Kyle Love's Departure Not Due to Diabetes

On Wednesday, The Patriots released defensive tackle Kyle Love and it was suspected that it had a lot to do with the fact that two weeks earlier, he was diagnosed with type two diabetes. But in looking at the Patriots’ history, you can prove a lot about the present and the Patriots history of dealing with players with illnesses speaks for itself.

In 2005, the most memorable of which would be Tedy Bruschi who suffered a stroke and the Patriots sat by and waited out his recovery and even publically stood by Bruschi if I remember correctly which they hardly ever do. Matt Light dealt with Crohn’s Disease off and on for his career here in New England and they consistently signed him and extended his contract. In 2010, the Patriots drafted Marcus Cannon who had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. As recent as this season, the Patriots signed Armond Armstead out of USC who had to play in the CFL due to him having a heart attack.

Evidence and history shows that the Patriots are patient when dealing with players with illnesses. While the Patriots don’t lack a heart for players with medical problems, they do lack a certain social norm that involves explaining why they released players and with that lack of awareness, the Patriots have taken a beating the past couple of days as it pertains to the releasing of Kyle Love.

The hard truth of that matter may be that Love’s production simply went down in 2012 from numbers that weren’t that impressive to begin with. He only had 25 tackles in 16 games, which is a low number, but it also has to do with the fact that he’s not out there every down as the Patriots like to use three down lineman with Wilfork in the middle. Nonetheless, that lack of production most likely lead to his departure not diabetes.

After news of Love’s cut from the Patriots roster, he was only contacted by one team, the Jaguars. Love wasn’t without a job for long as the Jaguars snatched him up just one day after he was released and now it would seem as if the Jaguars love former Patriot players. The Jaguars picked up Kyle Love just two days after the signing of another former Patriot Brandon Deaderick.

Both of these former Patriots don’t have great statistics, but the coach of the Jaguars Gus Bradley thinks that he is building solid pieces on the defensive line. In a way I kind of agree with Gus Bradley’s philosophy here. The Jaguars ranked 30th against the run last season and I think we can all agree that if Kyle Love and Deaderick excel at anything, it’s stopping the run. Building a group of bigger, sure-tackling guys actually seems like a step in the right direction for the Jaguars.

Kyle Love was a solid player, that I liked, in his time here, but sometimes teams decide to go in a different direction. With the league’s offenses trending heavily in the passing game, it might better suit the Patriots to grab a pass-rushing defensive lineman as opposed to one that stops the run. It is a change in philosophy that sometimes lends itself to teams having to release players that they like.

Josh Brown
@TitleTownTalkSB