Tag: devin mccourty

Devin McCourty almost left Patriots for these teams in 2015

Devin McCourty revealed the teams he came close to signing with after the end of his rookie contract with the Patriots.

It’s difficult to picture former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty in anything other than a Patriots uniform. Nevertheless, he almost left the organization for a few select teams.

McCourty appeared on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast and talked about the free agency process following the expiration of his rookie contract in 2015. New England wanted to keep cornerback Darrelle Revis, who had signed a one-year deal the previous year, on the roster.

Meanwhile, McCourty had his sights set on other teams, after it initially seemed like New England wasn’t going to make him a priority.

Of course, he ended up coming back to the organization, but there was a period of time where things did not look that way.

“The first time I was a free agent, [Darrelle] Revis also came for that one year, and Revis was a free agent,” said McCourty. “So I think the team [thought], ‘I’m the born-in Patriot, we got to keep him. But it’s like, we got a chance to keep Darrelle Revis.’ I think once it fell through with Revis, I think that’s when they came back. But that year, talking to Philadelphia and Jacksonville, I was pretty close in leaving.”

One has to wonder how things might have played out if McCourty ended up leaving the organization. However, things worked out pretty well for him in winning multiple Super Bowls and retiring with the same team that drafted him.

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Patriots legend thinks team made mistake by not keeping Jakobi Meyers

One Patriots legend prefers Jakobi Meyers over JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Not everybody thought the New England Patriots made the best decision to sign wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million contract, while allowing Jakobi Meyers to leave for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Count Devin McCourty as someone that thinks it was a mistake.

The legendary safety shared the locker room with Meyers, who joined the Patriots as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and worked his way up to the top of the depth chart as the best receiver on the roster. It’s the kind of work ethic that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

McCourty not only saw a great player on the football field, but he envisioned Meyers being a shining example for future young players joining the team.

“I’m not going to lie, I would have liked to see Jakobi back over JuJu,” said McCourty, when appearing on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast. “Just my personal feeling. I just think Jakobi is a guy, he’s an undrafted free agent who panned out because of hard work.

“…To me, when you have guys like that, when you look at Jakobi, you can guess that his better years are still in front of him. I just think having that in the locker room for young guys, and I think especially in that [receiver] room over the years—you lose [Julian] Edelman, we haven’t replaced that room with a guy who is New England culture. You just don’t have it.”

McCourty noted that all of the top receivers on the Patriots’ roster came from other teams, including Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne.

It’s hard to argue with McCourty from strictly a locker room standpoint. While Smith-Schuster might be more talented, Meyers is the kind of player the Patriots have typically coveted over the years—not a lot of flash but a hard-nosed worker.

The Patriots won six Super Bowls with players like that on the roster and created the greatest dynasty in NFL history. But times are clearly changing, and the way the Patriots go about their business might be changing, too.

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Devin McCourty reveals meeting over Malcolm Butler Super Bowl benching

Devin McCourty had some interesting comments on the infamous Malcolm Butler Super Bowl LII benching.

One of the biggest NFL mysteries of all time belongs to the New England Patriots, when they made the shocking decision to bench then-cornerback Malcolm Butler at Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles.

What followed was a defensive collapse for the ages in a game where even Tom Brady’s 505-yard passing performance couldn’t save the team.

Retired Patriots safety Devin McCourty had some interesting things to say on the incident when appearing on the “Green Light with Chris Long.”

“Think about, if there was something to know, we’re years past, all of those guys on the team, and you haven’t heard anybody [reveal anything],” said McCourty. “Like, none of us knew. As a matter of fact, the next year, I remember meeting with [defensive coach Brian Flores], and Flo was like, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to make sure that whole situation doesn’t affect the team this year.’

“He was like, ‘I look back at Seattle when we played them in the Super Bowl, and they don’t run the ball. It kind of seemed like that was the end of that team. They never got back to the Super Bowl.’ And that team was so talented. That Seattle team had everything. He was like, ‘I just don’t want that to destroy us.'”

