Patriots' elder statesman Troy Brown has officially retired from the NFL.

Similar to Johnny Pesky, whose number will be retired by the Sox tomorrow, he never had gaudy individual statistics (aside from his 101 reception season from 2001), but he always provided valuable contributions that allowed the Pats to excel to the degree that they have this decade. When I look back on Troy's playing days, the thing that will stand out most in my mind is his decision to play both ways when injuries decimated the secondary in 2004. Nothing against the guy, but do you think Randy Moss would volunteer to occupy a corner or nickel spot if Harrison, Hobbs and O'Neal went down this year? And not only did Troy fill in admirably, he had three picks in just 12 games! Here's hoping they figure out a way to keep Troy in the organization as a special advisor or in some other capacity.