USAT: Patriots Wire audio clip

USAT: Patriots Wire

Mar 19, 2022

- - - Fullback Jakob Johnson said his goodbyes to the New England Patriots in a social media post this week after he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. - Johnson went with so many other former Patriots, including coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. In fact, Johnson isn’t the only back to join the Raiders — he and Brandon Bolden went there together. - Johnson joined the Patriots through the International Player Pathway Program, and worked his way onto the 53-man roster during his first NFL season in 2019. He then became the team’s full-time starter in 2020, a position he held through the 2021 season. It seems he’ll join Vegas as their starter at fullback, with no competition at this point. - Here’s what Johnson wrote to fans and members of the Patriots organization. - - “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the entire Patriot organization, the City of Boston, the surrounding New England area, and all the Patriots fans across the globe. You took in three years ago and treated Brittany and I like family from Day 1. For that, I am eternally grateful. - “Thank you to Mr. Kraft and the entire Kraft family for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and always being there to support my visions off the field to help make the world a better place. What you have done and will continue to do for the football in Germany will leave an impact for generations to come and is something that will always mean the world to me. - “Thank you to Coach Belichick for giving an unproven and unknown international guy a chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. I was always treated like any other player on the roster which is all a pathway player can hope for. - “Thank you to Coach Caley for coaching me hard and putting himself on the line to give me opportunities to prove myself. I am forever indebted to you. - “Thank you to the strength and conditioning staff (Coach Moe, Duron, Wale) for never letting up. Grinding it out with me during the Covid offseason and always being there to push me was instrumental in my development as a player and as a person. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you guys. - “Thank you to the trainers (Brian, Chris, Jared, Cross, Mike, Ryan) for listening to my German rants and making long days fun. The laughs we shared will always be some of the fondest memories of my career. - “Thank you tall the New England Patriots support staff that make daily NFL life possible. From the EQ room to the nutritionists, the cafeteria staff, and the PR department, nobody works harder in silence than you guys. - “Finally, thank you to all my teammates in the locker room for the lifelong friendships we have created. It was the greatest honor of my life to take the field with you every week and I am proud to call you guys my brothers. We will meet again and my many invitations to Germany still stand. - “With all that being said, I am looking forward to the next chapter in Las Vegas!” - - - Thank You, New England![Dankeschön] and [Auf Wiedersehen]! pic.twitter.com/64zj4aVtDI - — Jakob Johnson (@JakobJohnson44) March 17, 2022 - - - - List - - Grading the Patriots' signings, trades and re-signings in free agency - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Patriots Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Patriots Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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