Phil Perry breaks down why the Patriots may be able to get by without J.C. Jackson as their number one cornerback next season and why re-signing Devin McCourty should be the more crucial priority for New England.
The New England Patriots have 18 players set to become free agents when the new league year begins March 16. We'll be covering each of the notable names with an analysis of where they stand in their respective careers, and whether we can expect them to return to Foxboro in 2022.
First up, 12-year veteran Devin McCourty.
Position: Free safety
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Age this season: 35
2021 salary: $8M
2021 games played: 18
Summary
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Aside from a really, really poor game against Houston, Devin McCourty in 2021 was who he’s always been. A durable, physical, intelligent, instinctive player with outstanding leadership skills with elite speed and high-level tackling ability.
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He had 60 tackles (after having 58 and 68 the previous two years) and three picks. Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats had McCourty being targeted in coverage 26 times with nine completions (34.6 percent), allowing a tiny QB rating of 17.6. On the field, he’s still one of the best free safeties in the league. Off the field, he’s top five during the Belichick era in terms of leadership and impact.
The outlook
McCourty said on his "Double Coverage" Podcast that he’d take a month or two after the season before deciding whether to continue his career or not.
“I still feel great," he said. "Going over all of the tests and all the things that we do during the season with our sports performance guy Johan, I haven’t had a dropoff in athletic ability and the physical traits to play the game. So it all really comes down to mentally and being ready and being able to tap back in and go through a full season. I think those are the things you have to think about.
“But I’m definitely going to take my time and see what happens for the future. I try not to say, ‘I’ll never do this’ or ‘I’m only going to do that’ and just kind of let it play itself out and see how it goes.”
McCourty told me this week he is currently training with the intention of playing in 2022.
Presumably, the Patriots would love to have him back. Especially after losing Patrick Chung last year, Stephon Gilmore at the trade deadline and, potentially, J.C. Jackson if the team can’t lock him down.
While it’s time for younger Patriots to step forward into leadership roles, McCourty isn’t just a supervisor back there. He’s a better-than-average player performer. There’s no such thing as "impossible to replace." There is such a thing as "impossible to replicate."
Would McCourty consider playing elsewhere? Possibly. But it would be a shortlist of teams and the ones at the top of it would have to be playoff-caliber.
In its free agent rankings, Pro Football Focus ballparked a McCourty contract at $12M over two years with a little over $8M guaranteed. Seems right to me.