Harold Landry quickly put the doubters to rest in his Patriots debut in Week 1 at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots' signing of Landry as a free agent was an underrated veteran addition at the time by many, but Vrabel knew exactly what he’d bring to the table for his team.
After being drafted by Vrabel in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Landry and Vrabel spent six seasons together with the Tennessee Titans, where he became a Pro Bowl linebacker and team captain during the first seven seasons of his career.
Over his last three seasons, Landry has finished with at least nine sacks: 12.0 in 2021, 10.5 in 2023, 9.0 in 2024. He missed the 2022 season with a torn ACL.
Over that span, Landry was only entering the prime of his career. He totaled at least 70 tackles in each of those seasons, in addition to at least 14 tackles for a loss as well.
The veteran picked up where he left off in his first game with the Patriots. He finished with five tackles and 2.5 sacks with three hurries en route to tallying six total stops, five pressures, and four quarterback hits. He was a silver lining in Week 1 for the Patriots.
Landry showed exactly why the Patriots signed him, and that he still has gas left in the tank to produce at a high level. He logged the second-most snaps on the team for a linebacker with 48, which was 75 percent of the total snaps.
In his first season, Landry was voted to be a team captain. He brings professionalism and positivity to the defense. That is evident in the way he plays and the way he speaks with the media.
“We all know on the defensive side of the ball, the sky’s the limit for us," Landry said. "I think for us, it’s just that consistency, snap-in and snap-out and not having no lapses. But you can easily tell we have so much potential on that side of the ball and I think we just got to come to work, leaders got to lead, and we just got to come to work tomorrow ready to improve.”
The addition of Landry was important, and it seemed to have slipped under the radar after the franchise also acquired Robert Spillane, Milton Williams, and Carlton Davis as the Patriots reshaped their entire defense this offseason.
Landry made his impact on the defense in Week 1 and his dominance should continue for the Patriots' defense next week in Miami.