25 Patriots To Never Play In A Super Bowl
The Patriots have played in a record eleven Super Bowls. Still, we’ve had great players (even a few who played with Brady and Belichick) who haven’t played in a Super Bowl with the Patriots or anyone else.
Who Is Eligible For This List:
It’s pretty simple as there are only two rules. First, they must have played for the Patriots.
They must have never played in a Super Bowl for the Patriots or any other team (but they can have played on a team that made the Super Bowl as long as they never saw the field in the game)
How I will decide who makes the list
The players will be decided by their time as Patriots and by position.
I will do a starting lineup consisting of. Offense: One Quarterback, One Fullback, One Running Back, Two Wide Receivers, One Tight End, Two Offensive Tackles, Two Offensive Guards, and One Center.
Defense: Two Defensive Ends, Two Defensive Tackles, Three Linebackers, Two Cornerbacks, Two Safeties
Special Teams: One Kicker, One Punter, One Returner
The Offense
Quarterback – Matt Cassell: Cassell is best known as the guy who stepped in for Tom Brady after his 2008 ACL tear and is eligible for this list even though he played on the 2007 Patriots because he never took a snap in that ill-fated Super Bowl. Nearly all of his production in New England was from 2008 when Brady was injured. Cassell threw for around 3,600 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the Patriots to an 11-5 record.
Fullback – Sam Cunningham: Cunningham played for the Pats from 1973 to 1982, made the Pro Bowl in 1978, had a 1,000-yard season, helped us produce three playoff appearances, and is still their all-time leading rusher with 5,453 yards.
Running Back – Stevan Ridley: Ridley was on the Pats teams that played in Super Bowl XLVI and XLIX but did not play in either game. He ran for 2,817 yards and 22 touchdowns, including his outstanding 2012 season, where he ran for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Wide Receivers – Harold Jackson and Gino Cappelletti: Jackson is a four-time Pro Bowler (none with the Patriots) who had 156 catches and 3,164 yards for the Pats between 1978 and 1981, including 1,013 yards in 1979, back when that was nowhere near as standard as it is now.
Gino Cappelletti was an original Patriot who could have featured at kicker as well. He had 4,589 receiving yards and 42 touchdowns and won the 1964 AFL MVP Award when he set the AFL scoring record with 155 points and holds the AFL career record with 1,100 points.
Tight End – Marv Cook: Cook made two Pro Bowls with New England and made the All-Pro First Team in 1991 after leading all tight ends with 82 receptions for 803 yards.
Offensive Tackles – Tom Neville and Leon Gray: Neville played 12 seasons in New England while making a Pro Bowl in 1966 while playing 160 regular-season games for the Pats.
Leon Gray made four Pro Bowls (two with New England) and was a three-time First-Team All-Pro (once with New England). He played six seasons in New England and was a key piece of two playoff teams.
Offensive Guards: Billy Neighbors and Charley Long: Neighbors made an AFL All-Star Game, an All-AFL First Team, two All-AFL Second Teams, and finished third in AFL Rookie of the Year voting in 1962.
Charley Long made two AFL All-Star games in nine seasons with the Patriots, including a fourth-place finish in AFL Rookie of the Year voting in 1961.
Center – Jon Morris: Morris played 11 seasons in New England and made seven Pro Bowls, including a First-Team All-Pro nod and three seasons on the All-Pro Second Team. He was second in AFL Rookie of the Year voting in 1964.
The Defense
Defensive Ends – Brent Williams and Bob Dee: Williams had 43.5 sacks along with 11 fumble recoveries, 430 tackles, and two defensive touchdowns in eight seasons in New England.
Bob Dee had 17.5 sacks, made four AFL All-Star Games in eight seasons in New England, and led the AFL with five fumble recoveries in 1961.
Defensive Tackles – Houston Antwine and Jim Lee Hunt: Antwine had 36 sacks while making six Pro Bowls, was a First-Team All-Pro, and made the Second Team four times in his 11 seasons in New England.
Jim Lee Hunt was an original Patriot who played 11 seasons in New England, getting 30 sacks while making four Pro Bowls and leading the league in fumble recoveries in 1968 with four.
Linebackers – Rod Shoate, Vincent Brown, and Tom Addison: Shoate had 22.5 sacks, five interceptions, and seven fumble recoveries in six years with the Patriots.
Vincent Brown played eight seasons in New England right between our first two Super Bowl appearances. He had ten interceptions, 16.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and 811 tackles, including five seasons with over 100 tackles.
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Tom Addison is another original Patriot who had sixteen interceptions and fifteen sacks and made four AFL All-Star games in eight seasons.
Cornerbacks – Leroy Mitchell and Chuck Shonta: Mitchell only played two seasons in New England but made them count as he had ten interceptions, including seven in 1968 when he made his only Pro Bowl.
Chuck Shonta is one of many original Patriots on this list and played eight seasons in New England, picking off 15 passes and making an AFL All-Star team in 1966.
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Safeties – Ron Hall and Tim Fox: Hall played seven seasons with the Pats, making 29 interceptions, including 11 in 1964, which is still the Patriots’ single-season record.
Tim Fox played six seasons as a Patriot, getting 17 picks and making a Pro Bowl in 1980.
The Specialists
Kicker – John Smith: Smith led the league in scoring twice in his ten-year career with the Patriots and scored 692 points in his career.
Punter – Tom Yewcic: Yewcic ranks third in Patriots history with 14,553 punting yards.
Returner – Larry Garron: Garron returned 89 kicks for 2,299 yards for a 25.8 average, scoring two touchdowns. He also led the AFL in all-purpose yards with 1884 when he returned 28 kicks for 693 yards (24.8 yards per return), ran 175 times for 750 yards (4.3 yards per rush), and made 26 receptions for 418 yards (16.1 yards per catch).
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