McCourty admitted both he and former teammate Stephon Gilmore are looking forward to reading Butler’s upcoming book, which might provide more details on what actually happened behind the scenes.

It’s still crazy that the Patriots were such a tight-lipped organization that even the players on the team didn’t know what happened with Butler.

Fortunately, New England didn’t turn into Seattle and bounced back the following season by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 to win Super Bowl LIII.

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Present and past Patriots appear in Devin McCourty tribute video

Patriots players from over the years appeared in an epic tribute video for Devin McCourty.

The New England Patriots held an official retirement ceremony for former NFL safety Devin McCourty on Tuesday. Past and present players came together to celebrate one of the greatest careers in franchise history.

Coach Bill Belichick even told a story of how McCourty blew him away in his pre-draft visit. It was a much-deserved ceremony for a defensive standout that played a key role for New England over the last decade.

“Devin, congratulations on your retirement,” said Tom Brady in a tribute video. I know how hard you worked over a long period of time. Seeing you come in as a young player and to maximize your potential, starting at corner, when you balled out your rookie year, and then made a big transition to safety and became one of the best safeties in the history of the NFL, speaks to who you are and what you’re all about.”

McCourty is a lock for the Patriots Hall of Fame, and some would even make an argument that he should be immortalized in Canton someday as well. It’s hard to deny the latter when even Brady called him one of the best safeties to ever do it.

That’s one monumental stamp of approval.

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How Devin McCourty blew Bill Belichick away in pre-draft visit

Not many players, particularly rookies, impress Bill Belichick the way Devin McCourty did.

The New England Patriots drafted safety Devin McCourty in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. But even as a rookie, McCourty was able to impress coach Bill Belichick with his knowledge of the game.

Belichick told a story at McCourty’s retirement press conference about one of the first times he watched film with the safety. It was very clear that his knowledge was going to be a key part of his game early on, as Belichick told media members on Tuesday.

“We got into the film, and that’s where I kind of got blown away,” Belichick said. “Coach [Greg] Schiano told me that Devin was really smart, could run the defense, kind of knew what everybody was doing.”

McCourty became a defensive captain and a staple in the safety room during his career in New England. He went on to have a successful run, one that included three Super Bowls and two Pro Bowls.

He officially retired on March 10 and put an end to his legendary career with the Patriots.

Now, the team will look to the younger players on the roster, such as safety Kyle Dugger to help fill the void. Although Dugger and others will step up, there is no doubt the Patriots will miss McCourty’s leadership both on and off the field.

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Devin McCourty indicates QB controversy extended into the locker room

Did some Patriots players really want Bailey Zappe at QB?

Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty had an interesting nugget about the quarterback room last year, as Mac Jones gets set to enter his third year.

McCourty indicated some players preferred rookie Bailey Zappe over Jones.

Zappe filled in for Jones while the latter was recovering from injury. The Western Kentucky product threw for 781 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions during his time as a starter.

Zappe last played against the Chicago Bears last October, as Jones struggled throughout the evening. From there, a quarterback controversy ensued between fans and media with some fans preferring Zappe over Jones.

McCourty indicated there was a divide in the locker room as well, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

“I think player-wise there was enough trust that we’re going to put the best guy out there,” said McCourty, per Reiss. “But the struggles on offense, I think there were some guys in the locker room that were like ‘Let’s go with [Bailey] Zappe.’ Or ‘No, Mac looked good today.’ It was just a back and forth, which to me, spoke more about what we had on offense than the quarterback. We never were solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing. There was never true hope.”

It will be intriguing to see how Jones fares in his third year with expectations being higher than ever.

The Patriots have done a better job of putting pieces around the quarterback, which could potentially alleviate any locker room divide with better performance. Even still, this was very telling of how last season went on the offensive side of the football.

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5 takeaways from Patriots’ first week of free agency

Five thoughts on the Patriots’ splash in the first week of free agency.

Well, folks, the first week of free agency is in the books, and thankfully, the New England Patriots didn’t fall asleep at the wheel.

