With that said, the Patriots might be in rebuild mode but at least whenever they fully return to work, we can be confident that they possess one of the best safety groups in the entire NFL. Today they signed veteran Patrick Chung to a two-year extension (through 2023) which means that the 32-year-old is basically guaranteed to end his productive career where it all started: in Foxborough. With their top pick (2nd round, 37th overall after they traded away their 1st round pick) from last month's NFL Draft Kyle Dugger (a safety from Division 2 Lenoir-Rhyne) unsigned, the Chung move allowed the Pats to free up $925,000 in cap space. Keep in mind that their best safety-captain Devin McCourty-also signed an extension earlier during the pandemic which truthfully feels like it happened about three years ago.
It's hard to believe but this will be Chung's 12th season in the NFL so anytime a non-kicker, punter or backup QB reaches double-digit years in the league, you know that the clock is really starting to wind down. For being a solid player, he received a $3 million signing bonus which added to his $1.1 million salary for 2020 makes for a nice payday. By nature, NFL contracts (particularly for the detail-oriented Patriots) are always very tough to comprehend if you're not a lawyer, player agent or Bill Belichick. The former Oregon Duck can also earn up to $800,000 in per-game roster bonuses and a $100,000 workout bonus. Should Chung choose to play beyond this season, 2021-2023 would have the identical setup money-wise: base salary of $1.9 million, up to $400,000 per-game roster bonuses, $200,000 in incentives and a $100,000 workout bonus.
For many reasons both on the field and off the field, Chung has had a unique journey with the Patriots. He was drafted in the 2nd round (34th overall) in 2009 and had an up-and-down first four seasons for the Pats, probably because he missed a bunch of games with injuries (playing only 8 games in 2011 and 12 games the next year). From there, he went to the Eagles for one mostly nondescript season in 2013 (39 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles & 1 fumble recovery in 12 games) before surprisingly returning to New England where he's been tough, dependable and consistent in his second go-around. In the last six seasons here, he's only missed five total regular season games which is a rather incredible change from his early days.
He's never been (and will never be) a Pro Bowler but he is on the next tier of quality players that every good football team needs to have in droves to compliment its stars. Chung is not big in stature (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) by the NFL's superhuman standards but he's athletic enough to be able to cover tight ends and be close to the line of scrimmage to help defend wide receivers and running backs in the short passing game. He has appeared in three Super Bowls with the Patriots and is a two-time champion.
Last summer ironically might have been his most notable headline as a Patriot when he got busted with a mountain of cocaine in his lake house in New Hampshire. Somehow, someway that was mostly swept under the rug (pun totally intended) and he never went to jail nor has been suspended by the league for it. I just think that's notable in terms of ways that Chung wants to celebrate this deal under quarantine. Granted, I'm not advocating for it but couldn't we all use a little booger sugar right now to get away from our troubles for a bit? Haha just kidding, stay in school (remember those?) kids!
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