Patriots' Rookie Ronnie Perkins Appreciates Lessons From Tedy Bruschi
BOSTON (CBS) -- When Tedy Bruschi won his first Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, Ronnie Perkins was 2 years old. But the rookie knows his Patriots history.
Perkins, whom the Patriots selected with the 96th overall pick in this year's draft, tweeted photos of the Patriots Hall of Famer dispensing some wisdom after Tuesday's training camp practice.
"Standing on the shoulders of giants," Perkins wrote. "Blessed and honored to receive advice from one of the best to ever lace up the cleats."
Bruschi has been present for a couple of the Patriots' training camp practices thus far. He's not a part of the coaching staff, but as one of Belichick's favorite players of all time, the former linebacker likely has an open invitation at all times to 1 Patriot Place. He shared his own appreciation for the time given to him by Belichick:
Perkins, 21, was the Patriots' third pick in the draft, after Mac Jones and Christian Barmore. The 6-foot-2, 253-pound Perkins played in just six games for the Sooners last year, but still put up some big numbers. He recorded 5.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss and 23 total tackles.
Jerod Mayo, a fellow former Patriots linebacker who is on Belichick's staff, shared what Bruschi can do for young players like Perkins.
"The good thing about Tedy, he didn't play linebacker at all off the ball in college," said Mayo. "And so he played with his hand in the dirt, and then when he got to the NFL, he was a little bit too small to play with his hand in the dirt, so they moved him to linebacker. So in saying that I would say he has a wealth of knowledge, as far as front play is concerned. So he can talk to honestly any position in the front. And I'm sure Ronnie took away not only just some of the technique things but how to be a professional. And honestly I hope Ronnie tries to build a relationship with Tedy. He's a smart guy, knows a lot about football, and he's still in the game. Even though he's not coaching, he watches a lot of ball. He's actually my neighbor. So we talk a lot about football."
Belichick also spoke to the value of someone like Bruschi dropping in on training camp.
"Those players are welcome, and it's great to see 'em. Certainly, Tedy's meant as much to this program as just about anybody," Belichick said. "He was a tremendous player and leader, an inspiration both on and off the field, had a great career. I appreciate his friendship and his support. Certainly anybody with the kind of experience that he has could lend some good insight to all of us. So it's good to see him back."
