Harold Landry’s return to New England has been ‘dope’

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Quick thoughts and notes about the New England Patriots and the NFL:

1. Landry fights it: Like many others, veteran defensive end/outside linebacker Harold Landry III spent time thinking about the things he’s grateful for in recent days. On the list is the Week 6 game in which his right leg absorbed the force of 335-pound teammate Khris Tonga as he jumped to make a tackle and did not suffer a more serious injury as a result.

Landry, an eight-year veteran who is tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks, piled up that day. He later returned to the game and never sat out since, contributing 78% of the defensive snaps.

But the residual impact still remains, and in many ways, the 29-year-old Landry represents where the Patriots find themselves as a team entering their home game against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football” (8:15 ET, ESPN).

Landry could use a break — he’s officially questionable for the game — and has one coming, with the Patriots scheduled for a bye next week. But they are also determined not to look ahead, or let their teammates down, as they hope to extend their nine-match winning streak.

He said, “I’m certainly grateful that nothing major came out of that game. But yes, I just want the annoying part to go away. It is what it is – it’s the NFL. You have to deal with it.”

“It’s been an up-and-down season (personally). There were some scratches along the way. We’re winning games, so it’s exciting. We’ve just got to keep stacking up the days and weeks, making sure we’re on top of our preparation so we can keep this thing going.”

Landry, who is in his first season in New England after spending seven years with the Tennessee Titans, did not practice earlier this week, which highlights how challenged he has been to achieve that goal.

“I’m a routine guy, I like to practice my plan for our matchups and practice our own coaches’ gameplan for the week. When you’re trying to manage certain things, you can’t do all the physical things you need to do before the game,” said Landry, who has totaled 41 tackles and a team-high 16 quarterback hits.

“But I just have to find a way, and we have a bye week coming up. Wrabs is doing a great job – he’s always done that throughout my career – just figuring out what people need and what’s the best way for certain people to attack the week.”

The “Vrabels” is apparently a reference to first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who was one of Landry’s main attractions in signing a three-year, $43.5 million contract as a free agent in March after being released by Tennessee in the final year of his contract. Vrabel was the head coach of the Titans (2018–23) when Landry entered the NFL as a second-round pick with Tennessee in 2018.

Landry’s relationship with Vrabel has grown stronger this season, in part due to him attending captains’ meetings with him. This is the first year the respected Landry has been a team captain since high school.

Landry said, “Wrabs has always been someone who listens to leaders, and listens to guys who give their all to the team. I think the meetings have been great. We come together as a group and make a lot of decisions together.”

Landry said what has made serving as captain special is the group around him.

“I’m not going to lie, this is one of the best locker rooms I’ve been a part of,” he said. “The guys we have here, it’s a special group. And I’m not just talking about the talent on the field, but the guys we have in this locker room. And honestly, that includes the coaches. I don’t think I could have more fun than coming here and working.”

Landry has also enjoyed returning to New England, an area he knows well from his time at Boston College (2014–17). A highlight was attending his son Grayson in his first NBA game, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic to advance to the playoffs.

“One of the biggest things is getting back to Pro Sports City,” Landry said. “In Tennessee, the Titans and Predators were all we had, unless you wanted to drive up to Memphis for the Grizzlies. To be able to go to Celtics games, Sox games, Bruins — it’s all been super dope. (Grayson) is having a blast. He’s a big sports fan and he’s going to be 10 times better than I was before. So it’s refreshing to be back here.”

2. Weakness vs Weakness: The Giants rank last in the NFL in rush defense, giving up 157.2 yards per game, but can the Patriots take advantage?

That’s one of the subplots of Monday’s game, especially with New England playing without left tackle Will Campbell (knee/IR) and left guard Jared Wilson (ankle). The Patriots are averaging 3.9 yards per rush (27th in the NFL) and 112 rushing yards per game (19th). Starting rushers has been a challenge as the Patriots gain just 2.0 yards before contact per rush (28th).

3. Flex Talk: Until Week 13, the NFL has up to 12 days before a Sunday afternoon game to determine whether it is included in prime time. In weeks 14–17, flexibility decisions are typically made six days in advance. This adds a timeline to consider in deciding whether the Dec. 14 Patriots-Bills game in Week 14 will remain at 1 p.m. ET, and whether the Dec. 21 Patriots-Ravens game will remain at 1 p.m. ET. There are several compelling games for the league to consider across both weeks.

4. Diggs’ Choice: Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ choice for the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative is the American Heart Association, which he said hits home for him. He described the ability to wear cleats for a Monday night game as “monumental” for him.

Diggs said, “I’ve always done that because I lost my father to heart disease. He had congestive heart failure. I try to honor him.” “This thing has been going on since I’ve been in the league, so I send him a lot of love.”

5. Hopper’s Reason: Veteran tight end Austin Hooper joined Diggs among Patriots players to participate in the NFL initiative.

Each of Hooper’s cleats were designed by children in the foster-care system, which has been a passion for the 10-year NFL veteran — especially youth who are aging out of the system. He described it as an underprivileged area and his small way of hoping to affect change.

It’s “My Cause, My Cleats” week for the Patriots and TEs @AustinHooper18 Shares the story behind her passion for helping people age out of the foster care system.

These cleats that he would wear were partially designed by two kids in the system.

“They have been amazing,” Hooper said. pic.twitter.com/1VAeX5mocn

– Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) 28 November 2025

6. May-Campbell Bond: Quarterback Drake Mays said Campbell has become one of his best friends, even though they first met the day after the Patriots made Campbell their first-round pick.

The 23-year-old Mays noted the rapidity of the relationship she formed with the 21-year-old Campbell, saying, “I think it’s cool when you can get close to a guy at such a young age. We didn’t know each other. When he got drafted, that was the (first) time (we met). I think that’s what brought us together.”

7. Henry’s Company: Patriots tight end Hunter Henry has gained 27 first downs on third down over the past two seasons, which is third in the NFL among tight ends behind the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and the Cardinals’ Trey McBride.

It shows, to some extent, why coordinator Josh McDaniels called him dependable, while Henry, who turns 31 on Saturday, is still improving in his 10th NFL season and is a positive example for the team’s younger players.

“One of the most unselfish people I’ve ever been around,” McDaniels said.

8. Role of Williams: Rookie receiver Kyle Williams (third round, Washington State) had his first chance to return for kickoffs last week, and had positive reviews. Williams, whose role in the offense has been limited (26.5% of snaps), had three returns for 86 yards (28.7 average), with a long of 36.

“I liked the way he played,” special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “He’s a fast guy, right? And on top of that, with this new dynamic kickoff, you can’t have any fear out there, you’ve got to go and run through the smoke. I felt like he did that.”

9. Durden’s Invitation: Unexpected third-year Patriots defensive tackle Corey Durden, who could start Monday in place of the injured Tonga (who was filling in for Milton Williams on IR), had a private chef at his home for Thanksgiving and extended an open invitation to teammates looking for company over the holiday. Teammates said they appreciated the gesture.

Durden explained why he did it, saying: “I was in a situation where I was a guy with nowhere to go. I just wanted to help.”

10. Do you know? According to ESPN Research, the Patriots are one of four NFL teams with rookies playing 3,000 or more games this season. The other three teams (Browns, Jets, Titans) entered Week 13 with a combined 6–27 record.