Michael Lombardi has left the front office of the New England Patriots.

Lombardi, who had joined the Patriots after serving as Cleveland Browns general manager in 2013, also served as an analyst with the NFL Network and NFL.com from 2008 to 2012 and could be considering a return to the media where his longtime friend, Bill Simmons, is starting a new venture at HBO.

Bill Belichick has praised Lombardi's contributions to the franchise over the past two years, as it was a position that was created specifically for him.

"I've asked Mike to do some things on an individual [basis] -- projects or things that I've asked him to do -- and he's done a great job of that for me," Belichick said in September. "Mike has been a big help to me personally."