New England Patriots fullback James Develin announced he’s retiring on Monday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Devlin suffered a season-ending neck injury in 2019, and New England immediately seemed to struggle in the running game. Sony Michel, for example, regressed from 4.5 yards per carry in 2018 to 3.7 yards per carry in 2019. There were a number of factors which contributed to that decline, but there is no doubt that Develin was one of them.
He scored five rushing touchdowns on 15 carries. He also had 31 receptions for 222 receiving yards. But his stats, of course, do not show all the game-changing blocks he delivered while lead blocking for running backs like LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis, Michel, James White, Stevan Ridley, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Jonas Gray and so many others.
The Patriots signed fullback Dan Vitale this offseason, and drafted tight end Dalton Keene, who played some fullback in college. Perhaps the team had a sense this was coming.
