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Patriots' Rob Ninkovich Announces Retirement After 12 NFL Seasons

Rob Ninkovich has been in New England for eight of his 12 years in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the Patriots.

Rob Ninkovich of the New England Patriots announced his retirement Sunday. 

In eight years in New England, Ninkovich started in 101 games and won two Super Bowls.

Before getting to the Patriots, he was drafted by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2006 draft and after a year with New Orleans, he spent two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. In his first three seasons, he played in eight games. His best season came in 2013, when he finished with 93 tackles, eight sacks, two forces fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 16 starts for New England. In 2014, e became the first Patriots player to record at least eight sacks in three straight seasons since Andre Tippett.

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During the 2016 season he had four sacks and two forced fumbles in 12 games. He also had a sack in the Patriots' postseason opener against the Houston Texans.

During his 11-year career, Ninkovich accumulated 46 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries and five interceptions. He returned two of those turnovers for touchdowns.