INDIANAPOLIS — Dwight Freeney's playing days might officially be over, but some other opportunities are certainly coming his way.
The great Indianapolis Colts pass rusher will serve as a guest analyst on the NFL Network today and tomorrow, where he's schedule to appear alongside former Colts teammate and current NFL Network analyst Reggie Wayne on Total Access. The show will air live tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
Freeney is entering his first NFL offseason as a retired player, as he signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Colts last month.
A first-round (11th-overall) pick by the Colts in the 2002 NFL Draft, Freeney would carve himself quite the career as a so-called "undersized" pass rusher coming out of Syracuse.
He spent the first 11 seasons of his 16-year NFL career in Indianapolis, and during that time he was selected to seven Pro Bowls and was a three-time First-Team All-Pro selection. In 218 career games with the Colts (2002-12), San Diego Chargers (2013-14), Arizona Cardinals (2015), Atlanta Falcons (2016), Seattle Seahawks (2017) and Detroit Lions (2017), Freeney totaled 341 tackles (292 solo), 63.0 tackles for loss, 125.5 sacks, 16 passes defensed, 47 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
His 125.5 career sacks ranks tied for 17th all-time in NFL history, while his 47 forced fumbles ranks fifth.
Freeney was also a winner, having played in three Super Bowls, winning the title with the Colts back in 2006.
While he said he still feels like he could play at a high level, Freeney said he decided not to pursue a 17th NFL season in 2018 because he "wanted to kind of see what life had to offer outside of football as well."
This week's appearances on the NFL Network could very well give Freeney proper perspective into a possible career on TV.
"I still love the game," Freeney said last month about his retirement. "I wanted to kind of see what else is going on with life before I got too old."
The Indianapolis Colts today announced that great pass rusher Dwight Freeney, a first-round pick in 2002 who compiled 125.5 sacks in his career, has decided to retire as a member of the Colts.
