FOXBORO, Mass. — Already a two-time Super Bowl champion, Elandon Roberts added three new titles to his name this offseason.
Husband.
Father.
And, most recently, New England Patriots team captain.
Roberts, who’s entering his fourth season in New England, was announced Thursday as one of seven Patriots captains for the 2019 season.
To receive such a prestigious honor for the first time in his NFL career — and to be included in a leadership group that also features franchise cornerstones Tom Brady, Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, Dont’a Hightower, James White and David Andrews — was a “humbling” experience for the 25-year-old linebacker.
“Being a captain is just another job to do,” Roberts said in a news conference Friday. “I take it with pride. I respect the position. … It doesn’t bring pressure or anything like that. But you hold yourself to a different standard, because you know your teammates and your coaches hold you to a different standard because of that title.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was not involved in the decision to elect Roberts — captains are determined via player vote — but he raved about the linebacker’s leadership, physicality and football IQ. Roberts, who joined the Patriots as a sixth-round draft pick out of Houston in 2016, has shown steady and noticeable improvement over each of his three pro seasons.
“His whole career, from Morgan State to Houston to here — he probably wasn’t a very highly recognized player when we drafted him, but he’s probably one of the most unselfish players that we have on our team,” Belichick said. “He’ll do whatever he can to help the team in any way. He’s also one of the toughest and most physical players on the team as well. He really is a tempo setter, an impact hitter, but his intelligence and his awareness and how hard he studies the game — football is very important to him, and that’s reflected in the way he approaches it and the way he plays it.
“He’s gained a lot of knowledge and a much greater understanding, both individually for his position, and much greater depth in terms of the overall — what the offense is trying to do, defensive strengths and weaknesses of individual calls and so forth. So he’s grown tremendously in those areas, as well, but just as a teammate, I’m sure the players voted for him because of his toughness, his unselfishness, his dependability, his willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team win.
“You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
A week before he was announced as a captain, Roberts was discussed in the media as a potential roster casualty ahead of cutdown day. The perception inside Gillette Stadium, however, was much different.
“I think the way he is as a leader has been the same since Day 1,” said McCourty, who’s entering his ninth season as a Patriots captain. “And I think now, because of his growth as a player and learning more, guys are like, ‘You know, we’ve seen him do this the past two years now.’ They see him as a captain. I told him, ‘Just keep being yourself and doing what you’ve been doing.’ ”
Between Super Bowl LIII and the start of training camp, Roberts got married. Then, on the day of the Patriots’ third preseason game, he and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter, into the world.
Roberts went on to play that game, recording tackles on two of his five defensive snaps in a win over the Carolina Panthers.
“That was some excitement, man,” he said. “A lot of blessings. My team knew about it, coaching staff knew about it, and they were right behind me, excited for me. That’s the most important thing — when your family’s excited, and then you come to work and all your teammates and coaches are excited for you, too.”
Now, Roberts joins an exclusive fraternity of Patriots linebacker captains — a list that includes the likes of Hightower, Jerod Mayo, Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi.
“From my rookie year to now, it’s a lot of growing,” Roberts said. “And there’s still a lot that you can do to still grow. So each day, I come in the building for my teammates, my coaching staff, anybody in the building, Mr. (Robert) Kraft, I’m trying to be a better Elandon each day.”
