Devin McCourty mulling retirement?

[sb1]

Devin McCourty on his future: ‘I’m definitely going to take my time’ to make a decision

At 34, McCourty is a candidate for retirement.

www.patspulpit.com

If he's calling the Pats "they" I think that tells us where his mind is at right now.

 

[yukon cornelius]

 

[203Pat]

I appreciate what he's done here but we need younger, and cheaper, guys on this defense.

 

[yukon cornelius]

I appreciate what he's done here but we need younger, and cheaper, guys on this defense.

what about his play this year said he's no longer capable?

my guess is the price would be right for him to continue

 

[jdlboot14]

It's a hard choice with DMac. I certainly don't want him to go play somewhere else for just a year. We know he's fading, but there's going to be a ton of leadership & defensive changeover this offseason, and it might serve us well to have him 1 more - if he worked it out for cheap. On the other hand, I'd feel relieved if he retired.

 

[203Pat]

what about his play this year said he's no longer capable?

my guess is the price would be right for him to continue

I think he still plays at a pretty high level but I assume he will cost another $6-8 mill unless he takes a big discount. That and the fact we already have about $12.5 mill in dead cap spread over the next three years with his void years. I know there is also the leadership aspect to consider but at some point the locker room is going to need new leaders to emerge and that is much harder to do with the old guard still around. This iteration of the New England Patriots needs to start to form its own identity outside of the Patriots Brady dynasty mystique because we saw as soon as they had the one seed they couldn't handle it and collapsed. I think that pressure may be too much.

 

[BTTA]

Analysis from Matthew Fairburn at the Athletic:
He may be in the final stretch of his career, but McCourty was still an asset to the Patriots’ defense this season. He’s the one making on-field adjustments and directing traffic for the entire defense. But beyond his leadership, McCourty is still talented. He missed only seven tackles in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus and wasn’t a liability in coverage. If he’s up for playing another season, the Patriots should find the money to keep him.

 

[amfootball]

Analysis from Matthew Fairburn at the Athletic:
He may be in the final stretch of his career, but McCourty was still an asset to the Patriots’ defense this season. He’s the one making on-field adjustments and directing traffic for the entire defense. But beyond his leadership, McCourty is still talented. He missed only seven tackles in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus and wasn’t a liability in coverage. If he’s up for playing another season, the Patriots should find the money to keep him.

I don't have an issue keeping Dmac, it is the old LBs that need to go ASAP.

 

[lancerman]

Hightower needs to be replaced. McCourty right now is probably still better than the average replacement.

Don’t expect him to be the guy he was 5-8 years ago. But he’s still a good asset and can be situationally used right

 

[PP2]

I appreciate what he's done here but we need younger, and cheaper, guys on this defense.

You can't replace his IQ and institutional knowledge. He is a player that never makes the same mistake twice.

We will be a much better D with Jon Jones back- losing him was a killer.

 

[Chevy]

what about his play this year said he's no longer capable?

my guess is the price would be right for him to continue

He looked slower this year - especially over the last few weeks. At least to my eyes he did.

 

[TomPatriot]

what about his play this year said he's no longer capable?

Watching Micah Hyde?

 

[borg]

How many opponent RBs broke thru the LOS and took it to the house untouched by Patriots safeties?

McCourty: the luckiest recipient of 10 yd overthrows evah!

 

[Foxypats]

I will miss him when he leaves or retires. He might have lost a step but he isn’t washed up . I appreciate everything about him !

 

[Chevy]

I will miss him when he leaves or retires. He might have lost a step but he isn’t washed up . I appreciate everything about him !

If there were a way for him to be a free-lance roaming safety I would trust his experience / instincts. But, that doesn't fly in a BB defense. Lining him up a bit deeper so he can see / react still wouldn't solve much since he's not as quick as he once was.

Multiple All-Pro nods as both a corner and safety, 2010 All Rookie Team, 2019 Top 100, 2 x Pro Bowl (once each safety and corner). Hell of a leader. It's hard to see these guys slow down, let alone leave.

 

[Ross12]

The thing is, if his deal voids as scheduled this year, all of his future cap hits accelerate into this year and become something like a $6M total cap hit for 2022 in dead money. So, they could theoretically sign him for 2022 for somewhere around that same hit (or even less) but still get to have him on the roster, and push the dead-money hit further out into future years when they have more cap flexibility.

My guess is that that's their plan, but McCourty has to play the "mulling retirement" card in order to try to get a little bit more cash from the team and leverage them to make it more worth-his-while to agree to the specific contractual terms they want.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

A Patriot half of famer for sure and I would argue a NFL hall of famer once 4+ other Pats get in. 3 rings. People forget he made the freaking pro bowl as a rookie.

Part of the reason I pushed to see if the team could contend this year is all the old foundational guys about to leave - McCourty, Hightower, Chung gone, Gilmore gone, Guy soon

 

[FCB02062]

please retire and solve the world's problems elsewhere, Mccourty. His sell by date expired after the Rams super bowl. Buh, Bye...

 

[farn]

please retire and solve the world's problems elsewhere, Mccourty. His sell by date expired after the Rams super bowl. Buh, Bye...

Serious question, as I am genuinely curious :

Considering skill, contract, intelligence, and production, who are 5 nfl players you like ? I suspect there is no one on NE you value, but if you are interested in answering, feel free to mention some if there are any.

 

[kennyb]

He's old and slow. Not an impact safety atall. He "hits" a rb and then he gets dragged downfield another 5 yards. But he's willing to play for 13mm a year. Disgusting. Get him out of there.

Belichick loves his vets though. Slower the better. This gold bricker better not be on the team next year.

Patriots should just buy a statue and put it out there. It would make about as many plays as mcourty.