Tag: Patrick Chung

Patrick Chung announces his retirement with emotional message

There’s no doubt Bill Belichick will miss Patrick Chung.

New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung announced his retirement on Thursday in an emotional message.

He took to Instagram to announce his decision after amassing 778 tackles,  56 pass breakups, 11 interceptions, 4.5 sacks and one touchdown during his 11 years in the NFL. He also won three Super Bowls in New England (XLIX, LI, LIII).

“I want to say thank you to the Patriots organization, my family, my fans, coaches, just everyone,” Chung wrote. “I’m in tears writing this but I’ve decided to hang up the cleats. Bill, Mr. Kraft (mean mug) thank you for giving me the opportunity to play for your team for 11 years. I love you.

“Bill for teaching me life on and off the field, I will not forget that. To my teammates, trainers, (equipment) team, video guys, meal room employees, janitors, etc. I love you guys and ladies. Thank you for being the rock to the organization. For cleaning up, feeding, taking care of me for 11 years. But it’s time to start a new life. Patriot until I die!!! Love you all.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMj8q3KBZ3K/?igshid=dyr5wqfxt11b

The Patriots drafted Chung in the second round out of Oregon in 2009, and he played in New England for every season of his career except 2013, which he spent with the Eagles.

It was abundantly clear Bill Belichick loved coaching Chung.

“[He’ll play] anywhere. I mean, not on the interior line,” Belichick said on a Friday in Sept. 2018 with a laugh. “He can go hard all day. He’s a very, very well conditioned athlete with good playing strength, good instincts, good toughness. He’s just a very versatile guy.

“Guys that come to mind are [safety Rodney] Harrison, [linebacker Mike] Vrabel,” Belichick said. “They’re just kind of out there on [practically] every play, whether it’s their period or someone else’s period.”

[listicle id=103331]

Report: Three key Patriots opt-out players plan to return for 2021 season

This is huge news for a team that has its culture embedded in these key veterans.

The New England Patriots are already off to a solid start to the offseason.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, three of the team’s opt-out players from 2020 are planning to return for the 2021 season. New England will get back linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Patrick Chung and tackle Marcus Cannon. All three players will provide veteran leadership and a huge increase of talent within their positional groups.

Hightower is 30-years-old and should have a few good years ahead of him, while Chung (33) and Cannon (32) will at least have something left in the tank for this season. As it currently stands, Hightower has a cap hit of $12.4 million, Cannon $9.6 million and Chung $5.1.

Devin McCourty, 33, eluded to the idea that these opt-out players would return.

This will be enormous in keeping the culture in place and passing it on to the younger generation, but the Patriots still have a huge hole to fill at quarterback. They have the fourth-most cap space in the league and that flexibility along with the return of these players could help ease the process of finding their signal-caller.

[vertical-gallery id=102084]

12 AFC East stories from last week for Bills fans to know

AFC East news roundup for Buffalo Bills fans.

You’re probably all on top of the latest news surrounding the Buffalo Bills and we hope Bills Wire helped you get there. But let us keep you up to date with the Bills news, just outside the Bills’ realm.

The upcoming 2020 NFL season has many thinking the Bills are the favorite in the AFC East. But Buffalo isn’t just going to stroll into that title. The Dolphins, Jets, and of course the Patriots, will all have something to say about that.

So let’s stay on top of some of the latest headlines surrounding the Bills’ divisional foes now. Here are 12 news stories from the other three AFC East teams from the last week right here:

Division

Patriots outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Opt outs

The biggest news from across the NFL last week were opt outs. Those came to a fever pitch on Thursday as the deadline for players deciding to do so came and went. Prior to that 4 p.m. mark, we already knew the Patriots had a lot of players deciding not to suit up. But eventually, we saw at least one player from every team in the AFC East decide not to play.

So let’s get right to it, the full list of opt outs from the AFC East:

Bills

  • CB EJ Gaines
  • DT Star Lotulelei

Dolphins

  • WR Allen Hurns
  • WR Albert Wilson II

Jets

  • WR Josh Doctson
  • OL Leo Holoamatangi
  • LB CJ Mosley

Patriots

  • RB Brandon Bolden
  • OT Marcus Cannon
  • S Patrick Chung
  • LB Dont’a Hightower
  • TE Matt LaCosse
  • WR Marquise Lee
  • OL Najee Toran
  • FB Danny Vitale
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12

Eagles avoid significant personnel losses after a total of 66 NFL players opt-out prior to the deadline

Eagles only have one player opt-out of the 2020 NFL season

[jwplayer mvbBAz7x]

NFL players had until Thursday, August 6 at 4:00 p.m. ET. to provide written notification to their respective teams on whether they would opt-out of the 2020 NFL season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the amended collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association, agreed to on July 24, players have the choice to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season with stipends.

