Special groups captain Matthew Slater has put retirement on maintain and determined to return for a sixteenth season.
What about Devin McCourty? Has he determined to retire, or come again for one more go-round with the Patriots?
The longtime defensive captain, showing Tuesday on “The Patriots Report” podcast, says he wants just a few extra weeks earlier than arriving at a last determination.
“I’ve gone back and forth,” McCourty instructed host Christopher Price. “I think the good thing is I actually have a vacation coming up with the family, and then I’m going to go hang out with (twin brother Jason McCourty) for a week. I think just being able to get away from football, especially as you kind of get older, I think it helps you put things in perspective doing other things.”
Following his household trip, McCourty indicated he would even be a visitor host on “Good Morning Football” for a full week, the place Jason has been a co-host since retiring final 12 months.
Basically, McCourty mentioned to not count on a choice till mid-March. It is sensible given he’d need to let the Patriots know earlier than free company formally kicks off March 15, with the two-day tampering window beginning on the thirteenth.
Whatever McCourty decides will influence the Patriots and their offseason plans. Should he retire, the Patriots may transfer somebody into his free security spot, whether or not it’s Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, and even cornerback Jalen Mills.
Pending free brokers Jabrill Peppers or Jonathan Jones may additionally take over the job in deep centerfield, if re-signed. Or, the Patriots can dip into the draft for McCourty’s eventual alternative and even add on in free company.
“(The) second week in March, and we’ll start to, I think for me and my wife, decide and plan what the next year looks like,” mentioned McCourty, who turns 36 in August and stands as a pending free agent. “I think that’s around the time where free agency will be coming up, so it’ll be the right time to really start digging in and make a decision.”
McCourty has spent his complete 13-year profession with the Patriots, and acknowledged this was the primary time he’s really contemplated hanging up the cleats.
“My wife always jokes with me because this is probably the first year that I’ve actually thought about it,” he mentioned. “Usually, I say that. I might say during the last two or three years, (I’d say) I’m fascinated by it, however as quickly because the offseason hits, I’ve gone proper again into understanding and doing what I’ve all the time achieved to prepare for the season.
“But I’ll say I’ve been very lucky to have a twin brother who, final 12 months we had so many conversations as he was rehabbing his foot and finally attempting to make that (retirement) determination. We would simply speak about what you assume it’s going to be like, your plans and the whole lot. And I believe even speaking to him, it didn’t hit him totally till that video he did along with his youngsters and the whole lot. He posted it, and I keep in mind he texted me and he was like, ‘Man, it’s actually over now.’
“And I think that’s the thing for all of us as athletes. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was 10 years old, so the thought of not getting ready to go, the thought of not playing in the game, even though you think about it, I don’t think it ever becomes real until you do it.”
By the sound of it, he’s a bit torn by his upcoming determination, particularly with Slater again and now rooting for his return.
“I look forward to next year and I see me doing different things,” McCourty mentioned. “I also see me playing. I think that’s the really hard thing about trying to decide what’s best for you and your family.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com