New England Patriots large receiver Ja’Lynn Polk is placing his brutal rookie season behind him.
Polk, a 2024 second-round draft decide, is targeted purely on making the Patriots’ Week 1 roster. He was requested a number of occasions on Wednesday about studying from final 12 months, however he disregarded the concept that he would take a special strategy into the brand new season.
NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran asked Polk whether or not he acknowledges that his rookie season did not go nicely.
“I don’t even take into consideration final 12 months,” Polk answered. “We’ve acquired a brand new group, the vitality is nice round right here, so I’m right here now. I’m stepping ahead, maintaining religion within the Lord Jesus. He’s been with me the entire total means. I’m going to maintain my religion robust and preserve working.”
Polk completed his rookie marketing campaign with solely 12 catches on 33 targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns in 15 video games.
After Wednesday’s observe, Curran and fellow Patriots insider Phil Perry shared their takes on Polk’s feedback.
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“The rationale I requested that query on the finish, ‘Are you able to acknowledge that final 12 months wasn’t what you have been on the lookout for?’ was there have been quite a few occasions he was requested about final season, and he saved saying, ‘I am not going to do something in a different way. I am doing issues as I did them final 12 months.’ And to me, it is reverse day,” Curran mentioned.
“He was requested the preliminary query, ‘Was it troublesome to not be on the sector for the primary three, 4 days of group work when all of your different guys have been on the market?’ He goes, ‘No, it wasn’t troublesome.’ It is simply the alternative. I imply, the straightforward factor to do is to say, ‘God, yeah, I imply, I wanna be on the market. I might like to be on the market and thank God I am out right here now.’
“Did you study something from final 12 months? What do you convey with you from final 12 months that did not work? You gonna do something totally different? ‘No, I am gonna be the identical man.’ To me, once more, I’ve mentioned this earlier than, I do not want guys to open a vein and be inauthentic, however it does not appear as if there is a stage of introspection or cognition that, ‘Jesus, I sucked final 12 months. I’ve acquired to do stuff means totally different.'”
Perry echoed Curran’s sentiments, stating {that a} easy acknowledgement from Polk that he hopes to enhance from final season would have gone a good distance.
“I might suppose it is type of step one in turning into the participant you need to be, is acknowledging the place your faults are and acknowledging when issues didn’t go nicely,” Perry mentioned. “To me, when you’re attempting to resolve an issue, what do I do know? However to say, I am not even gonna take into consideration final 12 months? I suppose that is wonderful. You need to flip the web page and also you wanna solely management what you possibly can management, which is what’s forward of you, and I get all that.
“However I feel what followers would in all probability love to listen to there may be, ‘Yeah, I thought of final 12 months rather a lot, and it has pushed me to turn into a greater participant and yeah, I needed to undergo a tricky surgical procedure and I needed to take a while off, and never solely was the summer time once I cannot be on the sector troublesome, however the spring was troublesome too as a result of I am working routes on air and these guys are all out competing on the sector.’ I feel that is what you may like to listen to.”
Polk is way from a lock to make the Patriots’ roster. New England’s large receiver room is packed, with Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins (PUP record), Kyle Williams, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne every anticipated to be forward of him on the depth chart.
Additionally within the episode:
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