FOXBORO -- Kevin Faulk, who announced his retirement recently after 13 seasons with the Patriots, was honored by the team at halftime of Sunday's 37-31 win over the Bills.
"This has been amazing," he told the sellout crowd at Gillette Stadium which showered him with cheers throughout the ceremony. "Ever since I announced my retirement, I didn't know how I was going to accept . . . not playing football anymore, but you are the ones who got me through it. From the Twitter messages, personal messages you sent me and let me know how I played the game of football is how it is really meant to be played, I want to thank you once again for all those kind words that helped me."
Faulk thanked his friends and family and his "other" family, the Patriots, specifically coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft. He also remembered Kraft's late wife, Myra, in his remarks.
And, eventually, he came back to the fans.
"Once again, the opportunity to play in front of these magnificent fans has been the real reason why it has really pushed me and pushed the football team that I played on for 13 years to be so successful and who we are."