Patriots gridiron news: Kyle Van Noy’s skill set rewarded with 2-year contract extension
New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy has become a richer man due to a new two-year contract extension. Will it translate on the field?
Despite some obvious struggles in the Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots obviously have high hopes for versatile linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
On Friday, following the Thursday night debacle, Van Noy was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. Details of that extension was revealed on Tuesday.
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, the two-year extension will earn Van Noy $12.87 million over the next three years. Included in that is a $3.5 million signing bonus. It sounds like Van Noy has done everything right since coming over to the team in a mid-season trade with the Detroit Lions.
While glimpses of that have been seen on the field, Van Noy is a player who has to step up in the Patriots’ defense. He has the skills and the mindset for it. Bill Belichick highlighted this when talking about the linebacker on Monday.
"“Kyle has good skills. He’s athletic, runs well, tackles well, can rush the passer, play in pass coverage, does a good job playing the run,” Belichick said, via ESPN. “So, he has a good skill set, which is what you need to be out there in different situations. …He’s a smart guy, understands concepts well, understands the defense, does a good job of it.”"
Can Van Noy provide veteran leadership?
Unless the Patriots lure Rob Ninkovich out of retirement, Kyle Van Noy is a player on the defense who has to step up in a veteran role. The contract extension is proof that the team feels he has it in him.
While some may call him a very, very poor man’s Teddy Bruschi, Van Noy has shown his versatility in his brief time with the Patriots. He has rushed the passer and has played okay against the pass. It is his pass coverage that needs the most improvement if he is to become the type of linebacker in Matt Patricia’s defense that Ninkovich was.
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He also needs to provide a voice inside the locker room. Following the loss to the Chiefs, Van Noy showed some of that leadership in addressing what the team, as well as himself, need to do to bounce back against the New Orleans Saints.
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"“I take my one day to be mad about a loss and that’s today [Friday], so I’m not very happy about how I played and I’m not happy about how the defense played, or as the team, we’re better than how we played,” Van Noy said, via CSNNE.com. “I think it will show the next time we play. We’re going to come together. This is going to bring us closer and we’ll be good to go.”"
It is good to hear the confidence, but the results have to show up on the field for this team to avoid an 0-2 start.
Multiple former players amongst 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees
The New England Patriots are well represented on the list of 2018 Hall of Fame finalists.
Amongst the players on the list announced by the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday are long time Patriots players Ben Coates, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Will McGinest and Ty Law. Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon, Fred Tayler, Chad Johnson and Rand Moss also highlight that list.
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Out of those players, Harrison could enter the Hall of Fame as a Patriot if inducted. Dillon, Tayler, Johnson and Moss has most of their NFL success with other teams and joined the New England Patriots late in their careers.