started a pair of games in 2019. Ferentz logged between 134 and 269 offensive snaps each season from 2019-22, seeing time at center as well as both guard positions.

The 34-year-old served as a de facto coach this past campaign (the final one of his contract) as a veteran member of New England’s offensive front. He has family ties to the coaching ranks since his father Kirk has been Iowa’s head coach since 1999. 

His brother Brian, meanwhile, has served on the Hawkeyes’ staff for over a decade after a stint on the Patriots’ sidelines. It will be interesting to see if James follows in their footsteps in his post-playing days.

“To the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots organizations, thank you for the combined ten years of my career,” Ferentz’s announcement reads in part. “Thank you Bill O’Brien, Gary Kubiak and Bill Belichick for giving me the opportunity to play pro football when no one else would … A special thank you to the towns of Foxboro and Norfolk, Massachusetts, where my family has luckily called home for the past seven years.”

Ferentz did not play in the regular season in 2019, but he did dress for one game in the Patriots’ Super Bowl run that year. He will thus exit the game as a two-time champion and a veteran of 63 total games between regular and postseason play. He amassed $5.76M in career earnings.