Patriots: Longtime beat writer leaving NESN for new opportunity

The last 15 months have marked a transition period for the New England Patriots, who’ve parted ways with vital members of their dynasty, including Tom Brady, Jason McCourty, Julian Edelman (retirement), and, to a lesser extent, Marcus Cannon.

The Patriots responded by absolutely overhauling their roster, which included face-lifting their offensive line, drafting Mac Jones to prepare for the future, reloading their receiving corps and tight end group, as well as bolstering their defensive line.

It was an offseason to remember for New England, which is more known for its under-the-radar moves in free agency than signing every player under the sun.

Well, it would appear a transition period looms for one of the team’s most respected reporters, too.

In an emotional announcement on Twitter, insider Doug Kyed of NESN confirmed he’s leaving the network after nine years to pursue a new career opportunity.

Patriots insider Doug Kyed is leaving NESN after nine years.

"“I started out working the Saturday-through-Wednesday, 4 p.m.-to-midnight desk shift,” Kyed said in his statement. “I want to say my first story was about tennis. I was moved to the Patriots beat a year later and have held my dream job ever since, covering seven Super Bowls, countless regular season and playoff games, NFL Scouting Combines, league meetings, practices and so much more.”"

This statement was class personified from Kyed, which is nothing less than we would expect considering how he’s covered the Patriots over the years.

From roster predictions, postgame analysis, and offering perspective on contract negotiations, Kyed always provided unique insight to readers. Unlike most reporters, the longtime beat writer also had a knack for squeezing answers out of Bill Belichick.

If you remember, Kyed accurately predicted 2020 second-round pick Kyle Dugger would carve out a role in the Patriots’ loaded secondary as a rookie. He was also one of a few Patriots reporters that were reluctant to hop on the Jarrett Stidham hype train last offseason. That might not seem like much, but countless pundits believed he had a chance of beating out Cam Newton.

Kyed’s parting message was a little cryptic, but the “Don’t worry. I’m not going far.” comment indicates he’s going to continue covering the Patriots for another company. Whatever the case, let’s hope he has a more large-scale role than the one he had at NESN.

For all the great work Kyed did for NESN, we get the feeling there are so many Patriots fans out there who still don’t know how gifted of a reporter he is.

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