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Cutdown day for Bill Belichick's players is not a fun time. Most would argue that it isn't fun for anyone across the 32 NFL teams, but it's much worse in New England. Speaking on Good Morning Football, Jason McCourty recalled one cutdown day when he was in Bill Belichick's sights. Here's how he put it, claiming it started with the final preseason game:
"I'm supposed to play one quarter in that game and hang out on the sideline with all the guys. We're going to halftime and Bill goes, 'Yeah, we're going to need you to go back in the game. You're going to play in the second half as well.' I was like... Well, it was fun while it lasted here... My days are numbered..."
Later on, he was called into a meeting with the coach. He was fully expecting to be let go, but Belichick had other plans:
"He said, 'Yeah, we like some of the things you've done for us, but right now on the depth chart, you're behind some guys... So from a contract standpoint, we were thinking something more along the lines of this' and slides that paper across the table. That's the reality of... you're either going to sign this contract or you're going to be out the door."
Bill Belichick's players in town for a winning time, not a long time
The NFL is arguably the highest turnover workforce in the country. Tom Brady is the only player in league history to continue to draw a salary into the latter half of his 40s. It also might take the most work to get into. As such, salaries balloon for those who get in the door. However, they can get kicked out much more easily.
Jason McCourty's story recounts that. Also, one only needs to look at the team's depth chart to find out that pretty much no one from the Tom Brady era except for the head coach himself remains with the team. Brady's final season with the team was in 2019 and in less than three seasons, the New England Patriots had completely rebuilt itself.
Of course, with playoff victories as sparse as they've ever been for the franchise since losing their quarterback, Bill Belichick is only more likely to remove players as he sees fit.
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit Good Morning Football and H/T Sportskeeda.
