FOXBORO — It apparently took a tweet from ESPN’s Mike Reiss for Patriots security Jalen Mills to note his defensive snaps have been dwindling.
Mills quote tweeted “10 snaps😓 damn” to Reiss’s tweet of a screenshot of the Patriots’ defensive snap counts from Sunday’s 34-0 loss to the Saints.
10 snaps😓 rattling. https://t.co/Yb1rhn09Oy
— Jalen Mills (@greengoblin) October 11, 2023
The veteran defensive again has performed simply 81 snaps in 5 video games this season. He was on the sector for 468 snaps in 10 video games in 2022 and performed 240 snaps by means of his first 5 video games final season.
Mills, together with a lot of the staff’s defensive backs, didn’t seem throughout the Patriots’ open locker room session Thursday.
He has the assist of his teammates.
“I’ve been there,” defensive captain Lawrence Guy stated Thursday. “I’ve been there, 2019 … Miami sport, I had 14 snaps I believe. The subsequent sport, I had like 9 snaps. Next sport, I had 10 snaps. I’ve been in that frustration half. … He works onerous. He works onerous each single day. He understands. You ask questions in a gathering, he is aware of that assembly. He is aware of the reply. He’s like, ‘boom’ — he can spit it out. It’s simply how the cube are rolled proper now.
“But it doesn’t stop his preparation, doesn’t stop his work ethic on the field. And that’s kudos to him. Like, I understand certain situations are what they are. But I can tell you this, the grind that man has on this field, and the passion that he has, is amazing. The messages he gives as a leader on the team is amazing. And like I said, if you ask him any question about the opponent, he knows everything about it. It just didn’t roll that way this week.”
Patriots gamers stated that Mills, who transformed from cornerback to security this offseason, had stepped up as a frontrunner in Devin McCourty’s absence.
“He’s a competitor,” cornerback Jonathan Jones stated. “You know, we all are. And so, if it’s every snap, I think we all want to be out there. That’s just the way this game goes. You want guys that want to be out there and want to play with you.”
Mills isn’t the one Patriots security who has seen a decreased workload this season. Adrian Phillips, who was seventh on the staff with 702 defensive snaps final season, has performed even lower than Mills with 68 defensive snaps. Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers have dominated defensive snaps at security thus far this season. Rookie Marte Mapu has additionally taken on an even bigger function than Mills and Phillips with 110 snaps.
“We all work hard,” Peppers stated. “We’re all competitive guys. We just want to help the team win. So, that’s really all it is.”
The Patriots have been reportedly set to chop Mills this offseason earlier than he agreed to a decreased contract. With it got here his transfer to security. He reaffirmed his desire to play security earlier this season.
Source: www.bostonherald.com