Devin McCourty Says Patriots Should Re-Sign Chris Hogan

With Jarrett Stidham projected to become the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2020, it would be wise of Bill Belichick to surround the young QB with experienced pass-catchers that know New England's system and can be relied upon.

Yes, Julian Edelman fits that bill, as well as Mohamed Sanu, who should take a big step forward in Year 2 of being a Patriot and has made a career from being a reliable receiver. But what if New England added another former Patriots player into the mix to give Stidham one more veteran option? That's why captain and safety Devin McCourty is calling for his team to re-sign Chris Hogan.

Here is what McCourty said on the latest episode of the "Double Coverage Podcast" with his brother Jason in which they had Hogan on as a guest.

“You heard it here first, man: Chris Hogan back to New England. We get him back there, we got 7-Eleven, always open. We’ve got a new quarterback, let’s bring an old target back,” McCourty said, as transcribed by NESN.com. “That’s what we do in New England. LeGarrette [Blount] came back, next thing you know, 18 touchdowns. That’s what happens in New England. Deion Branch came back in 2010, touchdowns everywhere. So New England, get a head start. Start your articles now. It’s 8:47. Devin has said it."

At 32 years old, Hogan is currently a free agent after a one-year stint with the Panthers last season. 2019 was a season to forget for Hogan, as he was placed on injured reserve in October, and caught just eight passes for 67 yards in the seven regular season games he was active for.

While Devin is right when he says players that return to the Patriots have a knack for having a bounce back year, it's hard to make the same case for Hogan. The veteran receiver has never eclipsed 700 receiving yards or five touchdowns in a single season since entering the league in 2012. His best season to-date was in 2016 while in New England, in which he had 680 receiving yard and four touchdowns on 38 receptions. But Hogan was a starter for the Patriots that season. That wouldn't be the case this time around in New England.

If Hogan were to become a Patriot this offseason, it wouldn't happen until after the draft. New England likely wants to take their chances in the draft to see if they can acquire one or two receivers from this year's historically deep wide receiver class. If they can, then Hogan likely won't be signed since the Patriots will then have Edelman, Sanu, N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Damiere Byrd and whoever they draft next week. That's already a loaded wide receiver room that will have to be shaved down this summer.

So, while Devin McCourty threw out a hopeful scenario for the return of one of his former teammates, at this point, his request seems like a long shot.