“I was privileged to wear the Cowboys star. We want to play forever. But today, it’s my time to walk away,” Lee, 34, said in a letter announcing his retirement on Monday.

The two-time Pro Bowler (2015, 2016), who was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2016, was a pivotal piece of the Cowboys’ defensive identity. He led the team in tackles in 2011, and from 2015-17.

While speaking with ESPN, Lee cited injuries that ultimately contributed to his decision to retire. Throughout his career, Lee has been sidelined with a number of injuries, including his right big toe, left wrist, hamstring and multiple concussions. He missed the entire 2014 season due to a torn ACL — an injury he suffered two times prior to his NFL career.

“To say the injuries were frustrating would be an understatement, but the support I received through them all was humbling and the lessons I learned battling adversity will last a lifetime,” Lee said. “There are always regrets, but I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish and I leave this game grateful.”

In his statement, Lee reminisced on his early days in Dallas, and thanked the franchise for his decade-plus tenure.

“Whenever I’m near a field, the smell brings me back to when I first started playing, pulling on a helmet, trying on those shoulder pads, that perfect tackle. To think of the journey now, experiencing things I never thought possible with the men and women who make this game what it is, I’m beyond grateful. Thank you, Cowboys nation. I has been my honor.

“To the fans, you lifted me up when I needed it most,” Lee wrote. I didn’t want to let you down. If there’s a regret, it’s that I never helped bring a championship back home, because you deserve it so much,” he wrote.

Lee finished the 2020-21 season with 20 tackles in nine games after he underwent a  sports hernia surgery in September.

He finishes his NFL career with 802 combined tackles, 30 passes defensed and 14 interceptions in 118 games played.

The Pittsburgh native was a second-round pick in 2010 out of Penn State.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Jenna Lemoncelli