4-time All-Pro NFL star to retire after 16 seasons. Will re-sign with Super Bowl-winning team

By Joe Setyon April 19, 2018 at 2:21pm

Former Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney has decided to call it a career after 16 years in the NFL.

Before he leaves for good, though, he’ll return to the team that drafted him — the same team that he won a Super Bowl with.

Freeney, 38, will formally announce his retirement on Monday at a news conference in Indiana, the team said.

He’ll sign a one-day contract with the Colts and then officially retire.

93 is retiring as an Indianapolis Colt: https://t.co/xhrhrSK309

Thanks for the memories, @dwightfreeney! pic.twitter.com/VJop23JC9Y

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) April 19, 2018

Freeney was drafted by the Colts with the 11th pick in the 2002 NFL draft.

He quickly became one of the top pass-rushers in the league, with at least 10 sacks in each of his first four seasons.

In 2007, Freeney became a Super Bowl champion, as the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

Freeney played a total of 11 seasons with the Colts, racking up 258 tackles, including 107.5 sacks.

Do you think Dwight Freeney is a Hall of Famer?

A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was named a First-Team All Pro three times and a Second-Team All-Pro once.

Following the 2012 season, Freeney signed with the San Diego Chargers.

He also had stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawaks.

Freeney will finish his career with 125.5 career sacks, tied for 17th-most in NFL history.

Dwight Freeney is retiring after 16 NFL seasons. He'll sign a one-day contract with the Colts. He's a 7-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champ and had 125.5 career sacks.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 19, 2018

He certainly had a standout career.

Now, only time will tell whether it was worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Submit a Correction →

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:

Football, Indianapolis Colts, NFL

Joe Setyon

Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial

SummaryMore Biographical InformationRecent PostsContact

Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.

@JoeSetyon

Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Politics