Super Bowl Champion Describes Trade to Patriots

FOXBORO, MA. — When the New England Patriots revamped their defense ahead of the 2014 season, the big names like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner stood out. But there were also smaller moves that helped plug in the gaps halfway through the year. 

Former NFL linebacker Jonathan Casillas — who spent just half a season in New England — went onto the “Champ And The Tramp” podcast to break down his career, which included how he got traded to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

After spending the first half of that season with a Tampa Bay team struggling to win games, Casillas said his patience wore thin. After a Week 6 game where Joe Flacco and the Ravens threw for 306 yards and five touchdowns, Casillas had enough.

“I called my agent. I said, ‘Bro, I gotta get out of here. Like, I can't. The coach don't like me. This is not going good for me,” Casillas said. “He called me at like 2:30. He said ‘Hey man, the Patriots are interested.’ I’m like, “for real?’”

So about 15 minutes before the trade deadline was over, Casillas got a call from Bill Belichick. At first, he was skeptical. He mentioned that as an undersized linebacker, he didn’t think he’d be able to play New England’s style of defense — “they got big ass linebackers,” he remarked.

His agent called him an idiot.

“I said, ‘Bro, I don’t know about New England,’” Casillas recalled. “He said ‘You f—king idiot, you better take your ass up there. Bill Belichick wants you in the middle of the season. It’s easy.”

By the time the clock hit 4 p.m., Casillas was on his way to New England. The Patriots had sent a 2015 fifth-round pick in exchange for the linebacker and a future sixth rounder. He had to drop everything, leave his luggage and dog behind to show up for the Patriots’ practice the next day. Four hours later, he was on a flight with just a book bag.

“You literally drop your life and pick up another life,” Casillas said. “Luckily we had a bye week the next week … Bill already knew that. He’s like, ‘Don’t worry about it. Leave your stuff, come up with a book bag.”

Then in classic Belichick fashion, he guaranteed to Casillas that he would be able to return to Florida to gather his belongings after they “beat Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on Sunday.” Spoiler alert: New England won 43-21. Casillas was able to head home and bring his dog to Foxboro.

After fully arriving and finally settling down, Casillas became a productive member of that 2014 defense. In the eight games after the trade deadline, he recorded 28 tackles, a tackle for loss and forced a fumble. He wasn’t the focal point of the defense, but he didn’t need to be.

Casillas quickly parlayed his short stint with the Patriots into a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the New York Giants. After his contract was up, so was his career, as the linebacker retired following the 2017 season.

As for the biggest adjustment from the Buccaneers to the Patriots, Casillas had a clear answer.

“It was 85 degrees (in Tampa Bay) when I left, it was 32 degrees when I landed,” Casillas laughed. “It’s snowing too.”