Langi next man up at LB
High hopes for undrafted rookie
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
FOXBORO — Undrafted rookie linebacker Harvey Langi had to wait an extra week to make his NFL debut, and it looks like the Patriots will count on him to replace some of Dont’a Hightower’s snaps.
Langi, who missed the opener against the Chiefs with a concussion, has been a healthy participant all week in practice, so he’ll be ready to roll tomorrow against the New Orleans Saints.
“I’m excited,” Langi said. “It’s something all of us have been dreaming to do one day. It’s coming here quick and fast, and you’ve got to get over all the excitement and hype because it’s work now. It’s exciting, for sure.”
Langi worked with the starting defense throughout the majority of training camp, and he made his share of impressive plays during those summer practices to validate those opportunities. There were also plenty of occasions when Langi looked like an undrafted rookie, but that’s to be expected.
To a degree, Langi also earned those reps because Hightower opened camp on the physically unable to perform list and Shea McClellin went down right off the bat. Now that Hightower (sprained knee) has been ruled out after missing practice all week, Langi could seamlessly fit back into that role.
There will be growing pains, no doubt, but Langi has some serious long-term upside.
“It’s a great defense, a great defensive coordinator,” Langi said. “A lot of guys have played in this defense for a long time, and even they are learning every day. Watching them, seeing them, trying to follow them, it is pretty tough to learn the defense. But if it was easy, everyone would be able to do it.”
Langi’s unique path to the NFL was a likely reason why he went undrafted. He was a running back at Utah in 2011 before leaving for a two-year Mormon mission. He then transferred to BYU, where he switched to a defensive end/outside linebacker role. Langi finished his career at BYU as an inside linebacker.
The Patriots have used Langi on the edge as a 3-4 outside linebacker again, so the learning curve is significant. It’s obviously a challenge for a young player who never got a chance to settle on one position over the duration of his college career, but Langi has enjoyed an impressive start with the Patriots.
Now that he is over his concussion, it’s time to see if those practice reps can pay off in his regular-season debut.
“I just want to work really hard,” he said. “When you come from the path that I had to take — undrafted free agent, we all knew we had something to prove. The only way we could prove it is through hard work. That’s all I was expecting of myself, just work really hard, give as much as I can for the team and see what happens.”
Opportunity time?
Because the Patriots are increasingly desperate for a full-time punt returner, it’s worth wondering if they’ll promote wide receiver Demarcus Ayers from the practice squad.
Bill Belichick was complimentary of Ayers yesterday, noting the secondyear receiver’s workload over the past two weeks of practice.
“Demarcus has played inside and outside,” Belichick said. “He’s returned punts. We’ve looked at him doing all of those things as a practice squad player. Definitely making progress. They’re never really ready to go in the game when they come in this league, but a lot of times they do and will based on circumstances or need or whatever. We’re just trying to get him ready. He’s certainly a lot more ready this week than he was last week, so if he keeps progressing then maybe he can push for an opportunity to play.”
Ayers declined the Steelers’ offer to remain with their practice squad and instead opted to join the Patriots. In three collegiate seasons at Houston, Ayers returned 33 punts for a 9.6-yard average and had a touchdown, and he added 71 kick returns for a 22.7-yard average and a score.
Ayers didn’t return any kicks or punts last season with the Steelers. But if the Patriots need to promote him today in time for tomorrow’s game, Belichick at least sounds intrigued by his potential.
“He works hard,” the coach said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and he’s gotten better at it. Our offense is a little different than the Pittsburgh offense, so there’s definitely some different things that he’s having to adapt to from the system that he was in. That’s nobody’s fault. That’s just the way it is.”
Knee’d to know
Wide receiver Danny Amendola, who was ruled out due to a concussion and knee injury, wore a wrap around his left knee yesterday in the locker room. It had been unclear prior to that which knee was the issue for Amendola . . . .
The NFL fined Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce $12,154 for a personal foul in the opener against the Patriots. Kelce slammed a football into linebacker Kyle Van Noy’s groin during the game.