Myles Bryant Makes Himself Indispensable in Patriots Secondary
Football continues to test Myles Bryant, the defensive back who last week went from the inactive list to heavy contributor for the New England Patriots in their 54-13 beatdown of the New York Jets.
That's standard fare for the University of Washington defender who's been a college walk-on, an undrafted NFL player and a waived player multiple times.
Yet once Patriots teammate Jonathan Jones suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on Sunday, Bryant handled 86 percent of the slot cornerback plays against New York. He'll now be counted on to carry a significant workload moving forward, if not start for Bill Belichick's team.
As people in Seattle have learned, Bryant doesn't let anything faze him. He just keeps competing until good things happen.
In 2020, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Bryant played nine games for New England as a rookie and did well, but that still didn't assure him of a roster spot coming into a new season.
He was let go at the roster cutdown deadline and re-signed to the practice squad. He was activated after sitting out three games, played against Tampa Bay and Houston, only to be demoted once more.
With the Patriots continually shorthanded in the secondary, Bryant received another shot against the Jets. Once Jones was hurt, leaving New England without its top defensive back, the former Husky defender was ready to go.
Bryant finished with a career-best 6 tackles, which included his first NFL sack on a corner blitz, and he forced a fumble.
Myles Bryant, left, played his first game of the season against the Jets.
USA TODAY Sports
He's had to take the high road throughout his football career, coming to the UW as a walk-on who later earned a scholarship, and going to New England as an undrafted free agent who scrambled for a roster spot.
“I mean any opportunity for me I’m grateful for it and the capacity of what it was and being able to step up means a lot,” Bryant said after the win over the Jets. “It wasn’t the best game but there are some plays that I did make that helped the team, and some plays I have to clean up so this week. I am going to go out there and practice harder than I did last week, and hopefully keep this thing going.”
Bryant will be considered as a starting replacement for the injured Jones. He'll play in some manner. That's what he does.
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