With the deadline now passed, the Eagles only had one player opt-out after Marquise Goodwin chose to sit out after the birth of his daughter.

There were some notable names on the opt-out list and the New England Patriots led all teams with eight players opting out.

[vertical-gallery id=638359]

[lawrence-related id=638883,638877,638871,638844,638796]

10 AFC East stories from last week for Bills fans to know

AFC East storylines from the past week for Buffalo Bills fans.

You’re probably all on top of the latest news surrounding the Buffalo Bills and we hope Bills Wire helped you get there. But let us keep you up to date with the Bills news, just outside the Bills’ realm.

The upcoming 2020 NFL season has many thinking the Bills are the favorite in the AFC East. But Buffalo isn’t just going to stroll into that title. The Dolphins, Jets, and of course the Patriots, will all have something to say about that.

So let’s stay on top of some of the latest headlines surrounding the Bills’ divisional foes now. Here are 10 news stories from the other three AFC East teams from the last week right here:

New England Patriots

Patriots outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower.Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots on top of this list

So far, about 45 players have decided to opt-out of playing in the 2020 NFL season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately for the Patriots, they’ve had, far and away, the most players from their roster take this option. In total, eight Patriots won’t be playing. Those are:

  • LB Dont’a Hightower
  • S Patrick Chung
  • OT Marcus Cannon
  • RB Brandon Bolden
  • FB Danny Vitale
  • OL Najee Toran
  • WR Marquise Lee
  • TE Matt LaCosse

Of these eight, important starters or players include Hightower, Chung, Cannon and Lee. As of now, the Patriots don’t expect any more opt-outs.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10

Patrick Chung latest Patriot to opt out of 2020 season

Chung has opted out of the 2020 season.

Another New England Patriots player has opted out of the 2020 season. Safety Patrick Chung will not be playing this season.

Chung joins a list of several Patriots players that have opted out of the 2020 season, with Dont’a Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Brandon Bolden, Dan Vitale and Najee Toran deciding not to play.

Chung recorded 51 tackles and three pass deflections for New England last season. This is a major veteran blow to a safety position that Chung has grown so comfortable at. New England does have replacements and other options. However, there is no denying that Chung is perhaps the heart and soul at the position. New England will truly have to embrace the next-man-up mentality.

It will be interesting to see who steps up for New England with Chung out of the picture. With Bill Belichick focusing heavily on defense in the 2020 Draft, his philosophy may come in handy the season.

[lawrence-related id=92021]

Even an NFL exec believes Bill Belichick masterminded Patriots players opting out of the 2020 season

Which is obviously ridiculous.

When news of Patriots players opting out of the 2020 season, a list that includes key starters Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung and Marcus Cannon, started to flood Twitter, a lot of NFL fans jumped to the same conclusion: This is some evil scheme devised by Bill Belichick.

Fans can be irrational and they’re just making jokes on the internet so we can forgive them for buying into wild conspiracy theories. But how about actual NFL executives? At least one of them seems to think that Belichick has influenced these players into opting out for the season, based on a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Belichick has the entire NFL shook. Every move he makes — or, in this case, doesn’t make — has teams everywhere overthinking things and convincing themselves there is some galaxy brain thinking behind it.

Maybe, just maybe, Hightower and Chung are opting out because they have (or will have) newborns to look after and to keep safe during a pandemic.

Maybe, and I’m just spit-balling now, Cannon is opting out because he’s a cancer survivor and considered high risk for COVID-19. None of these players should need those excuses to justify opting out. Just wanting to protect themselves and their families from a disease that ravages the body should be enough of a reason. But, no, that can’t be it! Belichick is involved!

Belichick built this Patriots dynasty by prioritizing the acquisition of smart players. The most logical explanation here is that a handful of those smart players looked at the data, considered how this country is handling the pandemic and came to the conclusion that playing any sport outside of a bubble just isn’t plausible or safe.

These conspiracy theories downplay the seriousness of the situation. Between now and the August 3 deadline for opting out, NFL players will be making a decision that could impact not only their lives but also the lives of their families. This isn’t about their love of football or finding some competitive edge down the line. It’s about staying safe.

That will become apparent when the list of players — and not just Patriots players — opting out grows longer and longer between now and August 3. New England won’t be the only team to lose key players.

6 biggest strengths on the Patriots’ roster ahead of training camp

Here are the six biggest strengths on the Patriots’ roster heading into training camp.

The New England Patriots are heading into an extremely odd year in 2020 — for many reasons.

Tom Brady’s gone, the coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented circumstances and that’s just to name a couple of them. New England also lost out on key contributors his offseason with Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Danny Shelton, Elandon Roberts and of course, Brady.

