Despite a 14-3 season and a postseason run that stretched all the way to the Super Bowl, the Patriots weren’t afraid to make some major changes this offseason. And while A.J. Brown generated the most national attention in that regard, several significant changes took place across the roster.
One such swap took place at safety, with the Patriots letting Jaylinn Hawkins leave in free agency after he played 92 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps. Mike Vrabel had to have felt a great deal of confidence in a Hawkins replacement in order to make that decision, and he certainly has plenty of it in Kevin Byard.
The veteran safety played for Vrabel in Tennessee for almost all of the coach’s tenure in Tennessee, and even though he’s entering his 11th season, the Patriots didn’t hesitate to sign Byard at the start of free agency.
In addition to what Byard brings on the field, the Patriots — who will be looking for sources of motivation this year after the instant success of last year — will be benefiting from a 33-year-old who has one important achievement left on his career to-do list.
“The urgency is definitely at an all-time high,” Byard told Tom E. Curran on the latest Patriots Talk Podcast. “Every single year, you set a goal to go to the Super Bowl. I mean, all 32 teams do. And unfortunately, all but 31 teams won’t win it. That was always the goal every single year. I’ve been to basically every round, from wild card, divisional to the AFC Championship Game. So, I understand that it’s very tough to not only make it there, but to make it there and win it.”
Byard said that he believes he was brought in to play a leadership role with this group of players.
“I think I’m just here to try to enhance what’s already been done here,” he said. “Obviously, this team was just in the Super Bowl. There’s great players already here and honestly there’s already a great group of leaders on this team. … But for me it’s more about coming in, being myself, and really just being infectious, having infectious energy, showing the young guys how it is to be a pro. I’m going into my 11th season, so I’ve been there. I’ve done everything that you can possibly accomplish outside of winning the Super Bowl. So that’s kind of like the last little notch I’m trying to get on my belt now.”
Byard was part of the Titans team that beat Tom Brady in his final playoff game, a postseason run that extended to an AFC title game trip to Kansas City. Byard recalled that team feeling like they had the ingredients to get back to the mountaintop, but they never did.
“Never got back there,” he said. “So you do understand that, hey man, that climb is tough, but it’s gonna be even harder to climb it again.”
Byard added: “The culture, the coaching from Vrabes, to the players and their mentality, I think we have all that to be able to make another run. It’s all about just putting it together and just focusing on the daily improvement every single day.”
Also in this episode:
- What’s impressed Byard from Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez
- Byard’s budding love of golf
- Irrelevant Questions
