Did Bleak New England Patriots Outlook Cause Devin McCourty Retirement?
As the New England Patriots' 2023 season sinks deeper into the football underworld, the Foxborough faithful's reminders of the lost glory days continue to dwindle. As it stands, only five players from the last New England championship group from 2018 remain on a roster that currently sits at the bottom of the AFC standings.
Former safety Devin McCourty would've made it six, but it appears he escaped the carnage just in time: McCourty ended his 13-year NFL career, one spent entirely in Foxborough, in March and later joined NBC's Sunday night coverage.
During an appearance on WEEI's "Greg Hill Show," the tenured defender hinted that he might've seen it coming.
“I definitely thought it was going to be a tough season,” McCourty said. “I just didn’t think there was going to be enough … coming off last year, (did I) think we would be a contender in 2023? No."
This new decade, the post-Tom Brady era, has been hard on the Patriots: even though they reached the AFC's Wild Card round after the 2021 campaign, last year's group failed to generate any momentum, falling to 8-9 and missing out on consecutive playoff berths.
McCourty is one of the longest-tenured Patriots, one of five to play in at least 200 games
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The bottom has completely fallen out this season, as New England (2-7) is on pace for its worst posting since the last pre-Brady campaign of 2000. While few, if any, observers had New England destined for another championship run, this season has rendered nobody safe when it comes to job security including franchise quarterback Mac Jones and seemingly eternal head coach Bill Belichick.
McCourty, 36, made it clear that while he was pessimistic about New England's road ahead, retirement was nothing personal or meant to be a shot at his former employers.
“I could have easily said I don’t want to play in New England, but I could go play elsewhere and maybe had a chance to win a Super Bowl. But I think overall for me I was at the stage where football was done," McCourty said. “I didn’t think they would be 2-7 right now. But, I think overall, I was going to be 36 this year. If I’m not playing for a Super Bowl, then what’s the point of putting my body through more pain?"
McCourty was one of the most reliable names during the Patriots' nearly-uninterrupted run of success in the new century after joining the team as a first-round pick out of Rutgers in 2010. Over his New England career, McCourty amassed 971 tackles and 35 interceptions. He's also one of five Patriots to play at least 200 games with the franchise, joining Brady, Matthew Slater, Bruce Armstrong, and Julius Adams.
Such experience perhaps renders McCourty one of the most knowledgeable names to take a crack at solving the Patriots' problems. While he believes that Belichick is capable of dragging them out of the hole they're lying in, he believes some patience on the part of the fanbase will be required.
"I still think this team is a few years away from having a chance to get back into being contenders," McCourty admitted. "They have a ways to go, but I think they still have the leadership under Bill to get that done in the future.”
The Patriots will return to action on Sunday morning in Frankfurt against the Indianapolis Colts (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network). McCourty's twin brother and fellow New England alum Jason will be on the call alongside Rich Eisen.
