Devin McCourty to Re-Sign with Patriots: Latest Contract Details and Reaction

Devin McCourty was always going to be one of the hotter commodities on the free-agency market. The New England Patriots were prepared, however, and they will be re-signing the safety.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network had the news and provided the details of the contract:

Elsa/Getty Images

ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss reports the contract includes $28.5M in guarantees, and USA Today's Tom Pelissero noted that the deal is front-loaded with McCourty set to make $18 million in the first year.

Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com provided a simple quote from McCourty: "I'm back."

McCourty provided further comments on his decision, per Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal and Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com:

McCourty, a one-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro selection by The Associated Press, finished the 2014 season with 78 tackles, a forced fumble and two interceptions. He was a major component of a secondary that was dramatically improved from a season ago, in no small part due to the addition of Darrelle Revis at cornerback.

But switching McCourty to safety was also a huge move for the Pats, as Cian Fahey of Bleacher Report noted:

Still, the secondary everyone was talking about leading into Super Bowl 49 wasn't the one on the New England Patriots roster. McCourty clearly grew weary of hearing about the "Legion of Boom," the Seattle Seahawks secondary, in the lead-up to the big game, tweeting the following during the team's Super Bowl parade in early February:

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Adding Revis was a no-brainer but converting McCourty from a middling CB to arguably the second best FS in the NFL can't have been easy.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) February 2, 2015"

McCourty certainly earned the right to talk a little trash after New England's Super Bowl victory over the Legion of Boom and the Seahawks. The question, of course, will be whether McCourty can help lead the Pats secondary to the same heights in 2015 and beyond.

Now he has to prove he's worth the big contract he signed, too. After a season in which he changed positions and won a Super Bowl, it probably wouldn't be wise to bet against him.