Dwight Freeney will be inducted into the Colts' honor ring

INDIANAPOLIS – Dwight Freeney, the dominant defensive wing and cornerstone of the Indianapolis Colts' historic teams in the 2000s, will be inducted into the Indianapolis Colts honor ring at the Lucas Oil stadium during the 2019 season, Colts announced today.

Freeney played 11 seasons (2002-12) with the Colts after being selected by the team in the first round (11th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft in Syracuse.

"From the first day, Dwight Freeney arrived on the ground, we knew that he was special," said Jim Irsay, owner and chief of the Colts. "Sixteen seasons later, Dwight has exceeded all our expectations and has become one of the best rushers of the game to date. He was an artist and a terror on the ground. His patented move was a nightmare for all offensive linemen he faced. More importantly, he was a leader in the locker room and a man off the field who represented the Horseshoe with honor. We are proud to have his name and his legacy alongside the greatest Colts playing this game. "

As a Colt, Freeney has been three times Associated press First All-Pro team and seven Pro Bowl selections. He was a member of the Colts Super Bowl XLI Championship team in the 2006 campaign and competed in two other Super Bowls, one as a Colt and the other as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. .

In 16 seasons in the NFL, Freeney has played 218 career games (157 starts) with the Colts, San Diego Chargers (2013-14), Arizona Cardinals (2015), Falcons (2016), Seattle Seahawks (2017) ) and the Detroit Lions (2017). . He had 341 tackles (292 solo), 63.0 loss tackles, 125.5 sacks, 16 defensive passes, 47 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He retired from the NFL as a Colts member in 2018.

Freeney finished her career tied for 17th in the history of the NFL in sacks and fifth in forced fumbles. He also competed in 22 playoffs (19 starts), 38 tackles (30 solo), 6.0 loss tackles, 11.0 sacks, a defensive pass, two forced fumbles and one caught. Upon retirement, Freeney is ranked tied for fifth place in the league's playoff career history.

After being selected by Indianapolis in the first round (11th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft, Freeney played 163 games (143 starts) for the Colts and scored 307 tackles (267 solo), 48.0 tackles for defeat, 107.5 sacks, 14 defensive passes, 44 forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He ranks second in the history of the team in career bags.

Freeney recorded a sack in 81 games and played 25 games in multiple sacks, each ranking second in the team's history. In eleven seasons at Indianapolis, he has compiled seven seasons with 10.0 or more sacks, including a career record of 16.0 in 2004 (second in a team's one season record). As a rookie in 2002, Freeney set the Colts' rookie bag record with 13.0.

Freeney will become the 16th Ring of Honor winner, joining: Owner Robert Irsay (1996), WR-Bill Brooks (1998), head coach Ted Marchibroda (2000), OLChris Hinton (2001), QB-Jim Harbaugh (2005), "Colts Nation"(2007), head coach Tony Dungy (2010), WR-Marvin Harrison (2011), RB-Edgerrin James (2012), RB-Eric Dickerson and RB-Marshall Faulk (2013), C-Jeff Saturday (2015), Executive Director Bill Polian (2016), QB-Peyton Manning (2017) and WR-Reggie Wayne (2018).