THE NFL is a cutthroat business that can be brutal from time to time.
A prime example of this is how at the last minute ahead of the 2003 season, the New England Patriots cut ties with long-time safety Lawyer Milloy.
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Drafted in the second round by the Patriots in 1996 out of Washington, Milloy's impact on New England was felt immediately.
He started ten games as a rookie and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team after racking up two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a sack as the Pats went 11-5 under coach Bill Parcells.
They went on to lose Super Bowl XXXI 35-21 against the Green Bay Packers - a game that Milloy started.
For the next six seasons, Milloy started every single game, reaching four Pro Bowls while also being named a First-Team All-Pro in 1999.
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In 2002, he reached his second Super Bowl, this time led by coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
They beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17, with Milloy recording three tackles and a defended pass in the process.
However, just five days before his eighth season with the Patriots, Milloy was cut by Belichick in a decision the legendary coach described as "the hardest player that I have had to release."
According to ESPN, Belichick said: "Today is a day that nobody is happy about. This isn't the way we wanted this story to end.
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"This is the hardest player that I have had to release. It was the hardest situation that I've had to go through like this, here or anywhere else."
In doing so, New England saved $5.25million against the salary cap - a figure they had tried and failed to renegotiate with Milloy that year.
And it seems this move left a sour taste in the mouth of Milloy.
"Every time somebody gets released from the Patriots they always bring up my story," he said in 2022, via Boston.com.
"But nobody had an exit like mine, getting released on the Monday before the first game. It just really, really hurt."
Mallot was clearly left frustrated by the fact he hadn't had "a proper chance to say goodbye to the fans I played so hard for."
Just a day after being let go by New England, he signed for their division rivals, the Buffalo Bills.
In his first game for Buffalo, he racked up a sack, five tackles, and a defended pass against none other than New England en route to a 31-0 shutout.
Milloy remained a starter for Buffalo for three seasons before he headed down to Georgia, where he'd spend another three years starting for the Atlanta Falcons.
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Come 2009, a soon-to-be 36-year-old Milloy joined the Seattle Seahawks, spending his first year as a backup while appearing in all sixteen games.
A year later, he would start every game for the Seahawks in what proved to be his final NFL season.
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