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Former Vikings fullback Felton, still unsigned, to retire

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Former Vikings fullback Jerome Felton, who made the Pro Bowl blocking for Adrian Peterson in 2012, plans to retire after this season.Felton, who spent 2012-14 with the Vikings, has not played this year. He said he is recepti...

Buffalo Bills running back Jerome Felton (42) during an October 2016 game against the New England Patriots at New Era Field. (Kevin Hoffman- / USA TODAY Sports)
Buffalo Bills running back Jerome Felton (42) during an October 2016 game against the New England Patriots at New Era Field. (Kevin Hoffman- / USA TODAY Sports)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Former Vikings fullback Jerome Felton, who made the Pro Bowl blocking for Adrian Peterson in 2012, plans to retire after this season.

Felton, who spent 2012-14 with the Vikings, has not played this year. He said he is receptive to joining a team for the stretch run, but that would be it.

"I guess if I were to get a call over the next few weeks I would answer, but this will be my last year regardless," said Felton, a nine-year veteran. "I had a good run. I'm happy with how my career has went. I played a long time, but times are changing for fullbacks. I'm not going to just hang around waiting for a call. That's not my mentality."

Felton, 31, spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Buffalo but was not re-signed as a free agent. He said it's difficult for a veteran fullback to get a job considering many teams now are playing without one and utilizing a second tight end for blocking.

"A lot has to do with the quarterbacks coming out of college; they run that scheme," Felton said. "And sometimes offensive coordinators want to be the latest, greatest in new inventions, and they think they have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to operate on offense."

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Felton made the Pro Bowl after a 2012 season in which he helped pave the way for Peterson to rush for 2,097 yards and win NFL MVP honors. He also was a Pro Bowl alternate with Minnesota in 2014 and with the Bills last season.

"That would be my best memory football-wise," Felton said of the 2012 season. "We made the playoffs and I made the Pro Bowl, and Adrian and I were friends and we really worked well together.

"But also blocking for LeSean (McCoy of the Bills) for two years is a great memory. I think he's a future hall of famer. I will tell my grandkids that I blocked for two of the best running backs to play the game."

After he left the Vikings, Felton began working on an executive MBA degree from the University of Miami, which he earned in 2016. He went through the program with safety Robert Blanton, a good friend who was with the Vikings from 2012-15 and played for the Bills last season.

"I'm going to look at different business opportunities," Felton said of life after football. "I'm still contemplating if I want to remain in football in a front office. ... I'm also looking at (owning) a franchise, like McDonald's."

Felton lives in Atlanta with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Natalyah, 8. Before joining the Vikings, he played with Detroit from 2008-10 and with Indianapolis and Carolina in 2011.

Felton said he was "shocked" when he didn't receive any offers this year as a free agent. He thought he would return to Buffalo until the Bills signed fullback Patrick DiMarco, and he said he got some interest from the New York Jets.

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