On a dull April evening in 2024, a legendary cornerback announced his retirement. “What a ride it was,” he said. It was Logan Ryan, the safety, that Bill Belichick brought in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He contributed to four AFC Championship games and two Super Bowl victories for the New England Patriots. He was at the peak of his career playing for the New England Patriots during their dynasty era. Suddenly, in 2017, he became a Titan. What exactly shaped his decision was a mystery to all until the former CB broke his silence. Reason? HC Belichick. 

In a recent interview with NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov, the two-time Super Bowl champion shed light on his decision to leave the Patriots. “Look, all truthfully, I wanted to stay at New England Patriot,” he told the host. All he wanted was for the Patriots to pay him equally to fellow CB Kyle Arrington, if not more. He was ready to sign for $5 million, given that it was a reasonable amount in the market. However, the franchise didn’t make any offer to him, let alone the $5 million. 

“I was like, ‘Hey, I think they never made an offer. It’s been four years. I’ve been in four AFC Championship games. I’ve been in two Super Bowls. I played a lot. I’m durable, but for whatever reason, Bill wouldn’t extend a contract to me,’” he added. It was the point he realized his time with New England was up. Things took a turn when, a day before the free agency, Ryan’s agent received a call from the Patriots. It was Belichick on the other end. His agent told him, “Hey, the Patriots have you on their board. They want to bring you back, but they want to see what you’re getting out there in the market. And you’re their number one corner on their board.” 

That was exactly what Ryan wanted to hear, given how much he contributed to the team. So the plan, once the safety gets an offer from another team, he just brings it to the Patriots, and it’s up to the head coach to see if they want to match what’s on the table. He assured Ryan that he was “the number one corner on the board.” If only that wasn’t a lie. 

“Less than a day later, they signed Stephon Gilmore to be their number one corner and give him a lot more money than they were ever going to give me. So, I was like, that wasn’t too truthful,” shared Ryan. Though he was happy for Stephon Gilmore, calling him a “beast”, he felt betrayed. “It felt like Bill told my agent a lie, but I don’t know. It is what it is.” 

The market favored Ryan, landing him a whopping $30 million contract with the Tennessee Titans for three years, including $12 million guaranteed. He made a statement in 2020 while intercepting Tom Brady in the AFC Wild-Card game. It was the last pass thrown by the seven-time Super Bowl champ for New England before joining Tampa Bay. 

Over his 11-year NFL career, Logan Ryan has been a consistent and versatile defensive back, primarily playing cornerback and safety across multiple teams, including the Patriots, Titans, Giants, Buccaneers, and 49ers. He totaled 755 combined tackles, with 545 solo tackles, highlighting his ability to make plays independently. For the Patriots, Logan Ryan recorded 243 tackles, including 190 solo stops, along with 5 tackles for loss.

Patriots’ low offer to Logan Ryan

The Titans weren’t the team to offer $30 million to the two-time Super Bowl champ; he had offers from three teams. But he decided to go with Tennessee because it was ‘tax-free’. But something interesting happened when he was about to sign with the Titans. “When I go to sign with Tennessee, New England calls and goes, ‘Hold up, hold up, hold up. We want you back,” Ryan continued his story. His exact reaction was: “What do you mean? You have Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler. Where do I fit? You can’t pay us all.” 

They had a solution for that, as well. They wanted to move Malcolm Butler and pair Gilmore with Ryan. But there was a catch! They offered $14 million for three years. When Ryan pointed out that those three offers doubled that amount, they only raised it by about a million, but not by much more. At this point, Ryan realized, the Patriots didn’t actually want him back. “They did that just so that the PR can be that I chose more money to go elsewhere. And that’s not the truth,” he added. 

Still, Ryan never held a grudge. In fact, in 2023, when Belichick had become the center of fans’ wrath due to the Patriots’ relentless failure, Ryan stood by his former head coach. “I loved being coached by Bill Belichick. I enjoyed it. I know not everybody can do it. But the way that he treated a rookie and the way that he treated Tom Brady was pretty similar in a sense that you get what you put in,” he said. The former cornerback’s journey in the league was full of ups and downs (mostly not with his performance), yet he keeps only good memories of himself.