Matthew Slater’s return to the Patriots led to a common question among fans of the team – will Devin McCourty be following him back to Foxborough for 2023?

While McCourty, who is a pending free agent ahead of what would be his age 36 season, hasn’t made a decision yet, he did share some insight this week on when he’ll likely make a decision on whether or not to return for what would be his 14th season. McCourty spoke about the topic while appearing on Christopher Price’s The Patriots Report podcast.

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• “I’ve gone back and forth.” McCourty began. “I think the good thing is I actually have a vacation coming up with the family, and then I’m going to go hang out with [twin brother Jason McCourty] for a week. I think just being able to get away from football, especially as you kind of get older, I think it helps you put things in perspective doing other things.”

  In addition to what will go into making his decision, McCourty also gave a timetable. “Then it’ll be early March, second week in March, and we’ll start to – I think for me and my wife – decide and plan what the next year looks like,” McCourty continued. “I think that’s around the time where free agency will be coming up, so it’ll be the right time to really start digging in and make a decision.”

  This would line up with McCourty’s timetable from last season. Last spring, McCourty signed a one-year, $9 million extension on the Sunday night of March 13, the night before the league’s legal tampering period began.

  At the same time, the Patriots have stayed ahead of things so far this offseason. While they typically wait until right around the start of free agency (or even after) to do deals with their internal free agents, they’ve already made two such moves this offseason bringing back Slater and Conor McDermott.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

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