Conor McDermott was once an emergency option for the New England Patriots, being picked up off the street prior to their Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
After putting together six weeks of solid play, he’s reportedly earned a shot at a more permanent role.
“The Patriots and offensive tackle Conor McDermott have reached agreement on a new contract, according to a league source,” Jim McBride of The Boston Globe tweeted Saturday.
McDermott immediately stepped in and stepped up for the Patriots, starting in all six of his games for New England in 2022-23. Spending the majority of his career as a backup, the 30-year-old only missed one snap and provided some stability on Mac Jones’ right side.
It would be hard to argue that McDermott was dominant, but he did finish those six games without allowing a sack and earned the highest run-blocking grade given to the Patriots by PFF. His play even earned some kind words from Bill Belichick.
“Conor’s played in the league,” Belichick said in early December, per NESN’s Zack Cox. “He’s played in this division and had a good training camp with us (as a rookie). We had a really good experience with him from when we drafted him all the way to the last cut. We were hoping to get him back on the practice squad, but he got claimed. So it’s kind of been a long, winding road here.”
