FOXBORO, Mass. — As a former member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Eric Rowe will see plenty of familiar faces in Super Bowl LII, including one he still holds in particularly high regard.
After the Eagles traded Rowe to the New England Patriots just days before the start of the 2016 NFL season, he received a text from Malcolm Jenkins, a two-time Pro Bowl safety and one of Philadelphia’s top locker-room leaders. The trade stunned Rowe, whom the Eagles had drafted in the second round just one year earlier.
But Jenkins’ message — one preaching perspective and perseverance — calmed him.
“I remember he texted me the day I got traded just telling me that everything happens for a reason,” Rowe recalled Monday, one day after the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game. “Whatever you do, just keep working, because you’re going to be great one day.
“That was, like, two years ago, and I still remember that text and try to follow through on it. He was like, ‘Things are going to go down. You’ve just got to keep working, because you won’t be down for long.’ I would see Malcolm, and even if he had a rough game, he’s in there working still. I still think of that today.”
Rowe’s transition to New England was not a seamless one. He admitted it took him a month to learn even the basics of the Patriots’ defense and an entire season to truly feel comfortable in the system. Despite these growing pains, he played much of the 2016 season as the Pats’ third cornerback, contributing on a team allowed the fewest points in the NFL en route to a Super Bowl title.
The secondary Rowe joined features one of New England’s most respected defensive voices in safety Devin McCourty and an emerging leader in first-year co-captain Duron Harmon, but he remains struck by the impression Jenkins made on him in Philadelphia.
“He was a phenomenal leader,” the 25-year-old said. “Not just his words, but his actions. I would always see him in the film room by himself just watching film — hours of film. And I’d see at home, he just watches hours of film. In the weight room, doing extra stuff on the field — just everything he does pertaining to the game. I was like, ‘I want to be like him.’ Even today. We’re playing the Eagles, and I’m like, ‘Well, I know Malcolm’s getting ready, especially in the Super Bowl, so I need to get on my stuff, too.’ I still think of him as a phenomenal leader.”
Rowe, who missed eight games with a groin injury this season but reclaimed his nickel corner spot before the playoffs, said he keeps in touch with several Eagles defensive backs and harbors no ill will toward Philly for shipping him off.
“When they traded me, once I got over the initial shock, I knew it was just the business of the NFL,” said Rowe, who recorded a key pass breakup in the win over the Jaguars. “Guys get traded every year. So after that initial shock, I’m like, ‘OK, well, I need to take advantage of this opportunity, because you don’t get a lot of opportunities to play for the Patriots.’ “
