Jon Morris, a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, has died, the team announced Thursday. He was 84.
The cause of death was undisclosed.
The Boston Patriots selected Morris in the fourth round in the 1964 AFL draft, and the Packers took him in the second round of the NFL draft. The Holy Cross product signed with the Patriots and spent 11 of his 15 NFL seasons in New England.
Morris was a six-time AFL all-star center from 1964-69 and a Pro Bowl selection in 1970 when the team joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger.
Morris spent the 1974-77 seasons in Detroit before a final season with Chicago in 1978.
“Jon Morris was one of the great players who helped build the foundation of our franchise,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “For generations of Patriots fans, he represented the toughness, dedication and pride of those early teams.”
Morris played alongside future Patriots Hall of Famers Gino Cappelletti, Babe Parilli and Jim Nance, and he went into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Morris was also included on the Patriots’ 50th anniversary team in 2009.