MIAMI — Devin McCourty isn’t making any commitments as he heads toward free agency.
The veteran safety was asked Thursday whether he’d like to re-sign with the New England Patriots, the team he’s spent his entire 10-year career with.
“I think for right now, I can’t answer that,” McCourty told NESN.com during a promotional appearance on Super Bowl LIV Radio Row. “I would be crazy to be like, ‘Yeah, I did that for 10 years, I want to leave.’ Leave and go where? I don’t know what that looks like. So we’ll see how it goes. We’ll see what the interest is from the Pats. Like, a lot of times players get asked, but a lot falls on whoever your employer becomes. So we’ll see.”
McCourty tested free agency in 2015 before choosing to stay in New England, so he’s no stranger to the process.
“I think I learned from the first time going through it,” he said. “When the season ended, I was like, ‘All right, we’ll hurry up and get this done.’ And then you realize it doesn’t work that way. So I’ve really just been relaxing, man. I know once March hits and stuff starts rolling, we’ll kind of figure that out. But for right now, I’ve just been enjoying my family time. And I’ll be in my 11th year, so there’s no point for me to stress over free agency. It’s going to be what it’s going to be, and we’ll figure it out once it gets here.”
McCourty’s twin brother, Jason, faces an uncertain offseason, as well. His Patriots contract includes a team option for the 2020 season. If the team declines to exercise that option, he’d become a free agent, too.
“In an ideal world, I think we would love to continue to play together,” said Jason McCourty, who was traded to the Patriots ahead of the 2018 season. “That may not be determined by us. I have a team option, so if the team picks up my option and Dev goes and plays somewhere else, then it won’t be. But I think for us, if we could choose, we’d definitely finish out our career playing alongside each other.”
Devin McCourty turned in a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2019, tallying five interceptions and finishing the season as Pro Football Focus’ eighth-highest-graded safety. Jason McCourty started the season strong, as well, before a groin injury limited him to just nine total snaps over the Patriots’ final seven games. He recently underwent surgery.
