Listen up, Giants and Jets. A hometown kid who could boost the playoff-starved teams’ secondary is heading into free agency with a sentimental eye.
Patriots safety Devin McCourty — who hails from Nyack, NY, and played his college ball at Rutgers — told NJ Advance Media he would be open to signing with a New York team.
“I would be lying if I said that it wouldn’t be cool being back home,” McCourty said. “But I also know being back home comes with some new stresses and different things that way with family and friends being so close. For me right now, everything is open. I don’t want to turn something down. I’m willing to leave everything open and see how it works out.”
McCourty was not franchised by the Patriots, who instead opted to use the tag on kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The 27-year-old therefore can become a free agent on March 10, and from the way he talked, he’s looking forward to the process.
“The whole time I was kind of just waiting for that deadline to see what those steps were going to be, and now me and my agents know, so it’s kind of exciting,” McCourty said. “The process really begins now.”
McCourty and his agents arrived Tuesday in Las Vegas to begin discussing his plans. The Patriots still have exclusive negotiating rights with McCourty through Friday, and starting on Saturday, other teams can contact his agents.
“Now it’s deciding what to do next as far as visits and different offers and what will happen from there,” McCourty said. “I’m talking to my agents and seeing what’s best for me and getting their opinion and what they’ve heard and what they know as of right now.”
McCourty, widely considered the top safety on the free-agent market, is expected to command a salary of $8 million to $10 million, according to NJ Advance Media.