Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former Patriots great Logan Mankins retiring

Published Mar. 7, 2016 10:15 a.m. ET

Kerouac Smith

Offensive lineman Logan Mankins, who helped keep quarterback Tom Brady upright in New England for close to a decade, is retiring, the Tampa Bay Bucs announced Monday. Mankins finished his career in Tampa after nine seasons in New England.

“It is always difficult losing a player of Logan’s caliber both on the field and in the locker room. He is one of the toughest, most intelligent and skilled players at his position that I have seen in my years around this game. Logan distinguished himself as the ultimate professional over his 11-year career and he was an unquestioned leader for us over the past two seasons. His leadership, work ethic and selflessness played a key role in the development of our younger players and he set the standard which we use to evaluate all of our offensive linemen,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said in a statement.

Mankins was the final pick of the first round in the 2005 NFL Draft after a dominant college career at Fresno State.

He wound up a key member of the Patriots, making seven Pro Bowls and being named to the Pats all-decade team for the 2000s.

But he never won a title with the Patriots. In fact, he was drafted just months after the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX and traded just a few months before New England won Super Bowl XLIX.

Mankins was traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs in August 2014 after refusing to take a pay cut in New England.

The 6-foot-4, 308-pound guard will turn 34 on Thursday.

Source: #Bucs guard Logan Mankins is retiring. The former #Patriots great calls it a career.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2016

Ex-#Patriots & #Bucs G Logan Mankins was tough, nasty, played through the whistle… and is a great dude when the play ends. One of a kind.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2016