Offensive lineman Trent Brown will not be the only former Patriot returning to his Foxborough stomping grounds in 2021, as the Patriots and Kyle Van Noy have agreed to a two-year deal to bring him back to New England.
Reported by both the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN Field Yates, and worth up to $13.2 million according to Mike Garafolo, the first word of Van Noy’s return to the Patriots was actually broken by Van Noy himself.
We backkkk!!! #patsnation #LFG #personal pic.twitter.com/wGoj5FTM4z
— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) March 18, 2021
A Patriot from 2016 through 2019, Van Noy established career-best marks in both tackles (89 in 2018) and sacks (6.5 in 2019) during a New England run that included two Super Bowl championships, and cashed in with a $51 million contract with the Dolphins in 2020.
But the union between Miami and the 29-year-old Van Noy didn’t last more than a 2020 campaign that included 69 tackles and six sacks, as Van Noy was released last week after the Dolphins were unable to find a trade partner.
A second-round pick of the Lions back in 2014, Van Noy has totaled 348 tackles and 23.5 sacks in a 95-game NFL career, and has added 45 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 10 career playoff games.