Arrivals & Departures Highlight Emotional Day At Gillette Stadium

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Matt LaPan, GoLocal Worcester Sports Reporter

Tuesday was not a typical day at Gillette Stadium. Both the New England Patriots and New England Revolution made major, team altering announcements within hours of each other. While the Revolution officially announced U.S. men's national team midfielder Jermaine Jones as a member of the Revolution, the Patriots were announcing that Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins had been traded after nine seasons with the Patriots.

Only a hallway separated the two teams at Gillette Stadium, but the emotions of each respective move made them seem worlds apart. The joy and jubilation of a new beginning amongst Revolution fans was countered by shock and even anger from Patriots fans.

Starting with the Revolution - who welcomed a national team hero to his new home with an introductory press conference and media access. Jones signed with the Revolution on Sunday after they were awarded him through a blind draw. Jones is most well known for his stand-out performance in the World Cup as part of the U.S. men's national team. Jones' goal against Portugal made him a household name for many. The Kraft family, Gillette Stadium and the Revolution made Jones' welcome a warm one, showing just how much the signing means to New England soccer.

Robert & Jonathan Kraft welcome new #NERevs addition @Jermainejunior to @GilletteStadium. pic.twitter.com/YS3r3o3dz8
— NE Revolution (@NERevolution) August 26, 2014

Meanwhile, just across the building, the New England Patriots and their fans were learning of the trade that sent Logan Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2nd-year tight end Tim Wright and a 4th Round draft pick. The news was broken by Jay Glazer on Twitter at 1:34 pm.

Breaking: the Patriots have agreed to parameters of a trade to send Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins to the Bucs for a pick and TE Tim Wright
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) August 26, 2014

The news sent shock waves throughout New England. Media, fans and Patriots players all spoke of the surprise in seeing Mankins go. “We came in here and were shocked,” Devin McCourty said in the Patriots locker room on Tuesday. “We’re friends, we’re like a family in here. I don’t think that human element for us ever goes away."

Yet in the arrival and departure, both coaches shared the same sentiment on their respective players. “You can’t always pick the players you want, but for our team, if you look at a spectrum of players, he was exactly the player we wanted," Revolution coach Jay Heaps said about the Jones signing. Sharing similar sentiment for his departed player, Bill Belichick said "Logan Mankins is everything we would ever want in a football player. It is hard to imagine a better player at his position, a tougher competitor or a person to represent our program. He is one of the all-time great Patriots and the best guard I ever coached. Logan brought a quiet but unmistakable presence and leadership that will be impossible to duplicate. Unfortunately, this is the time of year when difficult decisions have to be made - and this is one of the most difficult we will ever make - but like every other decision it was made for what we feel is in the best interests of the team."