Patriots LB Bruschi retires after 13 NFL seasons and an inspiring comeback from a stroke

Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi announces retirement

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tedy Bruschi has announced his retirement after 13 seasons with the New England Patriots.

Bruschi, who spent his entire NFL career with the Patriots, said Monday he was retiring with only one unachieved goal — a fourth championship.

The 36-year-old inside linebacker was part of all three of the club’s Super Bowl-winning teams and returned from a mild stroke suffered in February 2005 to play eight months later.

Bruschi’s performance declined last year and he was playing with the second unit on defense this summer. He missed much of training camp with an undisclosed injury but played in the past two of the team’s three exhibition games.