By Jordan Long
The New England Patriots decided to extend the contract of safety Patrick Chung. The deal will pay him a total of $12.8 million over the next 4 years, or around $3.2 million per season. This keeps him in New England until 2023.
Chung has been with the New England Patriots 10 of his 11 NFL seasons. The only year he was not in a New England Patriots’ uniform was 2013 when he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Chung is the last line of defense for the Patriots. He tackles a runner in the open field, knocks down passes from being caught, and intercepts the football.
Last season was a down year for Chung. Teams were not throwing to his side of the field. When receivers caught the football, he brought them down with 51 tackles, the second lowest total of his career. When it came to defending passes in coverage, Chung batted 3 passes away from being caught but didn’t record an interception.
The Patriots knew they wanted to keep Chung. He is their starting safety. Chung has proven he is one of the best safeties on the team. This contract gives Chung more job security and he probably won’t be cut during training camp and preseason.
The Patriots will look to be competitive throughout Chung’s new deal. New England should be back to being one of the best defenses in the league. Last year they were the #1 defense giving up 275.9 yards per game. Teams had a difficult time throwing the football on this defense. New England allowed 180.4 passing yards per game. New England didn’t permit teams to run the football giving up 95.5 rushing yards per game. When teams drove into the red zone, New England turned them away. Opponents scored 14.1 points per game.
Chung hopes to assist this team on defense. When the defense is preventing teams from running the football, that makes his job easier. He can then focus on helping New England to stop the opponents’ passing game. With this new deal in place, Chung can concentrate on his play and maybe win another Super Bowl with New England.
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