Smarter too. I was entering my eighth season with the Titans, and final year of my contract. The front office had indicated to my agent that I was their guy and they wanted to keep me in Tennessee.
Everything seemed in order. Then I got a call one night from my friend and fellow Scarlet Knight, Logan Ryan, who also happens to be a cornerback. He was thinking of signing with the Titans.
He had visited with the team to get a feel for everything and wanted my opinion of the organization and the city — the type of stuff any person wants to know before taking a new job.
I knew he could make us better, but I had doubts about my future on the team. After I hung up with him, I shared the news with my wife. My excitement for Log possibly joining the team disappeared when our conversation continued. I nodded. Smarter than me. A few days before offseason workouts were set to start, I got released. And kind of all at once, that same doubt I had when I first came into the league returned. It was a young roster so I got a lot more experience as a leader and mentor, basically being able to offer all the advice to young players that I would have wanted when I came into the league.
Because of my experience in Cleveland, any sort of doubt I had in my ability to play at the highest level after being released by the Titans was kind of washed away and I really needed that.
Well, at least not until I got a FaceTime call last spring that changed everything. The way my brother tells it, it all started with a text to Bill Belichick. His pitch? Two McCourtys are better than one. But Dev has been in New England his entire career.
Nine seasons. No dots even indicating he was typing up a message. Straight played him. Welp, I guess he thinks one McCourty is enough. But then, 45 minutes later, my brother got a call from Bill. A traditional phone call seems more his style anyhow. I was at a rehab facility working on my ankle when I picked up. So, get ready. At first I thought he might be messing with me. It hit me that this was really happening. About 10 minutes later, the Browns informed me of the trade. And then the next FaceTime was from my mom.
She was just screaming. Something like that. After we hung up, I took a moment and kind of exhaled. I went home right away, busted through the door and told my wife and … at first she was kind of pissed. Like I said, she gets this business. But after a few moments, we both just started laughing together. It was just kind of surreal to have started this journey with her driving down to Tennessee all those years ago with no idea what the future held, and now in year 10 getting the opportunity to relive college and play alongside Dev.
This may be the only season you get to do it. I love that woman. So I definitely expected some growing pains when joining the Pats. I knew what they were doing. They were waiting for me to talk first to figure out whether I was the player who had been with the team for a decade or the new guy.
They knew if the person in the tub greeted them with a joke or something funny, that was Dev. By the way, for the record, this is definitely Jason writing this.
Sure, the group was struggling as usual, as they allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw for yards, but there was a change-up in personnel—cornerback Devin McCourty was playing safety.
There has been no word if McCourty will be staying at safety for the remainder of the season as it quite possibly could have been a one-time experiment—however McCourty is very well aware that isn't just a cornerback, but he's a defensive back.
Whatever the team needs. Indeed he did make plays when he had the opportunity, as he was able to pick off a deflected Fitzpatrick pass—but some may argue that he was just in the right place at the right time, but doesn't that define a playmaker? During McCourty's 70 snaps out of a possible 71, he played fairly well—it was a much upgrade compared to his lackluster season playing cornerback.
Just by watching with a naked-eye, McCourty was always in pursue of the ball. Not only are the two both defensive backs, and not only did they both play for the same college, but both Devin and Jason played for the New England Patriots the past two seasons.
So, when looking at each of their individual careers, which one has been the better NFL player? After only recording nine total tackles in at Rutgers , Jason McCourty was solid in and He racked up 45 total tackles in and 44 total tackles in Then in , Jason really helped his draft stock. He had 52 total tackles and two interceptions. He also had 17 kick returns for yards that season, which was a That average was third in the Big East. After starting in nine total games for the Titans in and , Jason had a really good year in He ultimately had total tackles, 13 passes defended, and two interceptions.
The next year, he only had 92 total tackles, but he had four interceptions on the season. After only having 65 total tackles and no interceptions in , Jason recorded 85 total tackles and three interceptions for the Titans in He played in only four games in but had 69 total tackles and two interceptions for the Titans in
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