Vikings' Berger officially retires from NFL

Joe Berger is hanging up his cleats.

The 35-year-old officially announced his retirement Friday afternoon via a statement to the NFL Network, concluding a 13-year career in the NFL trenches. He played his final seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

"I was on some great teams before the Vikings, but it wasn't until I got to Minnesota that I really felt at home," Berger wrote. "For seven years I was able to play for a great organization in front of the best fans."

Selected in the sixth round by Carolina in 2005, Berger spent his first training camp and preseason with the Panthers but latched on with the Miami Dolphins in the regular season. He played in Dallas from 2007-08 and went back to Miami from 2009-10 before finding a home with the Vikings in 2011.

In seven seasons with the purple, Berger started 64 games at left guard, right guard and center. The versatile talent allowed just 10.5 sacks in his Vikings career and also started three postseason games.