Devin McCourty is Headed Back to Foxboro

Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

After the Patriots declined to franchise tag star free safety Devin McCourty, people were left wondering what he would do. Report after report saying how the Eagles were making him a top priority, or how the Eagles would offer him $10 million or more a year, the mystery is finally over. Ian Rapaport reported on Twitter that Devin McCourty would indeed be rejoining the Patriots. You can check out the details of the contract below, even though it can’t become official until tuesday.

#Patriots S Devin McCourty will sign a 5-year, $47.5M contract, source said. Wow. And… turned down more elsewhere

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2015

Beyond his impact on the field, McCourty also has a huge impact in the locker room. The 27 year old safety is one of the team’s captains and a team/fan favorite. Everyone from the fans to the management was thrilled with the deal, according to another tweet from Rapaport.

How important was signing S Devin McCourty to the #Patriots? Team source reaction to it getting done: “Thank God.”

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2015

No matter how large the impact in the locker room, his impact on the field cannot be matched. McCourty is one of the games top free safeties if not the best. He is able to single handedly take away the deep ball and when I say single handedly, I mean it. The Patriots employed lots of one safety coverage where they leave McCourty to cover the deep ball all by himself. I would challenge you to find five times this whole season where a deep ball got past McCourty. His football IQ combined with his blend of speed, agility and tackling ability make him as close to the complete package as you can find at the position.

McCourty is only the first step in maintaining the Patriots’ dominant defense though. The verdict on what will happen with Pro-Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis will not come until tomorrow, when his $25 million roster bonus is set to kick in. If the Patriots could manage to lock up Revis as well, the Patriots could be on their way back to the superbowl. According to Michael Giardi, Devin McCourty has already been busy trying to recruit Revis back.

McCourty said he's spoken to Revis "I want him back here…also know it's a business."

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 9, 2015

Perhaps the best part of this whole deal, is the fact that it’s being reported that McCourty ended up taking less in order to stay with New England. McCourty admitted to almost leaving because he felt that there were several good fits, but in the end McCourty knew that he needed to stay. “I knew, in my heart, that I wanted to be in New England” said McCourty.