Patriots News: Team cuts Jake Bailey, Devin McCourty retires

The New England Patriots cut veteran punter Jake Bailey on Friday, and long-time stud safety Devin McCourty announced his retirement.

Some significant news came out of New England today, as the team parted ways with former All-Pro punter Jake Bailey.  Bailey recently signed an extension with the team after a couple of very solid seasons in New England.

The Patriots will now need to turn their focus to finding a new punter.  There are some nice ones available in free agency, but they also might take to the NFL Draft to find a long-term replacement.

Another significant piece of news is long-time safety Devin McCourty retiring after winning three Super Bowls as a Patriot.  He also made two Pro Bowls in 2010 and 2016.  McCourty played a whopping 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots.

He played in 205 games, starting in every one, and over the course of his career, missed just five total games.  He finished with 35 interceptions, 110 passes defended, seven forced fumbles, 971 total tackles, and 20 tackles for loss.

McCourty was nothing but an absolute gem on the field for New England, playing with a plethora of other Patriot’ defensive backs.

Honestly, we could be talking about him having a case to make the Hall of Fame.  We’ll see once we get to that point.

Now, on the football side of things, the Patriots need a new safety, and it won’t be easy to replace McCourty.  They could invest in the free agent market and target someone like Jessie Bates III or Vonn Bell.

They could also see if any safeties might be available in trades as well.

With free agency just a few days away, the Pats now have two more holes on their roster to take care of if they choose.

They’ve always had a stellar defense and special teams, so I have no doubt that the front office will be able to replace both positions adequately.