offtopic » McCourty’s missed five starts since he was

The Patriots have been in training camp for a little while now and that’s given quarterback Tom Brady a chance to get work in with the team’s post-Rob Gronkowski tight end group.How things are going with that group — Benjamin Watson 2019 N'Keal Harry Jersey , Matt LaCosse, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo and Lance Kendricks — was a topic at Brady’s press conference on Wednesday. Brady was asked how significant the loss of Gronkowski feels right now.“To replace great players, it’s not like you just pick another one off the tight end tree. You can’t just go out back,” Brady said. “You’ve got to find guys that come in and want to put the work in and want to try and contribute. Between the guys we have out here now, which is Ben, and Matt, Stephen, Ryan Izzo, Lance who we just got — those guys are trying to do everything they can do. They’re all new players, so we’ve got to figure out how to get them up to speed to what our expectations are N'Keal Harry NFL Draft , the level of competition on a daily basis.”Watson won’t be part of the group for the first four games due to a suspension and fullback James Develin could factor into the Patriots’ thinking about how to position everyone now that Gronkowski has moved on to other endeavors. How all of those pieces fit will be one of many things to watch when New England kicks off their season against the Steelers on Sunday Night Football. The defensive captain isn’t thinking about anything beyond the 2019 season." Patriots First ReadDevin McCourty on thinking about retirement: NahNew,12commentsThe defensive captain isn’t thinking about anything beyond the 2019 season.EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Devin McCourty on thinking about retirement: NahTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Harry How/Getty ImagesFor most of us, retiring sounds like living the dream. If you’re Devin McCourty, though, retirement is like the God of Death. You know, the one we say “not today” to.Being that Devin’s contract only goes through the 2019 NFL season, which, coincidentally, is the same season when #32 turns 32, he’s been in more than a few talks this offseason about either getting an extension to ease up on his $13,435 Color Rush Jarrett Stidham Jersey ,000.00 cap hit, or potentially hanging the cleats up for good.According to the venerable scribe and cancer’s-ass-kicker Jeff Howe of The Athletic, though, D-Mac is all in on 2019 and has given retirement after this year approximately zero thoughts at all.You know how everyone says the average NFL career is 2.5 years or whatever that stat is? D-Mac was shooting for being a 10-year guy this whole time, to probably nobody’s surprise.About that whole “being healthy” thing: Devin’s not a large guy, by defensive back standards (5’10, 195lbs), and yet he’s been an absolute hoss when it comes to making sure he’s on the field all the time. Check this “Games Started” column out:If math and/or Pro Football Reference aren’t your thing, here’s the deal: McCourty’s missed five starts since he was drafted. In 2010. More fun with numbers: that shakes out to missing 0.56 games per season. The Rutgers man might be made of adamantium.Also fun: Devin played 96.26% of the Pats’ defensive snaps in 2018 in addition to 40.62% of the special teams snaps, so if you remember that part from the Wes Welker episode of A Football Life where Wes was like, I’ll play offense Youth Jarrett Stidham Jersey , defense, and special teams just to get on the field, yeah, D-Mac is basically that. An 8-time team captain that still plays special teams. And, as the latest episodes of the NFL Top 100 nicely pointed out, he’s also the man with the plan that gets everyone lined up on defense, and has been for the better part of this past decade when Bill moved him from cornerback to safety in the first place.As for now, Devin’s on to 2019.