New England Patriots' veteran Devin McCourty still isn't sure if he'll be playing football in 2023.
The longtime New England Patriots safety teased when he will make a decision on “The Patriots Report” podcast with Christopher Price, saying that he's “gone back and forth” on what he wants to do.
“I think the good thing is I actually have a vacation coming up with the family, and then I’m going to go hang out with [my brother Jason McCourty] for a week,” McCourty said. “I think just being able to get away from football, especially as you kind of get older, I think it helps you put things in perspective: Doing other things. So getting away with my family and J’s family, and then I’m going to do ‘Good Morning Football' for a week. Just having fun with him, talking ball and doing what we’ve done since [we were] kids.”
McCourty expects his decision to be made in the coming weeks and sometime around the start of the new league year on March 15.
“It’ll be early March, second week in March, and we’ll start to — I think for me and my wife — decide and plan what the next year looks like,” McCourty said on when he'll make a final decision. “I think that’s around the time where free-agency will be coming up, so it’ll be the right time to really start digging in and make a decision.”
McCourty has teased retiring from playing football over the last few seasons. Last year, McCourty fended off retirement and agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal a couple of days before free agency opened.
This time around, retirement seems to be a real possibility for McCourty. In the final weeks of the 2022 regular season, McCourty mentioned the likelihood of playing his final games at Gillette Stadium and was emotional after the Patriots' regular-season finale loss to the Buffalo Bills.
McCourty admitted that this offseason is the first time he's truly considered retirement.
“My wife always jokes with me, because this is probably the first year that I’ve actually thought about it,” McCourty said. “Usually I say that. I would say over the last two or three years … as soon as the offseason hits, I’ve gone right back into working out and doing what I’ve always done to get ready for the season.
“[Playing football is] something I’ve been doing since I was 10 years old, so the thought of not getting ready to go, the thought of not playing in the game, even though you think about it, I don’t think it ever becomes real until you do it.”
McCourty, who will turn 36 in August, still had a solid season in 2022. He started all 17 games, helping him become the fourth defensive back in NFL history to have 200 career starts with one team, recording 71 combined tackles, four interceptions and a fumble recovery. Opposing quarterbacks completed 12 of 21 passes for 231 yards with three touchdowns to four interceptions when they targeted McCourty in 2022.
McCourty has dealt with some injuries over the past couple of seasons. He had shoulder surgery following the 2021 season and had shoulder surgery again following the 2022 campaign.
McCourty wasn't the only Patriots player to consider retirement following the conclusion of the season. Longtime special teamer Matthew Slater was just as open as McCourty about considering retirement. However, Slater agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Patriots for his 16th season on Friday.
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