Mccourty provides timeline for decision about his future
Special teams captain Matthew Slater has put retirement on hold and decided to return for a 16th season.
What about Devin Mccourty? Has he decided to retire, or follow Slater’s lead and come back for another go-round with the Patriots?
The longtime defensive captain, appearing Tuesday on “The Patriots Report” podcast, says he needs a few more weeks before arriving at a final decision.
“I’ve gone back and forth,” Mccourty told host Christopher Price. “I think the good thing is I actually have a vacation coming up with the family, and then I’m going to go hang out with (twin brother Jason Mccourty) for a week. I think just being able to get away from football, especially as you kind of get older, I think it helps you put things in perspective doing other things.”
Following his family vacation, Mccourty indicated he would also be a guest host on “Good Morning Football” for a full week, where Jason has been a co-host since retiring last year.
Basically, Mccourty said not to expect a decision until mid-march. It makes sense given he’d want to let the Patriots know before free agency officially kicks off March 15, with the two-day tampering window starting on the 13th.
Whatever Mccourty decides will impact the Patriots and their offseason plans. Should he retire, the Patriots could move someone into his free safety spot, whether it’s Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, or even cornerback Jalen Mills.
Pending free agents Jabrill Peppers or Jonathan Jones could also take over the job in deep centerfield, if re-signed. Or, the Patriots can dip into the draft for Mccourty’s eventual replacement or even add on in free agency.
“(The) second week in March, and we’ll start to, I think for me and my wife, decide and plan what the next year looks like,” said Mccourty, who turns 36 in August and stands as a pending free agent. “I think that’s around the time where free agency will be coming up, so it’ll be the right time to really start digging in and make a decision.”
Mccourty has spent his entire 13-year career with the Patriots, and acknowledged this was the first time he’s actually pondered hanging up the cleats.
“My wife always jokes with me because this is probably the first year that I’ve actually thought about it,” he said. “Usually, I say that. I would say over the last two or three years, (I’d say) I’m thinking about it, but as soon as the offseason hits, I’ve gone right back into working out and doing what I’ve always done to get ready for the season.
“But I will say I’ve been very fortunate to have a twin brother who, last year we had so many conversations as he was rehabbing his foot and ultimately trying to make that (retirement) decision. We would just talk about what you think it’s going to be like, your plans and everything. And I think even talking to him, it didn’t hit him fully until that video he did with his kids and everything. He posted it, and I remember he texted me and he was like, ‘Man, it’s really over now.’
“And I think that’s the thing for all of us as athletes. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was 10 years old, so the thought of not getting ready to go, the thought of not playing in the game, even though you think about it, I don’t think it ever becomes real until you do it.”
By the sound of it, he’s a bit torn by his upcoming decision, especially with Slater back and now rooting for his return.
“I look forward to next year and I see me doing different things,” Mccourty said. “I also see me playing. I think that’s the really hard thing about trying to decide what’s best for you and your family.”