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The New England Patriots won’t be breaking up the McCourty Twins this offseason.
Patriots free safety Devin McCourty, a two-time Pro Bowler, announced Sunday night he will officially be staying with New England for next season and will continue to play alongside his recently optioned twin brother as key members of the Patriots secondary.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, McCourty has signed a two-year, $27 million deal with $17 million guaranteed that is expected to keep him with the Patriots for the remainder of his NFL career. Rapoport reported earlier in the day the Patriots were “working hard” to reach a deal of that nature with their former first-round draft pick, who has missed just five starts in 10 seasons and continues to play at a high level in pass coverage.
McCourty, who will turn 33 in August, produced one of his best seasons for the Patriots in 2019 with five interceptions — his most since 2012 — along with seven passes deflected, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. According to Pro Football Focus, he received an 88.3 coverage grade to rank as the eighth-best safety last season while playing 94 percent of defensive snaps.
McCourty earned close to $13.5 million in 2019 on the final year of his five-year, $47.5 million deal and was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year on March 18.
The Patriots previously picked up the contract option for McCourty’s twin brother, cornerback Jason McCourty, for a base salary of $2.65 million to set up the potential for them to spend a third straight season paired together in New England. He started the first 10 games last year but missed five of the final seven with a nagging groin injury.
Locking down both McCourtys for 2020 ensures that critical pieces remain in place for the Patriots’ secondary, which also includes cornerback Stephon Gilmore — the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year — as well as cornerbacks J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones and Joejuan Williams.
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Devin McCourty’s Value Too High to Ignore
The Patriots’ interest in holding onto McCourty for the long haul isn’t a major surprise. Not only was he one of the NFL’s elite safeties in 2019, but he also represents a key leadership presence in the locker room that could be especially useful in 2020 if quarterback Tom Brady departs in free agency.
While nothing rivals Brady’s level of success with the Patriots, McCourty has been a central piece of the defense for their last three Super Bowl teams and has eight seasons of experience as a captain. He also comes with remarkable durability that complements his high level of play, which just about guarantees he would have had multiple teams interested if he hit the open market.
The Patriots were wise to strike a deal before free agency begins next Wednesday and avoid letting other suitors price them out of his range. According to Over The Cap, the Patriots had just shy of $38 million in cap space before signing McCourty and special teams captain Matthew Slater to new contracts, which leaves them with little spending power for free agency.
The Patriots’ list of pending free agents also includes guard Joe Thuney, defensive tackle Danny Shelton and linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins.
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