FLORHAM PARK, NJ – Former Super Bowl champion Chris Hogan, who has taken 216 passes in nine NFL seasons, is returning to his other favorite sport – lacrosse.
Hogan, 33, entered his name in the Premier Lacrosse League entry draft on March 25, he confirmed on Saturday.
“As many of you know, my roots are in lacrosse, and I’m excited to fight for a place in the squad with the best in the world!” he posted on Twitter on Saturday.
Hogan was a four-card winner and captain at Penn State, where he played lacrosse from 2007 to 2010, after a highly decorated career at Ramapo High School in northern New Jersey. He was a Nittany Lions midfielder, scoring 29 goals as a junior and earning full ECAC recognition. His coach once said that he “could be the best middleman in Division I.”
In his pre-primetime video as a member of the New England Patriots, Hogan announced his alma mater as “Penn State lacrosse”. He used his last year of eligibility to play football at Monmouth (NJ) University.
Hogan did not say whether he was retiring from the NFL.
He played last season for the New York Jets, getting 14 passes for 118 yards in five games. The Jets were so exhausted on the wide receiver that Hogan, who joined the training camp, became an immediate starter. He fell into the reserve injured with a high ankle sprain and was released from IR in December.
His best years were with the Patriots, from 2016 to 2018. He became a sure target for Tom Brady and won two Super Bowl rings in New England before moving on to the Carolina Panthers and Jets. He started his career with Buffalo Bills.
In a 2019 interview with US Lacrosse magazine, Hogan said he would be “absolutely” interested in playing lacrosse again. He still had a cane, he said, but he hadn’t worn gloves in eight years.
In 2018, Hogan allegedly became an investor in the Premier Lacrosse League, which consists of eight teams after a recent merger with Major League Lacrosse. The entry draft is for players who have never played PLL.