Latest news with #McCourty
USA Today
7 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jason McCourty believes the Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat in the AFC
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Super Bowl champion and CBS Sports NFL analyst Jason McCourty about his role as Pro Athlete Community (PAC) Board of Advisors Co-Chair and his belief that the Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat in the conference. "I was a part of its (PAC) origin story. I got a chance to go down to Miami and play for the Dolphins in my last year in 2021. At that time, Kaleb Thornhill was a player development guy, and then formed a really good relationship with Kaleb," said McCourty. "So in the off-season, it was over about three or four days; he would have all the guys stay in Fort Lauderdale or go back and forth. He'd bring in all business people, including real estate, from single-family to multifamily to commercial real estate people. He had entrepreneurs, guys who were former teammates of mine, and a guy like Stephen Tulloch, who owned coffee shops and did commercial real estate. Guys like that are returning and speaking to us, venture capital people, CEOs, and founders of their businesses—Chris Kennedy, who's in multifamily real estate. We'd go to a property. He would show us. We'd go to his offices. He'd break down how he'd do it. So it was all built on showing us his players." PAC is committed to supporting the whole person, ensuring athletes thrive both on and off the field. The Chiefs have qualified for three consecutive Super Bowls and have appeared in the AFC Championship game every year since 2018. The former New England Patriots defensive back is confident that Kansas City will still be at the top of the conference again in 2025. "When I talked about the fact that Kansas City is going to be challenged more this year, the division got a lot better, and you look at Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, they have been able to get over the hump of beating them. Still, all of these teams continue to get better, and that's the life of being on top," said McCourty. "Everybody's designing their team to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, but Rashee Rice will be back this year. Hollywood Brown is going to be healthy this year. They're going to continue to be a really good football team. My guy, Isiah Pacheco, Rutgers graduate, will be healthier this year, so you have no reason not to believe that this Chiefs team will still be at the very top. I always say it, you can't pick all these other teams until you beat the Chiefs. Pro Athlete Community (PAC), the first-of-its-kind network built exclusively for pro athletes to navigate life beyond sports, has officially opened its membership to all current and former professional athletes from verified leagues.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jason McCourty identifies potential threats for the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Super Bowl champion and CBS Sports NFL analyst Jason McCourty about his role as Pro Athlete Community (PAC) Board of Advisors Co-Chair and the potential threats to the Kansas City Chiefs' dominance in the AFC. "Kaleb (Thornhill) ends up leaving the Miami Dolphins and eventually ends up joining the (San Antonio) Spurs. But in the meantime, I remember talking to him, and I said, Hey, all 32 teams need something like this. I've done a lot of things throughout my career. And I was like, this is the most influential thing I've been a part of outside of your play on the field," said McCourty. He ended up partnering with Chip, and they came up with the idea of the Pro Athlete Community. So from day one, I told them, in any form or fashion that I can help, whether it's showing up to a combine, a subsequent chapter, combine, and me speaking, whether it's coaching and being on the board, passing ideas, and helping influence with different networks and relationships I have. I wanted to be a part of it because I saw how much it worked and its impact on the players that took part in it." The Chiefs have controlled the AFC West, winning nine consecutive division titles, the second-longest streak of division championships in league history. "I feel like the conversation of them being knocked off has less to do about Kansas City and their lack of talent, scheme, whatever you want to place your blame on, saying another team is going to take over," said McCourty "I think it has more to do when you look at their division as more to do with when you watch Bo Nix last year, you have no reason not to believe that he's going to be an even better player this year under Sean Payton in year two, when you watch what Vance Joseph did with Denver's defense, then you add Talenola Hufanga, and you add Dre Greenlaw. They're going to be even better. When you look at what the Chargers did with Jim Harbaugh in year one, well, dang, look what he was able to do with Justin Herbert. Yes, they lost the playoff games, but they got there in year one, just like they're only getting better in year two. Then you add Pete Carroll in the division and Geno Smith. So I think it has less to do with them (Chiefs)." Pro Athlete Community (PAC), the first-of-its-kind network built exclusively for pro athletes to navigate life beyond sports, has officially opened its membership to all current and former professional athletes from verified leagues.
