The veteran safety was released by the Philadelphia Eagles on March 11 and re-signed with the Patriots on Thursday.
“I got the call and I was excited,” Chung said Thursday on a conference call with the media. “I was happy, I was relieved. It was a very, very, very easy decision. It didn’t really take much.”
Chung said he plans to do a lot of charity work with Chung Changing Lives now that he’s back in New England. He held events in the Boston area last summer even after joining the Eagles.
“I’m glad to be back, man,” Chung said. “It’s like family here. It feels like home. I love the fans, I love the coaches, love the environment, love the city.”
Chung said he believed the Patriots were the best fit for him since he knows the system and the coaches. His second tenure with the Patriots could go better than his first now that the team has moved Devin McCourty to free safety, allowing Chung to play closer to the line of scrimmage, where he’s had more success throughout his NFL career.
Chung enters a much-improved secondary from when he left last offseason. The Patriots added cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Darrelle Revis in free agency, McCourty made the All-Pro second-team last season at safety, and young cornerbacks Alfonzo Dennard and Logan Ryan showed a lot of promise in 2013. Chung, Duron Harmon, Adrian Wilson and Ryan all could compete for the second starting safety role.
Chung is open to anything, though.
“If it’s special teams, if it’s defense — whatever my role is here, I’m OK with it,” Chung said. “I’m in the place I want to be. That’s good for me. I’m not worried about all the distractions, ‘Am I going to be playing? Am I going to be doing this?’ Whatever I can do to help the team win, I’m good.”
Chung was drafted No. 34 overall by the Patriots in 2009. The terms of his contract haven’t been disclosed.
