There’s no question things will look much different this fall when it comes to the New England Patriots, and that became even more evident after what transpired on Friday.
Veteran linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley got everyone talking after he essentially broke the news of his departure in a post on X. The linebacker posted ‘Thank you for Everything’ along with ‘It’s been a blessing’ on the platform.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss confirmed the news, saying that the expectation is that the team will be releasing Bentley today.
That ends a 7-year tenure for Bentley, who quietly worked his way up and became a leader in the locker room. He was a key part of the defense, with Bentley’s speed being an asset that was part of the team’s change from larger players to faster, more athletic ones.
The veteran, who was selected by the team in the 5th round of the 2018 draft, didn’t take long before he made his presence known. He established himself on defense, becoming the second-leading tackler on the team by his third season, while leading the team in tackles in every season after that prior to last year.
Looking back, Bentley’s intensity and work ethic were evident even back when he was drafted. He didn’t hold back in his reaction to joining the Patriots the day he was selected, telling reporters he had watched a lot of former linebackers here in New England and was excited to get to work.
“I’ve definitely watched a lot of football, so I’ve seen a lot of guys from the Patriots, even back to Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas days,” said Bentley at the time. “Especially Roosevelt Colvin, like you said, Rob Ninkovich, guys like that – I definitely watched a lot of ball, watched some guys play, the history of backers. Dont’a Hightower is one of my favorites. It’s definitely a good system as far as the linebacker is concerned. I’m just excited to get to work.”
His absence after suffering a torn pectoral in Week 2 of last season certainly stung. That injury sidelined him for the season and ultimately left a void on defense that no one ever stepped into.
Clearly, as new head coach Mike Vrabel looks to establish a new defensive scheme here in New England, smaller and even more athletic players appear to be his preference. Who will now step into that role during that evolution will be something to watch. They’ll also need someone to fill the hole leadership-wise after the team also recently parted ways with David Andrews on the offensive side of things.
For now, Bentley’s departure is yet another sign of change for a team looking to rebound after back-to-back 4-13 seasons. For Bentley, one bit of good news is the fact ESPN reports that the 28-year-old was reportedly cleared recently from his injury, so the door is at least open for him to potentially suit up elsewhere.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
The Pats brought in a # of high character/captain types in FA to offset some of the leadership losses with Bentley, Andrews, Jon Jones etc. Captain or not, you can’t keep a guy like Bentley if he doesn’t fit the system the team will run. Non issue to me. It would be really nice to get some clarity on “the system” however. All that’s been conveyed on D is “the pats will play a more penetrating style” and thus the 230lb LBs and 292LB DT in Milton Williams etc. So are they running a 43 front ? RIght now I… Read more »