Getty Kyle Van Noy agreed to a multi-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.
Kyle Van Noy agreed to a massive four-year $51 million deal on Monday night with the Miami Dolphins. He is leaving the New England Patriots after 3.5 seasons and winning two Super Bowl rings with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Terms of Kyle Van Noy’s Deal With the Dolphins
Kyle Van Now to the Dolphins for four years and $51 million, per source. First reported by @MikeGarafolo and @RapSheet
The Jets Were Interested in Van Noy
Van Noy had been receiving interest from the New York Jets, but it was the Patriots’ more southeastern AFC East Division rival that plucked the soon-to-be 29-year-old away from New England.
Van Noy’s Journey to Becoming a Sought-After Free Agent
After playing the first 2.5 seasons of his career in relative obscurity with the Detroit Lions who selected him in the second round, and 40th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, Van Noy was traded to the Patriots in the middle of the 2016 season. He helped the Patriots defeat the Atlanta Falcons that season in Super Bowl LI. The following year, the Patriots lost Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles, but then returned to glory with Van Noy for Super Bowl LIII with a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
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This past season, the Pats fell short as they were upset in the first round of the AFC Playoffs by the Tennessee Titans. Still, almost anyone would take two Super Bowls in 3.5 seasons with a team. With that kind of winning already secured, Van Noy was free to cash in on his hard work, and the Dolphins gave him that opportunity.
Van Roy and Flores Are Reunited
Van Noy reunites with former Patriots linebacker coach Brian Flores, who is now the head coach in Miami. That familiar face and the fat paycheck had to have weighed heavily in Van Noy’s decision to sign with the Dolphins.
Patriots With Several Holes to Fill on Defense
The Patriots will miss Van Noy, but they had to anticipate this departure. He’d clearly played himself into the type of huge contract the Patriots aren’t accustomed to doling out. Now the question remains for the Patriots, who could be next to exit from the team’s linebacker corps?
Jamie Collins Sr. also left in free agency as he accepted a three-year $30 million deal from Van Noy’s old team, the Lions.
In losing Van Noy and Collins, the dual departures likely increase the chances that the team has to target a LB early in the draft–if not in the first round with the No. 23 selection. There are still several free-agent chips left to fall for the Patriots and the NFL. Perhaps the next one will include their legendary QB, Tom Brady. If Brady does decide to return to the Patriots, he and the fanbase have to start wondering, what kind of defense will he have to help him try to win a seventh Super Bowl.
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