The New England Patriots have a habit of doing things the same way. Some call it the Patriots way. Their captaincy is like that, too. Tom Brady, for example, has been captain for 13 straight years. Vince Wilfork will serve his seventh year. Logan Mankins was a captain of the Patriots, but was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So there was a rare opportunity for a player to take his place. That player is Dan Connolly, the newest Patriots captain.
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“It’s a great honor to be recognized by my teammates,” Connolly said, via ESPN.com. “I was surprised. Like I said, it’s a great honor.”
The full list of captains include: Brady, Wilfork, Connolly, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater.
Aside from being a sneaky good kick returner, Connolly is a hard worker. He started as a practice squad player for the Patriots in 2007 and has worked his way up since. This last year may have been the most impressive of his nine-year career.
“Dan has had a real good year,” Belichick said. “He’s a sharp guy, works hard and had a good offseason. He was able to train throughout the bulk of the offseason and he’s done a solid job for us at really a number of positions.”
Connolly has provided New England with versatility along the offensive line, shifting from guard to center. And all this time with Bill Belichick has made him sound like Belichick. Connolly said that this title didn’t change anything.
“Business as usual,” Connolly said. “Just going to come in and do what I need to do to help this team win.”