Yahoo Finance Former Patriots WR Chris Hogan announces return to lacrosse
If you watched a New England Patriots game at some point between 2016 and 2018, odds are you know of a fun fact about one of the team's former wide receivers.
Chris Hogan, one of Tom Brady's favorite targets during that time, played lacrosse at Penn State before transferring to play football at Monmouth. Broadcasters loved bringing it up, and Hogan himself would refer to Penn State lacrosse as his alma mater at the start of some games.
Now, with his career as a football player who used to play lacrosse fading, Hogan has chosen to become a lacrosse player who used to play football.
The 33-year-old announced in a tweet Saturday that he has signed a deal with the Premier Lacrosse League:
I have signed with @premierlacrosse for the 2021 season. As many of you know, my roots are in lacrosse, and I’m excited to fight for a roster spot with the best in the world! #LFG
— Chris Hogan (@ChrisHogan_15) February 13, 2021
Hogan will find out which of the PLL's eight teams he will play for on March 25, when the league's entry draft is scheduled. The Cannons Lacrosse Club, formerly based in Boston, currently holds the first pick.
As a lacrosse player, Hogan was a first-team All-ECAC selection as midfielder during his junior year at Penn State, scoring 29 goals on 133 shots.
Chris Hogan went from undrafted to Super Bowl success
If Hogan's change in sports marks the end of his NFL career, it will close the book on a story of an undrafted player finding success after a half-decade of drifting between practice squads. After entering the NFL in 2011, Hogan saw his first success when he posted 426 receiving yards and four touchdowns with the Buffalo Bills in 2016.
Hogan found prominence after signing a three-year offer sheet with the Patriots. In his first season in New England, Hogan recorded a career-high 680 receiving yards while working as Brady's deep threat thanks to impressive athleticism. His finest moments came in the postseason, like when he posted 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 2017 AFC championship game or 128 yards in Super Bowl LII.
Hogan ended up winning two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, eventually leaving the team in free agency for the Carolina Panthers in 2019.
Injuries took their toll on Hogan after that, and now he's taking a shot at a lacrosse career. He figures to be by far the most well-known athlete in the PLL's ranks for the general public, and now we'll see just how well his NFL-level athleticism will translate to the professional ranks.
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