McCown announced his retirement on Monday." Patriots

AnalysisRecently retired Josh McCown had a career performance against the Patriots in 2006 — as a receiverNew Stephon Gilmore Jerseys 2019 ,3commentsMcCown announced his retirement on Monday.EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Recently retired Josh McCown had a career performance against the Patriots in 2006 — as a receiverTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesOne of the NFL’s most experienced players decided to call it a career on Monday: Josh McCown, whose career began as a third-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002, announced his retirement from pro football after sixteen seasons in the league — spent on ten different teams. One of those teams are the Detroit Lions, who signed McCown as a free agent in 2006 and after his rookie deal with the Cardinals had expired.McCown’s success in Detroit was rather limited: as the backup quarterback behind Jon Kitna, he appeared in only two games during his lone season with the club. But while McCown did not attempt a single pass, he did show up on the stat sheet with the following numbers:McCown caught three passes over the course of his NFL career, and two of them came in the same year. In fact, they came in the same game: a week thirteen regular season contest against the New England Patriots. As usual, Kitna started and finished the game as the Lions’ quarterback. The team of first-year head coach Rod Marinelli and veteran offensive coordinator Mike Martz had a trick up its collective sleeve regarding its second-string passer, however.In the third quarter, Josh McCown entered the contest at wide receiver — just his second in-game appearance of the season. At first, he did not do much. Seven snaps after first stepping onto the field, however, Kitna found him for an 8-yard gain on a 2nd and 10. The catch would remain the longest of McCown’s career (and in fact his first to go for positive yardage following a -5-yard reception when still with the Cardinals). Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel was credited with the tackle.Two plays after the reception, the Lions tied the game at 13. They eventually took an eight point lead thanks to two field goals and a safety, but the Patriots — who saw Corey Dillon rush for three touchdowns that day — tied the game in the fourth quarter. New England’s deficit, however White Lawrence Guy Jerseys , could have been even bigger had McCown not gotten flagged for offensive pass interference on what would have been a 31-yard catch late in the third period.The Patriots eventually went up 28-21 with under three minutes left in the game. Once more, backup quarterback McCown was inserted into the lineup. And once more, he delivered: on the second play of a potentially game-tying drive, he caught a 7-yard pass. McCown actually eluded Vrabel to gain more yards before being brought down by Tedy Bruschi and James Sanders. The catch would remain the last of McCown’s career.On the very next play after his 7-yard reception, Kitna threw an interception to Mike Vrabel. For Kitna, McCown and the Lions it was the final play of their tenth loss of what would eventually turn out to be a 3-13 season. For Vrabel, on the other hand, it was the perfect way to cap an outstanding performance: he already had a fumble recovery, another pick, and eight tackles on his résumé before catching the game-clincher.The game also was a noteworthy one for McCown: he finished with the best receiving numbers of his career. Yes, he was a quarterback. His usage that day, however, showed that he was much more than that — he was a guy willing to do what it took to help his team succeed. In this sense, Josh McCown would also have fit in well in New England. He never got the chance, but his game against the club in 2006 will live forever.Relive Josh McCown’s two-reception performance against New England here (for some reason, though, the three plays are in the wrong order): Our offseason countdown continues with the Number 14 Most Memorable Patriots Moment of 2018."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementThe Top 20 Patriots Moments of 2018: Number 14 New Lawrence Guy Jerseys 2019 ,3commentsOur offseason countdown continues with the Number 14Most Memorable Patriots Moment of 2018. EDTShareTweetShareShareThe Top 20 Patriots Moments of 2018: Number 14 Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsWe’re well into draft preview mode here at Pats Pulpit right now, so I’m going to be taking a bit of a break from the countdown of the Top 20 Most Memorable Patriots Moments of 2018 while we turn our attention to trying to figure out which DIII backup safety the Patriots will be taking with their first round pick. But I wanted to sneak one more in there today, so as to allow myself more time to slack off on this list down the road.The list so far:20. Danny Etling gets half of the Giants fired with an 86 yard touchdown run.19. The Patriots demolish the Jets at home to secure a playoff bye.18. Julian Edelman bounces off a Bill and into the end zone on a 4th down conversion.17. Some punt team acrobatics keep the Steelers from getting a touchback.16. Gronk magic returns with a 34 yard touchdown seam route catch against the New York Jets.15. James Develin finds the end zone twice against the Minnesota Vikings.A moment like Number 14 seems to happen once a season or so; something that few people saw coming, but made a big impact regardless.14. The New England Patriots trade for Josh Gordon.It’s tough not to know who Josh Gordon is; if you’ve been following football at all since 2012, the name will be familiar. Taken by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon broke out almost right away, recording 840 yards and 5 TDs during his rookie season. However, the off-the-field issues started right away, as Gordon was suspended the first two games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. However, in the 14 games he did play, he notched an absurd 1,646 yards receiving and nine TDs on his way to a Pro Bowl berth. Gordon looked to be poised to break out as one of the NFL’s elite receivers.Unfortunately, 2013 was more or less the peak for Gordon, as he was once again busted for substance abuse and ended up missing the 2014 and 2015 seasons altogether. He applied for reinstatement in 2016, but was denied when he failed a drug test. Gordon finally came back to the field for Cleveland on November 30, 2017, a 19-10 loss to the Packers in which he recorded 85 receiving yards. Although Gordon seemed poised to finally get his act together White Rex Burkhead Jerseys , he only played in a single game for the Browns in 2018. The man’s talent was undeniable, but Cleveland’s front office felt that he had “violated the team’s trust” and that they would thus be parting ways with him.There he was, an incredibly talented, yet troubled, player who needed a change of scenery, a strong locker room, and the leadership and guidance necessary to get his career back on track.Enter the New England Patriots.On September 17th, 2018, on the heels of a 30-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Patriots traded a 2019 5th round pick in exchange for Gordon and a 7th rounder. For practically nothing, New England acquired an elite receiving target for Tommy B, and offered Gordon a chance to turn his life around.As with all things Patriots, the internet exploded. Half of the world was railing against the Patriots for the blatant hypocrisy of signing a stoner, and the other half was lamenting how Gordon was about to have a 4,000 yard season and the Patriots weren’t going to lose another game. Gordon made his debut at home against the Dolphins in Week 4, where he caught two balls on 2 targets for 32 yards, including a solid 19 yard gain Rex Burkhead Jerseys 2019 , both of which converted 3rd downs.Unfortunately, even with strong leadership and a winning culture, Gordon still found himself unable to keep on the straight and narrow. On December 20th, Gordon announced that he would be stepping away from the game to focus on his mental health; it was later revealed that he was once again up against an indefinite ban for violating the NFL’s drug policy. New England had kept him on a tight leash, but he relapsed during the bye week, and that was that. The Patriots forged on without him, and they ended up doing OK, I guess.Who knows; Gordon may finally turn it around and come back into the fold; the Patriots still own his rights. But more importantly, let’s all hope that he’s getting the help he needs and finds himself in good mental health and high spirits. If he has in fact caught his last pass from Tommy B, he’ll be remembered as a high impact player for a short period of time; 40 catches for 740 yards and 3 TDs in only 11 games ain’t too shabby. And whenever the Patriots make any kind of splashy move, it’s a big deal around these parts; we’re used to having to look guys up as opposed to being excited for their potential. Maybe if Gordon had worked out in full, I’d rank him higher. But since he burned bright and fizzled fast, I think the move is well positioned here at Number 14.Josh Gordon Patriots highlights here.