FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — One by one, the players who made it happen, the players who were instrumental in keeping the Patriots’ run of championships alive and kicking during a second decade, have either left or retired.
On Tuesday, the Patriots celebrated one of the last remnants of the club’s dynasty and, specifically, the wave of defensive dominance.
In a ceremony at the Patriots Hall of Fame, Devin McCourty, a three-time Super Bowl winner, bid adieu. The defensive back, who patrolled the Patriots backfield the past 13 seasons, is headed off to retirement and a new set of challenges.
Meanwhile, in a piece published on The Players’ Tribune, Dont’a Hightower, another prized member of the three-ring club, announced his retirement after spending last year on the sidelines.
While Matthew Slater (three championships) remains, along with a small group who were part of two championships, led by center David Andrews and cornerback Jonathan Jones, and a few more with one, it sure seems like that chapter is closing, if not already closed.
After finishing out of the playoffs two of the last three seasons, the Patriots have fallen off the pedestal. There’s a different feel in Foxboro. Championships seem so far away, as opposed to right around the corner. It’s as much about the quarterback question as it is the defense.
Speaking with McCourty after the ceremony, however, he wasn’t willing to shut the door so quickly.
“I think (the run can continue). I think it just looks different. There’s different guys,” he said. “They have a good group now, and I think it’ll continue to grow the next couple of years.”
Time will tell.
It took McCourty’s group awhile, with a 10-year “drought” between the franchise’s third and fourth titles, but the Patriots were able to ring up three more in 2014, 2016 and 2018. In all three years, McCourty’s defense dominated for long stretches.
During his remarks at the ceremony, McCourty said it was obvious when he arrived in town, that “everything was about winning.” And if that wasn’t your philosophy, it was quickly adapted. The Patriots had three Lombardi’s in the bank, and it was obvious from the players in the room, they wanted more. They expected more, especially with Brady still at the helm.
And they delivered.
“I’m just grateful I got an opportunity to get drafted here,” said McCourty, a first-round pick out of Rutgers. “(Brother Jason) used to always make fun of me, and say, ‘You’re not a better player than me. You just got drafted where Tom Brady was, and Coach Belichick.’ And, it’s the truth. The journey I got to experience here was one of a kind.”
Will Mac Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson, Tyquan Thornton, Jack Jones, Christian Barmore, Kyle Dugger and Marcus Jones get to experience the same? Will they get to experience that kind of winning?
It largely depends on the personnel Bill Belichick drafts around his quarterback and on defense. When McCourty was drafted in 2010 in the first round, he arrived with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The year before, Julian Edelman, Patrick Chung and Sebastian Vollmer entered the picture.
While the media and fan base might not have been sold on McCourty, team owner Robert Kraft said he wasn’t worried about his top pick. Their intel told them Devin was “the perfect Patriot,” which proved to be the case. Belichick, meanwhile, said McCourty was “the epitome of everything a coach could ask for, a team could ask for.”
During much of McCourty’s 13 seasons, the locker room was filled with similar players. His first year, he learned by sitting next to Kevin Faulk in the locker room.
Hightower, noted for the clutch plays he made during several Super Bowls, was another one, and he also appreciates the good fortune he had coming to New England when he did.
“I know these announcements always feel bittersweet, but I can’t think of a better story than the one I wrote in New England,” Hightower said in the piece he wrote in the Players’ Tribune. “A decade, three Super Bowls, two Pro Bowls, and the birth of my son — all playing for one franchise. How many guys have a story like that?”
The Patriots enjoyed an historic run largely because of Belichick, Brady, and a surrounding defense that always featured players who could deliver on the big stage.
McCourty’s goodbye player montage was filled with them, with Brady, Vince Wilfork, Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan, Stephon Gilmore, Patrick Chung, Jerod Mayo and Slater all saluting their former teammate.
McCourty did admit it was hard always being compared with the past championship teams. Ultimately, his teams sought to create an identity of their own.
He believes the current group, led by Mac Jones, is fighting to do the same. And as he leaves, McCourty believes the team is in good hands with the leadership in the room.
“The good and bad of being a Patriot is you get linked to every Super Bowl won by the franchise,” said McCourty. “There aren’t too many of the guys left that have won Super Bowls … I never liked being linked to (the past) Super Bowl wins. We didn’t do that. But it’s a credit to those guys, that it’s now the expectation.
“It’s a hard expectation. It’s not easy to win in this league,” he went on. “But I think when I look at this team, and the leadership they have … all of these guys have been in tough situations. They’re kind of battle tested for what they’ve had in this league, and what they had in college and high school. They carry that. They’ll wear that on their sleeves.
“And I think … they’re pushing to be great.”
The baton has certainly been passed, and the Patriots are on to a new chapter. At this stage, it’s just hard to believe it will be one that comes close to resembling the past.