They had a ton of cap space to play with this time around, and given the way the 2022 season ended, there was extra fire and motivation to get things right.

The team managed to keep their defense mostly intact, while also giving their offense a significant facelift. Most would consider that an immediate success right out of the gates.

Granted, the Patriots still have space to make more moves as we enter the second week of the new league year. The sprinting portion of free agency might be over, but the marathon is still ongoing to make the roster the best it can be heading into the 2023 season.

Here are five takeaways from what the Patriots have done so far.

Devin McCourty surprised Patriots didn’t keep Jakobi Meyers

Devin McCourty was admittedly surprised the Patriots did not keep Jakobi Meyers.

Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty had a strong reaction to the team not retaining wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, during a recent appearance on The Greg Hill Show.

Meyers ended up going to Las Vegas to play with Josh McDaniels and the Raiders. He signed a three-year, $33 million contract, which initially looked similar to the contract New England gave to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

McCourty was surprised by New England not keeping the wide receiver, who had been a key piece of the organization.

Meyers recorded 67 catches for 804 yards and six touchdowns last season. The undrafted free agent from North Carolina State made an impact throughout his time in New England.

McCourty shared his surprise on how things played out, as transcribed by CBS Boston.

“I will say, what I was surprised [about], was Jakobi. I thought what Jakobi signed for, for the Raiders was like … eh,” said McCourty. “Like he was our most productive receiver the last two years, and this year he missed I think two or three games and still was head and shoulders our most productive guy in an offensive system that loves having a guy that can work short routes inside, intermediate routes vertically on third down as the guy usually on third down. So when I saw what he signed for, I was kinda like damn. Like, I thought that would’ve been a kind of easy contract to bring him back here, and he’s a guy that from talking to him, I think he wanted to be back here.”

The Patriots started to bolster the wide receiver room by signing Smith-Schuster.

They will also have an opportunity to add weapons via the draft, as a deep wide receiver class will allow for the team to continue to reshape the position. However, many were shocked by New England not re-signing Meyers, and it’s obvious now you can add McCourty to that group.

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Rutgers football in the NFL: Devin McCourty buys billboard to thank New England Patriots fans

Devin McCourty bought a billboard to thank New England Patriots fans.

Following his retirement this week, New England Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty sent a message of appreciation to fans of the only NFL franchise he has played for. It was a classy gesture from the former Rutgers football standout defensive back, who went on to have a tremendous NFL career.

McCourty played the entirety of his 13-year NFL career with the Patriots. He played in 205 games – all starts – finishing with 971 tackles and 35 career interceptions. He is one of the best defensive backs of his generation and was a significant part of the Patriots dynasty that was dominant in the past decade,

He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, being named an All-Pro three times and twice selected to the Pro Bowl. McCourty was also named to the Patriots All-2010s Team.

Intricately tied to the history of the franchise, following his retirement this week, McCourty bought a billboard to sound his appreciation to the New England fanbase. His message to Patriots fans was about his development and growth as man.

 

An All-Big East selection in 2009 at Rutgers, McCourty was a first round pick of the Patriots in 2010.

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Davon Godchaux’s reaction to Jalen Ramsey trade was priceless

Devin McCourty and Davon Godchaux had a hilarious exchange on Twitter, regarding Jalen Ramsey joining the Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins acquisition of corner Jalen Ramsey sent shockwaves through the NFL on Sunday, with at least one retired player planning to be front and center when New England takes on Miami.

The Patriots face the Dolphins twice next season, as the divisional rivalry promises to be in full force next season. Devin McCourty, who recently announced his retirement from the NFL, had some fun with one of his former teammates, Davon Godchaux, on social media.

After hearing news of Ramsey joining the Dolphins, McCourty tweeted out in shock regarding the news. Godchaux then commented and asked if McCourty would be returning to the Patriots to hopefully lend a helping hand.

The response from the legendary safety was downright hilarious.

Ramsey going to Miami adds another chapter in what has been a historic rivalry that has picked up over the past couple seasons. It also ups the level of difficulty for a Patriots team looking to get back to the playoffs.

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