Patrick Chung isn’t your conventional safety.
You won’t often find Chung on a wide receiver’s hip or corralling interceptions. The 31-year-old effectively is a linebacker playing in the defensive backfield, serving as the backbone of the New England Patriots defense.
Chung never will shy away from the action as one of the hardest hitters on the Patriots roster. Despite his highly physical style of play, Chung has managed to be durable in his second stint in New England, as he’s only missed two games over the past five seasons. Chung, like every other NFL player, surely gets banged up as a season unfolds, but it’s going to take a whole lot to keep him off the field.
“I just like to play ball,” Chung told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “It’s a mentality I’ve always grown up with. If I can walk, I can play. That’s just how I’ve always been. It’s how I’m always going to be.”
Given these sentiments, you can imagine how tough it was for Chung to be forced out of Super Bowl LIII due to a broken forearm. The injury prompted another offseason surgery for Chung, who also underwent a procedure to fix a shoulder ailment sustained toward the back end of the 2018 season. But in typical Chung fashion, he was out on the practice fields for Day 1 of Patriots OTAs back in the spring.
The secondary is poised to be New England’s greatest strength in the upcoming season. While Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty and rising star J.C. Jackson likely will field the bulk of the praise, Chung’s presence will be of great importance to the reigning Super Bowl champs.
