Brenden Schooler Vying To Become Patriots' Next Special Teams Captain
The longest tenures left in the kicking game are no longer left in the kicking game.
But a successor has emerged for the New England Patriots following the retirement of Matthew Slater and release of Joe Cardona in back-to-back offseasons.
Brenden Schooler is in waiting as the next special teams captain. It's atop the list of goals for the 28-year-old as training camp begins in Foxborough.
'I think more of a leadership role,' Schooler told reporters during his Tuesday press conference at Gillette Stadium. 'I know I kind of talked about it last year, as well, but Joe Cardona was still here and he was that seasoned vet in the special teams room. So to kind of be thrusted into that role, I'm very excited about that, and to hopefully get to wear a 'C' on my chest and be elected by these guys on the team.'
Schooler finds himself on the doorstep of his fourth NFL season. A run that began as an undrafted free agent following stints with the Oregon Ducks, Arizona Wildcats and Texas Longhorns has gone on to span 50 games.
He went from a PFWA All-Rookie selection in 2022 to an NFLPA All-Pro selection in 2023. And in 2024, Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro honors arrived under special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.
'When it comes to punt, punt return on the perimeter, anybody who has any questions, I want to be that guy,' Schooler said. 'I had great mentors like Cody Davis, Matthew Slater, Justin Bethel, even Joe Cardona when it comes to rushes on punt. Just taking those guys under my wing and showing them all the ways that I learned.'
Schooler reached agreement on a three-year, $9 million contract extension with the Patriots last October. The deal through 2027 carries $3.6 million guaranteed as well as a max value of $10.5 million.
'Any way I can be a role model to those guys and be a teacher,' Schooler said of his teammates in the transitional phase. 'I'm still trying to be a student of the game. If I learn something new, I want to teach them something new, too. Just trying to be that guy in the room now that's kind of the quote, unquote 'old head' now and I've seen a lot of ball out there. It's crazy I'm only going into Year 4, but these guys look at me like I'm an old guy.'
Schooler has amassed 1,115 snaps on special teams for New England. From Bill Belichick to Jerod Mayo and now Mike Vrabel as head coach, his stay includes 40 tackles to go with four fumble recoveries, one blocked field goal and one blocked punt.
And as a blitzing safety in the 'Longhorn' package, Schooler saw the initial 52 downs of his career on defense last campaign. That situational role, which he hopes to expand upon, brought sacks against the Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams and Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa. A team-high 86.5% of the workload on special teams was also logged.
'As long as the leaders who are supposed to be leaders on the team are your best players on the field, then those guys are going to raise the standard and raise the bar,' added Schooler. 'If you're not meeting that standard, if you're not rising to the occasion, then I think we're going to have a hard time. And so, to be that guy and to hold that standard, that's something that I take very personal. I want to be that guy. I want to be part of something great that we're going to build here.
'It's about the guys on the team who are going to hold the standard, and those need to be your best players who are going to be on the field day in and day out. To wear that 'C' on my chest, it's a huge deal, especially being at this level. Coming in as a guy who was undrafted to hopefully get to wear a 'C' on my chest, that would be a huge honor. I wouldn't want to let anybody down who got to wear that before me, who's going to wear that after me, so it's about holding that standard and keeping that tradition alive here of dominant football.'
New England's first practice of training camp is set for Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. ET.
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