Fresh off of re-signing with the Patriots on a four-year deal this offseason, Lawrence Guy checked in with the media on Thursday afternoon as the team continues through phase two of offseason team activities, re-energized despite being sleep-deprived by a new baby daughter named Isabella.
"I'm happy to come back," said Guy. "I told everybody at the end of the season last year that I laid roots in the ground and they've been growing since. The same thing with the community, what I've done in the community in Boston... it's incredible the people that have touched me in a way that we're changing lives.
"And understanding that I get to come back to a facility, a team, ownership and teammates that are accepting and willing to play for something and it means something to them. You never want to give that up."
Last season, the team leaned heavily on Guy as injuries added up along the defensive line and Guy himself eventually became one of those casualties, missing two games for the first time in his four seasons with the Patriots. His snap total was still close to topping his career-high with the team despite missing those games but this offseason New England not only brought Guy back, but restocked the defensive line position, including the return of Deatrich Wise, the free-agent signings of Davon Godchaux and Henry Anderson and the drafting of Christian Bamore in the second round.
Free-agent signing Matt Judon was a teammate of Guy's in Baltimore and he was especially excited to hear that he was coming to Foxborough.
"I played with Judon his rookie year in Baltimore," said Guy. "I remember when he came out, he went to a D2 school, his growth was over the years was impressive. I said 'this kid's going to be special, he's going to keep on growing' and what he's become as a player and a man is amazing."
With 2020 in the rearview, a new addition to the family and a month of OTAs that will culminate next month at minicamp, there's renewed excitement around the building, with a lot of new faces mixed in with familiar ones.
"It's exciting, where we came from last year...we had a lot of youth," said Guy "It just brings back some experience, having people come back that know the system. Bill's systems one of the hardest systems to play and we understand that, we can see that through the years, not everybody can come in here and play. Do you see talent come in? Why don't they fit? Because it's difficult, we challenge each other.
"I think having a brotherhood that we already had, we've been there, we won the Super Bowl together, we all know each other, we know the downs, we know the ups, we know everything about how we're going to flow. That's just going to bring a better brotherhood to everybody else that's coming into the room. It's going to be exciting to get back on the field with everybody."
Reports: Patriots rounding out the roster
The Patriots have reportedly made a trio of roster moves as they continue to push their total players closer to the league limit. With Jakob Johnson again receiving an international player exemption for training camp, these additions should leave the team with one roster spot.
Adrian Colbert - Per agent Drew Rosenhouse, the veteran free safety will join the Patriots. Colbert has started 19 career games in stints with the 49ers, Dolphins and Giants.
Tyler Gaffney - A former Patriot turned minor league pro baseball player is turning back into a Patriot according to Ian Rapoport in an interesting move. There's no question the team was a little light at the position for training camp, staying healthy was always the biggest thing with Gaffney.
Wes Farnsworth - Another long snapper to help manage the three kickers currently on the roster, Farnsworth's agent Brad Tessler said his client was headed to New England. He previously spent training camps with the Dolphins and Broncos.
