Joe Cardona, Patriots long snapper, promoted to lieutenant
On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
The ties between the New England Patriots and the U.S. military run deep.
Head coach Bill Belichick grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father served as an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. Both linebacker Elandon Roberts and defensive tackle Adam Butler have fathers who are retired Master Sergeants. Twins Devin and Jason McCourty have an older brother who served in the Army; their deceased father served in the Army before they were born. Cornerback Keion Crossen and defensive end Deatrich Wise both have mothers who were in the Army, as well.
Most notably, though, is long snapper Joe Cardona. Cardona’s father was in the Navy, he himself graduated from the Navy, and he’s now been playing for the Patriots since 2015. Over the course of those four years, Cardona has maintained both a role on New England’s active roster as a starter on special teams, as well as a role in the Navy itself as a reserve officer.
On Thursday morning though, Cardona’s military commitment came first. Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the historic WWII D-Day invasion of Normandy, Cardona was honored with a promotion to the rank of lieutenant. The ceremony itself took place at Gillette Stadium before the final day of New England’s mandatory minicamp, and it was attended by members of the military and the Patriots’ football roster alike.
“It’s pretty emotional when you see someone take the oath like that and raise his hand,” quarterback Tom Brady told reporters afterwards. “It’s a big commitment Joe’s made, and I think Joe has done it very proudly and does a great job educating a lot of us on what it means to him. I think we all appreciate that. We see the work he does here for us, but also the work he does for our country. I’ve talked to Joe a lot over the years about what his roles and responsibility are and I think everyone is proud of his accomplishments.”
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Perhaps no one was prouder of Cardona than Belichick himself, given the two’s personal shared connection with the U.S. Navy specifically.
“Congratulations to Lieutenant Joe Cardona on his promotion,” Belichick told members of the media. “And obviously a day to remember our World War II veterans on D-Day. The 75th anniversary, that’s kind of a big one for us. I want to recognize all the things that they did. [We’re] happy to recognize Joe on this day. It just makes it a special day for all of us.”