FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots rarely have needed to implement their Patrick Chung contingency plan.
Since beginning his second stint with the Patriots in 2014, Chung has played in all but one game. He played 78 percent of defensive snaps in 2014 (fifth-most on the team), 81 percent in 2015 (fifth), 96 percent in 2016 (third) and 86 percent in 2017 (third) while also contributing a significant number of snaps on special teams.
The veteran strong safety is arguably the Patriots’ most versatile defensive player, and his toughness and willingness to play through minor injuries make him incredibly valuable.
Chung’s status for this week’s matchup with the Detroit Lions is in doubt, however, after a concussion knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was not present when the team returned to practice Wednesday.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged it would take multiple players to properly replace Chung, who has not missed a game since 2015.
“Pat’s a versatile player,” Belichick said Wednesday morning. “He does a lot of things. And sometimes when a player has that much versatility for you, there’s two or three people that would fill that role between, in this case, defense and the kicking game. …
“We’re fortunate we have one Pat Chung. To have two Pat Chungs would be pretty much impossible. So it would be multiple to do all the things that he does. And we have a number of other players like that. I’d say every team in the league has players like that. Teams have one of those players, and if he’s not there, they just don’t have another one like that.”
If Chung is not cleared to play against the Lions, the Patriots would need to alter their base defense, which includes three safeties (Chung, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon). They’d likely shift to a more traditional nickel package with McCourty at strong safety, Harmon at free safety, Jonathan Jones at slot corner, Stephon Gilmore at one boundary corner and either Eric Rowe or Jason McCourty at the other.
Jason McCourty, who played most of Sunday’s game after Rowe was benched early, also could see time at safety, which he played during the preseason. The Patriots’ only other safety is special teamer Nate Ebner, who rarely sees the field on defense.
“(Chung) is a special talent guy,” Harmon said Monday. “He does so much for us. But we’re in a league where injuries happen weekly. So while it’s not going to be one guy who does his role, when it’s your job to do maybe one of his roles, we’ve got to go in there, we’ve got to do it well and do it at the same standard that this team expects everybody to play at.”
