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McGinest Honored To Enter Patriots Hall Of Fame

BOSTON (CBS) -- Willie McGinest entered the Patriots Hall of Fame on Wednesday night, but before donning that red jacket there was some unfinished business to tend to.

Following 12 successful years in New England, and three Super Bowl victories, McGinest finished his 15-year NFL career with the Cleveland Browns. Though he called it a career after the 2008 season, he let Pats owner Robert Kraft know he wanted to somehow retire a Patriot before taking his place in the organization's Hall of Fame.

Kraft said there were some legal hoops to go through for that to happen, so McGinest wasn't expecting that request to be fulfilled before taking the stage at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday. But before putting on his red jacket, Kraft had one last surprise for one of his favorite players.

Kraft presented McGinest with a one-day contract and his No. 55 New England jersey, and his wish to retire a Patriot was fulfilled.

"They caught me off guard. That was amazing; it was the one thing that almost got me a little mushy," McGinest told reporters after his ceremony. "That's why he's Mr. Kraft and this place is so great."

McGinest said the Patriots organization is as close as it gets to "football perfection."

"It's a blessing to be a part of everything that is going on now and what happened in the past," he said.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick surprised the crowd on Wednesday, taking the podium to praise the McGinest's dozen years in a Patriots uniform. While he had some fun, sharing a funny story about how he got a picture with Snoop Dog thanks to McGinest, he also compared him to an all-time great he had coached earlier in his career: Lawrence Taylor.

McGinest took note of such a comparison.

"Coaches like [Bill] Parcells and Belichick, they don't just throw around comments and throw around praises to players," he said. "You have to do a lot and they have to truly believe it. They've coached some of the greatest players ever. The Lawrence Taylor compliments and bringing up the different stories and how he really felt about me, I guess it took me to retire for me to hear it, but I always knew [Belichick] respected me and loved the way I played. To hear him really talk about it on a special day today, it meant a lot to me and my family."

McGinest couldn't say enough about the Patriots organization, and he's happy to forever be a part of the team's history.

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