Denism
Practice Squad Player
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2006
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By John Tomase
Sharp tongues populate the Patriots locker room, and Randall Gay has felt their switch.
It comes with the territory on a team that includes such acerbic wits as Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison [stats]. Their withering brand of humor knows no bounds.
So when Gay was placed on season-ending injured reserve for the second straight year in 2006, he knew he was going to hear about it.
“You know how it is,” Gay said with a laugh. “It’s like, ‘Oh man, you’re still getting a paycheck?’ and ‘Two years in a row!?!’ That’s the kind of stuff you really don’t want to hear, because in your heart you want to be back out there.”
It has been a frustrating two years for Gay. An ankle injury robbed him of virtually his entire 2005, while a hamstring did the trick in 2006. He has played just eight games in that span and knows how crucial 2007 will be to proving his dependability.
The Patriots haven’t lost faith. They signed the restricted free agent to a second-round tender of $1.3 million - the same level the Dolphins offered Wes Welker after a 67-catch season - because they feared losing him if the compensation required of rival clubs was anything less.
“You can’t worry about what’s going to happen, but at the same time it was always in the back of my mind that I hadn’t really played football in two years,” Gay said during a break from offseason workouts in Foxboro yesterday. “I was hoping for the best. High (tender), low, mid or whatever, I didn’t want to be anywhere but here.”
It’s easy to see what the Patriots like. Gay appeared in 15 games as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2004, starting Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles. He has since impressed the coaching staff with his athleticism and intelligence, playing safety as well as cornerback.
He’s fully aware of how little any of that will mean if he can’t stay healthy.
“I can say this,” Gay said. “I’m the most anxious person for training camp. I’m about the only one here that’s ready for it to come.”
Gay said he had come to grips with his ankle injury, because it was freak (he wasn’t even cutting) and ultimately required surgery. Last year’s hamstring was another story. It KO’d the LSU grad in early October.
“When they put me on IR, Tebucky (Jones) had just had a nagging hamstring injury and then all of a sudden it popped on him real bad,” Gay said. “(Head coach Bill) Belichick saw that and didn’t want it to happen to me. At first it was upsetting, because I wanted to come back quickly, but it was the right call.”
Gay said he’s fully participating in offseason workouts, which is key, since the ankle sidelined him into training camp last year. He has needed to prove himself before and emerged as a survivor.
“I sat through 100 hours of the draft when no one called my name,” he said. “I got here as the last corner on the depth chart, then moved my way up. This is just another step. I have to make sure the coaches know they made the right decision in keeping me here.
“The only way I won’t be the same player I was before I got hurt,” he added, “is if I’m better.”
