Patriots Veteran Believes Team Will Face This ‘Ultimate Test’ In 2023

The Patriots probably won’t be able to completely replace Devin McCourty in the upcoming season.

This isn’t to say New England boasts a weak secondary heading into the 2023 campaign. Quite the contrary, but McCourty was the special kind of player who only comes around so often. Across 13 seasons in Foxboro, Mass., the 2010 first-round pick was about as reliable as they come, both in terms of leadership and versatile on-field production.

So, these Patriots simply will have to learn to play without McCourty, who retired back in March. And Adrian Phillips, a proven veteran in his own right, knows that will be a stiff challenge.

“We just don’t have to reincarnate him,” Phillips told The Boston Globe on Tuesday. “We appreciate him for everything that he did, and obviously, we still keep in contact, but you have to find a way to move forward without him. That’s the only way you can move forward. If you keep trying to find somebody to replace him or somebody to be like Dev — ‘Do this like Dev. Do that like Dev’ — we’ll never be able to grow to where we need to be.

“This is like the ultimate test for our secondary to be able to grow, because he’s always been that backbone for so long.”

Fortunately for New England, it appears to be in good hands going into its first post-McCourty season. Between Phillips, Kyle Dugger, Jonathan Jones, Jalen Mills and others, the defensive backfield very well could be an area of strength for the Patriots in 2023.