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Today in Patriots History
Pats release Ty Law
Pats release Ty Law
February 25, 2005:
The New England Patriots release 31-year-old Ty Law
The future Hall of Fame CB had spent ten seasons in Foxborough, playing in 141 regular season games and 12 playoff games. During that time the Pats won three super bowls - though Law watched the most recent SB from the sidelines, a few weeks earlier with a broken foot, with Asante Samuel and Randall Gay starting at corner.
Law would remain unsigned until August, when he signed with the Jets - and ended up leading the NFL in 2005 with ten interceptions. During that season he had a 74-yard pick six off Tom Brady, the longest interception return of Law's career.
Patriots release Ty Law -- Patriots.com
Law, 31, was drafted by the Patriots with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft and spent 10 seasons with New England from 1995-2004. Over that span, the Aliquippa, Pa. native tied the Patriots franchise record with 36 career interceptions and was voted to four Pro Bowls, first in 1998 and then for three consecutive years beginning in 2001.
The 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pound cornerback played in 141 games with 133 starts for New England and recorded 648 career tackles, including four sacks, 36 interceptions for 582 yards and 142 passes defensed. Law set a franchise record with six career interception returns for touchdowns in the regular season. He also returned a pick for a score in the first half of Super Bowl XXXVI. In his 10 seasons in New England, Law tied for the team lead in interceptions three times (2000, 2002, 2003) and led the team in that category in 1998, when he led the NFL with a career-high nine interceptions. The University of Michigan product also set a career high with 37 passes defensed that season. In 2003, Law led the NFL with 23 passes defensed and tied for the team lead with six interceptions, earning him his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Last season, he started the first seven games of the year before an injury, sustained on Oct. 31 at Pittsburgh, sidelined him for the remainder of the 2004 regular season and playoffs.
Patriots lay down Law: Cornerback released
The Patriots have announced that they have released cornerback Ty Law. Details to come.
www.espn.com
Cornerback Ty Law, who helped the New England Patriots win two Super Bowls but watched with a broken foot when they won their third, was released Friday so the Patriots wouldn't have to pay him a salary-cap-busting $12.5 million next season.
A 10-year veteran with four Pro Bowl appearances, Law holds franchise records with 36 interceptions and six regular-season touchdowns on interceptions. He also scored on an interception when the Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in 2002 for their first NFL title.
What's ahead is free agency and a chance to score a rich contract. The Patriots released Law, 31, because he was in the final year of a seven-year, $51 million contract and his cap number was huge. There was no wiggle room.
Even before he broke his foot and missed the Patriots' last 12 games, the cap-conscious team was not expected to bring him back at his full salary; Law had said he wasn't inclined to restructure his deal. To restructure his contract, Law would have had to take a significant pay cut because New England's philosophy is more geared toward players having contracts in the $2 million and $3 million range.
To give the Patriots cap relief, Law couldn't add years and subtract dollars.
Law is in the supposed prime of one of the best cornerback careers of his era. Like Drew Bledsoe, Lawyer Milloy and some others who were Patriots before their three Super Bowl seasons, Law knew it was time for him to go.
"I enjoyed my years here," he said. "I'll look forward to my next stop."
One of the potential early landing spots for Law is the Cleveland Browns, who hired former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel as their head coach.
March 12, 2015:
Throwback Thursday: Remember When Ty Law Went From Patriots To Jets?
It's not every day that a Hall of Fame cornerback jumps ship from the Patriots to the Jets. It's actually about once per decade.
www.cbsnews.com
Law, 31 years old at the time, had no interest in restructuring his deal, so the Patriots released him. In early August, in swooped the Jets, who hooked Law with an incentive-laden deal that had a maximum value of $50 million over seven years, giving him the opportunity to earn $28.5 million in the first three years.
"I'm going to prove to all the doubters, if there are any out there, that I'm still the best cornerback in football," Law said.
The Boston Globe's Adam Kilgore quoted a doctor who had worked on baseball player John Olerud's injury, which was the same as Law's, as saying it "would be debilitating for an NFL player, particularly one who plays cornerback. The injury is particularly harmful if not diagnosed correctly and expeditiously, the doctor said. That could be bad news for Law."
Dan Martin wrote in the New York Post: "The Jets hope the huge investment will result in an anchor for the secondary, with Law bringing a wealth of experience and three Super Bowl rings."
The New York Daily News' Rich Cimini was rather optimistic: "On the morning of Aug. 8, the Jets' Grinch woke up and discovered a new toy under his tree - a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback with three Super Bowl rings. 'It's Christmas,' proclaimed grouchy defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson, who didn't seem so grouchy anymore. ... For a team that harbored Super Bowl aspirations even before Aug. 8, the Law signing reinforced the positive vibes that permeated the organization."
The Patriots went 10-6 in 2005, beating the Jaguars on wild-card weekend but losing the first playoff game of the Brady-Belichick era in a divisional round visit to Denver.
Ty Law pick six on Tom Brady
25-second Highlight Play
25-second Highlight Play
The Jets? Well, the Jets went 4-12 that year. They lost at New England by 13 points, and they lost in the Meadowlands to the Patriots by 10 points, though Law did intercept Brady and return it 74 yards for a touchdown on that December day. Law had a wonderful season in terms of statistics, as he made a career-high 10 interceptions, but it didn't do much to help the Jets. (Three of those picks came in a Week 17 win over quarterback Kelly Holcomb and the Bills. Brooks Bollinger played QB for the Jets and threw for 145 yards on 11-of-20 passing. The Jets gained 207 total yards and won 30-26. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more disgusting football game.) (Only two of Law's seven other interceptions came in victories.)
After that failed season, the Jets traded head coach Herm Edwards to the Chiefs and then released Law a month later. Edwards liked what he saw out of Law so much that he signed him to another big-money contract, this one a five-year, $30 million deal.
That ended Law's involvement in the Pats-Jets rivalry ... or so we thought. Law ended up re-signing with the Jets in the middle of the 2008 season, just in time for a Thursday night showdown in Foxboro with first place on the line. That night at Gillette, Law shared a defensive backfield with ... second-year cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Time, at least as it relates to all-time talents who play cornerback and wear No. 24 in New England, is a flat circle.
#41: Ty Law Super Bowl XXXVI Highlights | Top 50 Super Bowl Performances
1:32 Highlight Video
1:32 Highlight Video
Ty Law | Pro Football Hall of Fame
Cornerback Ty Law was selected in the first round, 23rd player overall, out of the University of Michigan in the 1995 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. As one of the most dynamic cornerbacks to ever play the game, Law dominated the league for 15 seasons.
www.profootballhof.com
