It’s a whole new world for Patriots captain and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy.
At home he as a two-week-old daughter named Isabella who can “stay up all night on one scream.”
At work, the veteran re-signed with New England after testing free agency this spring. He’s back with a team in a community where he’s set down roots over the last four years.
But it’s also a team that’s had plenty of changes and talent “add-ons” as Guy calls them, things that have the veteran eager after a 2020 season that was a challenge on and off the field for everyone in New England.
“I’m happy to come back,” Guy said in a video call with local reporters. “I told everybody when we ended the season last year that I laid roots in the ground, and it’s been growing since. Same thing in the community, what I’ve done in the community, in Boston, is incredible. The people that I’ve touched, that have touched me in that way that we’re changing lives. Understanding that I get to come back to a facility, team, ownership and teammates that are accepting and willing to play for something and it means something to them. You could never want to give that up.
“Love the new add-ons that we did this offseason to keep on growing as a team. Because we went through troubling times last year. With the pandemic we shut down, players opted out, players got hurt, people went to different teams. It was a new world that we all had to go through and we all built this bond that nobody can say they can experience because the hardest thing to do is to bond with somebody when you can’t break bread with them at the dinner table, at lunch, at breakfast. You’re not face to face you’re reading the eyes of everybody. That bond that we built just makes you stronger as a team, as brothers as a team. I feel that coming back and I can’t wait to get out there with them.”
While New England’s free agent additions and spring spending spree have been well documented, one move in particular caught Guy’s attention.
That was the signing former Ravens teammate Matthew Judon to a rebuilt New England front seven. Guy witnessed Judon’s arrival with the Ravens and knew the young player had a bright future in football.
“I played with Judon his rookie year in Baltimore. So it was exciting to see that add-on,” Guy said. “I feel like everybody that came on, we added on is going to bring something unique to the table. I can’t tell you what it is because we don’t know until we touch the field with the pads on.
“But I was thrilled when I saw Judon get signed. I remember him when he came out, coming from that D-II school and what his growth was over the years was impressive. I knew he was going to be great. I remember leaving, when I left Baltimore, I looked at my coach and said, ‘This kid’s going to be special.’ What he became as a player and a man is amazing.”
As excited to return as he is and as much as he’s looking forward to playing with Judon and others, Guy knows there will be a transition period. It’s a process for him as a leader to learn his new teammates and build team culture while the new guys learn the inner workings of their new home.
“Bill’s system is one of the hardest systems to play in and we understand that. We can see that through the years. Not everybody can come in here and play,” Guy said. “We see talent come in and we see it go.
Like, ‘Why didn’t it fit?’ It’s difficult. We challenge each other.”
One aspect that should help in that area is the return of experienced veteran leaders alongside Guy, guys like Kyle Van Noy, who spent 2020 with the Dolphins, as well as COVID opt-out Donta Hightower.
“Kyle’s coming back. We were there. We won a Super Bowl together. We did everything together. So we all know each other. We know how we play. We know the downs. We know the ups. We know everything about how we’re going to flow. That’s just going to bring a better brotherhood to everybody else that’s coming into the room. But it’s going to be exciting to get back on the field with everybody. The new additions are great. You are excited to see what happens on the field. You are excited to go there and play next to them,” Guy concluded.