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Former Patriot Devin McCourty to team up with Essex County sheriff's office to launch AI reentry program for inmates
'As they navigate the scenarios, they're not only acquiring vital skills but also providing valuable feedback to enhance the program for future use in correctional settings,' Coppinger said. Advertisement STAR, an acronym for Supporting Transitions and Re-Entry, is located in Lynn and Lawrence. About 25 participants in the program have already been testing out the Stickball program, the statement said. 'We've already witnessed remarkable growth and development among our STAR participants, and their input is helping to build a more impactful Stickball for others,' Jessica Oljey, assistant superintendent for the sheriff's programs division, said in the statement. McCourty, a three time Super Bowl champion who played 13 seasons for New England before retiring in 2023, is well-known for his advocacy of social justice reform. In 2021, he joined other Patriots to lobby for the commutation of a life sentence of William Allen of Brockton, who was involved in an armed robbery in 1994 that resulted in a man's death. Advertisement Even though another man involved in the armed robbery committed the murder, Allen was charged with first degree murder due to his participation in a felony, the The state parole board recommended the commutation, which Gov. Charlie Baker granted three years ago. Although he is appearing virtually on Monday, McCourty is due to visit the STAR locations in the summer, the statement said. In September, 2023, Devin McCourty, center, joined Makeeba McCreary (left) for a discussion on social justice issues at the Globe Summit moderated by Globe columnist Shirley Leung, right. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Adam Sennott can be reached at
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jason McCourty thinks Aaron Rodgers should retire: 'What are you still playing for?'
With Aaron Rodgers' release from the New York Jets official, the question for Rodgers is now: What's next? Rodgers previously said that he's "going to take some time" in regard to deciding his future. But that was in reference specifically to the Jets at the start of their offseason. With the Jets off the table, Rodgers has yet to publicly state his future football desires as a 41-year-old quarterback. The wide assumption is that he'll seek employment with another NFL team in need of a signal caller. Jason McCourty thinks that's a bad idea. The 13-year NFL cornerback turned analyst for CBS told the Rich Eisen Show on Friday that he thinks that Rodgers should retire. "I honestly think it's retirement," McCourty said. "If you're Aaron Rodgers, what are you still playing for? It would have to only be an opportunity to go out there and compete and win a Super Bowl. "I don't know if there's a team right now that you could say it makes sense that they go out and get Aaron Rodgers and now they're that much closer to winning a Super Bowl." The scenario that McCourty laid out — one in which Rodgers pushes a team on the edge of contention into contention — was the idea in theory when Rodgers joined a Jets team stacked with talent on defense and at skill positions. The reality of Rodgers' New York tenure saw him miss all but one possession of his first season with a ruptured Achilles tendon then lead the Jets to a 5-12 record in 2024 as one of the league's biggest disappointments. There are several teams in search of a quarterback this offseason, most notably the Steelers, Browns, Raiders and Giants. Is a 41-year-old Rodgers on the other side of an Achilles tear really going to make a difference for any of those teams? McCourty specifically brought up the Steelers, the only one of those four to make the playoffs last season. "A lot of people have mentioned the Pittsburgh Steelers," McCourty said. "I don't see them as a step away. That's nothing against Aaron Rodgers. "Do we feel like if they get Rodgers, they're representing the AFC and they're beating the Chiefs, the Bills or the Ravens or the Bengals if not for that matter — to be able to get there and represent the AFC in the Super Bowl?" McCourty also thinks that Rodgers signing on as a "bridge quarterback" is beneath his Hall of Fame stature. "I feel like that's so disrespectful to refer to Aaron Rodgers as a bridge quarterback," McCourty continued. "I don't know at this point for him in his career, do you say, 'you know what, I want to go out and put it all on the line and go through everything you go through as a professional football player' to continue to play when he's going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer." McCourty brings up some good football points. There's nothing to suggest at this point in his career that Rodgers is going to return to anything close to resembling his former four-time MVP form. Could he be an upgrade over Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for a Steelers team that's proven it's at least built to make the playoffs? Maybe? But regardless of the football realities, the financial motivation remains strong for Rodgers. That is if he, indeed, still wants to play — and there's a team willing to pay him. And in a league where quarterback talent scarcity reigns, there are worse ideas than a quarterback-needy team rolling the dice on a former MVP who did display competence at the position last season — even if he fell well short of his previous standards of excellence.
