The McCourty twins predict Chris Hogan will return to Patriots
Chris Hogan, who spent three years in New England and went to three Super Bowls, could come back to the Patriots, according to the McCourty twins.
New England has lost quite a few key pieces to their team in free agency, but a familiar face could help the team out.
He’s 7/11, he’s always open, he’s Chris Hogan.
Hogan joined the Patriots in 2016 after finally making a name for himself in Buffalo the previous three years. In his first season in New England, he led the league in yards per reception, and then won Super Bowl 51 with the team. He also went to Super Bowls 52 and 53 following the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, winning the latter after losing the former.
Hogan had his best years statistically in New England before signing a one year contract in Carolina, where he was hurt most of the time during the 2019 season.
New England undoubtedly benefited from Hogan’s productivity and appeared in the Super Bowl every year he was on the team. Hogan certainly played better in Foxborough as well. So a reunion makes sense, right?
The McCourty twins certainly think so.
On their show called “Double Coverage,” Devin claimed he was talking with Hogan recently. Here’s what the long-time Patriots safety had to say about his former teammate:
"“You heard it here first, man: Chris Hogan back to New England. We get him back there, we got 7-Eleven, always open. We’ve got a new quarterback, let’s bring an old target back. […] That’s what we do in New England. LeGarrette came back, next thing you know, 18 touchdowns. That’s what happens in New England. Deion Branch came back in 2010, touchdowns everywhere. So New England, get a head start. Start your articles now. It’s 8:47. Devin has said it.”"
Devin makes a very compelling point. Hogan’s best success has come in New England and the Patriots’ best success as of late has come when Hogan was on the team. It makes sense.
New England will have a new quarterback this year. Whether it is Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer, or someone else, having Hogan catching passes would only help the team.
The team has a mix of pretty old and pretty young receivers. Julian Edelman will be 34 soon. Mohamed Sanu is going into his 10th season. Then on the other end, N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers are both going into their second year.
Adding the versatile Hogan — who knows the offense and who doesn’t have too much wear and tear on him — would be very beneficial for Stidham, Hoyer, or anyone else trying to get acquainted in the Patriot offense.
New England has slightly over a million dollars in cap space remaining, and Hogan would be a pretty cheap option as well. He played the 2019 season on a contract with a cap hit under $1.5 million.
Bill Belichick could surely make Hogan fit under the cap, and I think he would want to as well, like McCourty said. He likes to bring back former Patriots to the team, such as LeGarrette Blount, Deion Branch, Jamie Collins, Brian Hoyer, Patrick Chung, and Brandon Bolden, just to name a few.
Next. Insights and analysis on division rival New York Jets. dark
Hogan earned his nickname, 7/11, when he was in Miami and appeared on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” He likes the nickname, and has previously noted that “when they stop calling me that, that’s probably when I’ll be done in the NFL.”
Hopefully, Hogan still has some 7/11 left in him — and perhaps he can bring his “always open” mentality to New England once more.