Kyle Van Noy opens up on impending NFL free agency

New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy sounds like he’s at peace with whatever happens to him this spring in NFL free agency.

This is Kyle Van Noy’s big moment … and he knows it.

The 28-year-old linebacker from Nevada is just entering his prime as a football player, and he looks like he could be headed for a major payday on the open market. Whether that payday comes courtesy of the notoriously tight-fisted Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, or it comes from some other team in the league, he sounds like he’s at peace with his future.

“There’s so many unknowns in our business, where it’s either ‘adapt or die.’ That’s kind of the mentality I’ve grown to have,” Van Noy told ESPN’s Mike Reiss recently.

"“I’m just going to continue to work on my game and be in the best shape possible, and whatever happens, happens. I know the man upstairs is looking out and I feel like I’ve worked really hard to put myself in a position where I believe people will notice and teams will come knocking.”"

That much is certain.

Van Noy set a new career high for himself in sacks last season, tallying 6.5 on the year. His three passes defensed was also a career high, as were his three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one fumble recovery touchdown. He also chipped in 56 tackles while he was at it for good measure.

All told and tabulated, it was a banner year for the former 2014 second-round draft pick out of BYU.

Van Noy spent the first two-and-a-half seasons of his professional career toiling in relative obscurity for the Detroit Lions. Belichick must have seen something he liked from afar, however, because in 2016, he sent a sixth-round pick for Van Noy and a seventh-round pick.

According to Reiss, Van Noy now treats that trade like an insult of sorts. His logic is that as a second-rounder, he never should have fallen to the point where he’d be a package deal with a seventh-rounder in exchange for a sixth.

Perhaps Van Noy used that slight as motivation these past three-and-a-half years in New England. Or perhaps he’s just a really great football player who needed the right environment and the right coach to help showcase his gifts.

There’s no denying that the Patriots would love to have Van Noy back on a new multi-year deal, but the reality of the situation is he’s likely to find a juicier contract elsewhere. He might simply be too expensive to bring back in New England for 2020 and beyond, which is a sad realization for Pats fans — but a happy turn of events for Van Noy if that does end up being the case.