Reports Say the Patriots are Getting Back All Their Veteran Leaders. And Matthew Judon is Recruiting Bobby Wagner

Matt Patterson. Shutterstock Images.

The Patriots decision to release Kyle Van Noy this week should've served as a reminder to us all - in case for some reason we needed it - that we are in the midst of Losing Key Veterans season. It was that Mariah Carey Christmas song that comes on in the store that makes you realize it's almost Labor Day. 

In New England, early March almost always means seeing guys who were crucial components in one or more Super Bowl wins being shown the door. Stark proof that football around here is never personal, just business. That's what made last year such an outlier. Sure, the Pats lost Patrick Chung to retirement. But the team were buyers, not sellers. Adding an unthinkable number of free agents in addition to getting back their league-leading Covid opt outs. Van Noy having security see him to the door (metaphorically speaking. I have no doubt it was all very respectful, unlike that time I got my sorry ass laid off from an old dead end office job), made it feel like things were about to return to the way business is usually conducted around here in the days leading up to Free Agency. And we'd see a huge bloodletting as the team tries to get younger. 

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But according to a Do You Pod guest and NFL Insider, that will not be the case:

If I was a betting man, I would've put money on all four of these guys being gone before I'd wager they'd all be returning. At most, I figured it would be an even split. With James White as the odds-on favorite to retire, followed by Dont'a Hightower, then Matthew Slater (who's been with the team longer than anyone), with Devin McCourty most likely to return. The idea that all four of them will be back seemed like the least likely scenario. But there you have it. 

It's perfectly understandable if you're not thrilled about some of these returns. No one could have watched those last two performances against the Bills and been super enthusiastic about the idea of anyone on that defensive unit coming back ever again. Hightower got ran over by Devin Singletary on the kind of play he'd made a career out of blowing up right at the hole. McCourty was the deep safety in a playoff game where six different Buffalo receivers had catches of 19+ yards. I get the frustration. 

As for Slater, he's a special teamer only on a unit that was the least special in recent memory. And White seemed to be gone last season, before he re-signed with New England, only to be lost for the season after just three games. 

But for a reason why keeping them all in Foxboro for 2022, you just need to look at ancient history. Specifically 2009. Coming off the season where they went 11-5 with Matt Cassel under center, the Patriots suffered a loss among their team leaders that was ultimately a calamity. First they threw Vrabel in on the trade of Cassel to Kansas City. Next, Rodney Harrison was offered the Sunday Night Football job, and it was too good to turn down. Then Tedy Bruschi found himself sitting in the film room after a preseason game, watching a running back on a shallow cross simply run away from him. Realizing that if he saw it, everyone else was seeing it, he announced his retirement the next day. 

Into that leadership void stepped malcontents like Adalius Thomas who was one of the four guys who showed up late for meetings due a snowstorm and were sent home. Thomas was the one who publicly bellyached about how unfair it was, despite the fact that the GOAT who quarterbacked the team was there early. A day after his wife gave birth. What that produced stands as the single most unlikable, soft and underachieving team of the Belichick Era. The one he famously complained to Tom Brady about in the middle of worst performance of the year (1:01:00 mark) for lacking mental toughness, not being able to play on the road, adding, "I just can't get this team to play the way we need to play. I just can't do it. It's so frustrating."

I'm not saying that's what you'll get if you move on from some or all of these four captains. But you have to consider who'll be the leaders of this team without them. And by "leaders" I'm not talking about standing in the locker room giving Frank the Tank speeches. Any imbecile can run his mouth. It's about holding everyone responsible. Making it clear what's expected of the team and each individual. Responding to coaching. Putting in the time. All those commitments that have been passed down from Willie McGinest to Ty Law to Vince Wilfork to Rob Gronkowski and everyone in between. It matters. 

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And it typically takes veterans. Guys with rings. I mean, Jerod Mayo was on that 2009 team, and he came down the birth canal a team captain and future coach. But he was only in his second year. Guys like Mac Jones, Kyle Dugger and Damien Harris could be that, but that's a big ask for guys who are still on their rookie deals and have never won as much as a playoff game. 

And to that end, it's good to know that one Patriots veteran leader is putting in the work to recruit an even more veteran leader who would be the perfect addition:

I still hope Belichick manages to retain all four of these guys' services. With or without them though, it's hard to imagine a better player to replace them. A 31 year old, good for 140-170 tackles a year. A former champion. DPOTY. Six time All Pro. With the size profile the Patriots still like to build around in an era of shrinking linebackers. A captain that Matthew Judon already has a nickname for? Getting Wagner in here would go a long way toward not only replacing veterans, but bringing the Dynasty back to it's former glory. 

I'll happily bring back Hightower, McCourty, White and Slater. But is it too much to ask that we have it all?