The New England Patriots announced on Thursday that Matt Stevens, a member of the 2001 Patriots team that won the Super Bowl, passed away last week at the age of 51. A third-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1996,

The New England Patriots honored former Super Bowl winner Matt Stevens after he died March 20 at the age of 51. The Patriots put out a statement Thursday saying they were "deeply saddened" by Stevens' death.

In total, he appeared in 15 of 16 regular season games plus all three playoff contests. Stevens finished that year with 49 combined tackles and, more importantly, his first Super Bowl ring: he helped the Patriots beat the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.