Focused Sheard ready to step up
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — In light of the March trade of Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona, the Patriots must find a way to replace the team’s sack leader and pressure the quarterback.
It has left the door open for Jabaal Sheard to have a bigger role after a 2015 season in which he had 8.5 sacks in 13 regular-season games for the Pats while playing his natural position of defensive end.
“Just go out there and work as hard as I can to get better,” Sheard said yesterday of the prospect of an expanded role this year during his appearance at Slater Memorial Park on behalf of the NFL Play 60 after-school program.
Sheard signed a two-year contract worth $11 million before the start of last year after playing both outside linebacker and defensive end in four years with Cleveland.
That deal expires after this season, but Sheard wasn’t tipping his hand about whether he would prefer to have his deal extended before the start of the season or play it out and try to hit it big on the free agent market.
“I’m not even focused on that,” Sheard said. “I’m just focused on this season and going out there and taking care of business and winning as many games as we can possibly win.”
Following a solid first season in Foxboro, he said he was able to dedicate the offseason to focusing on his body, as opposed to last year when he was also learning a new playbook.
The Patriots also brought in free agent defensive end Chris Long in the weeks following the Jones trade, but Long has seen the last two seasons cut short by ankle and knee injuries.
“Chris fits right in,” Sheard said. “He’s a good guy and he works hard so we’re all blending together, work hard and push each other.”
Sheard was joined by two teammates, safety Patrick Chung and offseason free agent signing defensive lineman Markus Kuhn, at Slater Park as the Patriots presented the City of Pawtucket a check for $7,500 to support health programming or purchase new sports equipment as part of the Play 60 program.
The trio led a group of about 50 youngsters through a warmup drill and then stepped it up with some hula hooping, jump roping and NFL-style agility drills.
Sheard said what he wanted the kids in attendance to get from the experience was the importance to “get outside, enjoy the weather, get good exercise in, just eat the right things and live a healthy life.”