For all of these reasons, it’s set up for a peculiar training camp and a lower bar for the Patriots this season. Fortunately, Bill Belichick is still the coach and he happened to collect a former NFL MVP at quarterback under the veteran minimum (Cam Newton if you were wondering).

There are many reasons to believe the Patriots can overcome this adversity and put together a winning season. Here are six strengths the Patriots have on their roster ahead of training camp.

Offensive line

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The offensive line will be the most important group for the Patriots in 2020. They’ll be responsible for clearing holes for the team’s running attack, protecting a new quarterback in this system and keeping the pace going offensively in general. Before, a shaky offensive line would get covered up by the genius of Brady. Now, every mistake will be exposed.

Fortunately, the Patriots carry one of the best offensive lines heading into the season. The group features Isaiah Wynn, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon. They have the ability to excel as pass and run-blockers and will be fundamental in the team’s success — health is the only concern.

The Patriots will likely have a run-heavy scheme that relies on great defense and clock management. This season will boil down to the trenches and Belichick is heading into the season with the right pieces in play.

Cornerbacks

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Similar to the offensive line, the Patriots will head into the 2020 season with arguably the best group of cornerbacks. The 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore, will head the group. Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones and Joejaun Williams will be his counterparts.

New England allowed the second-least passing yards last season (2,886) and recorded the most interceptions (25) — with 12 coming from cornerbacks. Gilmore was named a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro for the second consecutive season and he only allowed one touchdown on the year.

Jackson is entering his third season and is ascending as one of the league’s top cornerbacks, while Jones remains elite as a slot cover guy. The Patriots have one of the best cornerback crews in the NFL and it’ll allow for maximum flexibility for Belichick.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

What impact did coronavirus pandemic have on Jamal Adams’ negotiations with Jets?

Jamal Adams may not have a new contract with the Jets because of the uncertainty the coronavirus pandemic caused.

The Jets are hesitant to sign Jamal Adams to a long-term extension for a couple of reasons.

The precedent of extending a player after only three years, as well as the cost of making him the highest-paid safety, Jet and/or defensive player, are important factors. But one of the biggest might be the NFL’s uncertain financial future as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Team training camps are still on schedule to begin July 28, but the 2020 season is anything but assured at this point. Even worse, there’s a growing concern the league will play games without fans in stadiums, much like soccer has in Europe, which could cost the NFL billions of dollars. Teams like the Jets could lose close to $200 million.

That lost revenue could shrink the cap enough to put a lot of teams in a financial bind and it’s likely a why only three veterans have signed contract extensions since April 1: Christian McCaffrey, Laremy Tunsil and Patrick Chung. McCaffrey and Tunsil play premium positions, while Chung signed a team-friendly deal. Jets GM Joe Douglas clearly isn’t willing to risk New York’s long-term cap flexibility just to make Adams happy by giving him $15-$17 million annually, especially since Adams has two more years left on his rookie contract. The safer move, if Douglas indeed doesn’t plan on trading Adams, is to wait and see what happens with the season before making a decision.

While the pandemic is playing a role in the Jets’ lack of urgency, ESPN’s Rich Cimini contends the excuse is moot because the Jets decided they wouldn’t extend Adams this offseason before the pandemic. Adams even made it a point in one of his many social media rants that the Jets can’t “use the pandemic excuse” on him after the Panthers paid McCaffrey, and wrote in a different post that the Jets hadn’t even extended a legitimate offer since their early discussions in January.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, considering the contracts Douglas doled out this offseason. He basically telegraphed his negotiation tactics when he only signed four of his 19 free agents to multi-year deals – mostly in March before the effects of the pandemic were widely realized. Douglas values financial discipline and flexibility over securing players with long-term contracts, so it’s obvious that mentality would also apply Adams.

Chase Winovich, Patrick Chung react to Tom Brady in his Buccaneers uniform

Tom Brady earned mixed reactions.

Tom Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a shock to the entire NFL world.

The 20-year veteran who spent his career with the New England Patriots decided to change his team up at the age of 42. It didn’t and still doesn’t sit well with many fans, but Brady made the best decision for himself. Something about it didn’t feel real when there were social media posts going around with Brady photoshopped into a Buccaneers jersey.

It became a reality on Tuesday when Brady posted a picture of himself in the uniform. Former teammates Chase Winovich and Patrick Chung were quick to comment with short and sweet remarks.

Winovich said: “ttyl.”

Chung commented: “Goat.”

Both comments have love behind them, but Winovich’s carries just a little more sarcasm.

View this post on Instagram

ALL CAPS: LFG

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on

The Patriots now have second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer atop the quarterback depth chart. Brady left a huge void to fill, and Bill  Belichick will have his work cut out to fill that void.

[vertical-gallery id=89757]