New England defensive end Lawrence Guy speaks with reporters following practice on Thursday in Foxborough, Mass. Steven Senne/Associated Press
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Lawrence Guy won’t say whether he is content with his contract situation with the New England Patriots.
He’s at training camp. For now, that’s enough.
The veteran defensive lineman reported as scheduled this week and has been on the field each of the first two days of workouts after skipping the team’s optional offseason program in the spring and last month’s mandatory minicamp.
“Me and my agent have been in discussions with the organization, and I’ll keep that private and between us,” Guy said on Thursday. “I’m here. I have a big smile on my face. I’m going to do whatever I can for the organization and work as hard as I can. That’s why we play this game, we play this game to be on the field.”
Guy is entering the third season of the four-year, $11.5 million contract he signed in 2021. He’s been with the Patriots since 2017 and is entering his 13th NFL season.
It’s included stops at five different teams, but he’s had his longest and most productive years with the Patriots, winning a Super Bowl ring in the 2018 season.
The 33-year-old has been one of the more consistent members of New England’s defensive front during his tenure, coming off a 2022 season that saw him start each of the 14 games he appeared in, totaling 46 tackles and two sacks. But he did deal with a nagging shoulder injury, which kept him sidelined for three games.
In 93 games for the Patriots, he’s started 91 of them. He also served as a team captain in 2020 and was the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last season.
“I’m in Year 13. Every day is a blessing when I get to touch this field,” Guy said. “Every day is a blessing that my family gets to come out and see me play this game.”
He cited his family as at least one reason he wasn’t present during spring workouts, noting that his wife gave birth to their fourth child around that time.
Now his attention is back on the football field.
“My job is to go out there and play football, let everything else handle itself on the other side of it,” Guy said. “But when I’m out here with this jersey I’m going to make sure I’m out here playing for my teammates, for my coaches.”
While he said retirement is a contemplation after every season at this point in his career, Guy said the enjoyment for playing is still there.
“When I’m done enjoying this game and I feel like I need to hang them up, then I’m going to hang them up,” Guy said. “Right now, I’m just happy to have my kids out here to see me play. I have my daughter asking if I can throw her on the goal post. … I just want to build those memories and enjoy it, every down I can.”
JOSH UCHE understands the game outside the game. Whether he plays in New England past this season, a contract year for the talented 24-year-old pass rusher, is closely tied to his performance on the football field. But not entirely.
The Patriots’ ongoing negotiations with his agents will be impacted by several factors: his contract demands, the team’s interest, how pass rushers of his age and caliber are currently being paid across the league, salary cap projections, the opportunity cost of signing Uche to a large contract for the team, potential replacements for him on the roster, and how the front office projects he’ll play in upcoming years.
So, with all of that in mind, Uche is choosing to keep a clear head. The business game? His agents can handle that. Football is the only game he wants to play.
“I just let (my agents) handle all the little stuff and just come out here and work each day,” Uche said after Thursday’s training camp practice.
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