Will Devin McCourty return for a 13th NFL season when he turns 35 years old next summer? Even the Patriots safety himself doesn't know the answer to that yet.
McCourty opened up on his thinking on the latest Double Coverage podcast with his twin brother Jason.
“(I plan on) just hanging out,” he said. “Hanging out with the fam, getting an opportunity to not think about football for at least a month or two. I think even at this age, I’m going to continue to do the offseason stuff that I usually do, just to give myself that option of what you want to do next.
“But I still feel great. Going over all of the tests and all the things that we do during the season with our sports performance guy Johan, I haven’t had a dropoff in athletic ability and the physical traits to play the game. So it all really comes down to mentally and being ready and being able to tap back in and go through a full season. I think those are the things you have to think about.
“But I’m definitely going to take my time and see what happens for the future. I try not to say, ‘I’ll never do this’ or ‘I’m only going to do that’ and just kind of let it play itself out and see how it goes.”
McCourty is an unrestricted free agent, so even if he does return for another season, there's no guarantee it is with the Patriots.
Jason gave his two cents, which has Devin continuing to play.
“This guy is playing at such a high level in his career,” Jason said. “No way he hangs ’em up. Just my opinion.”