At his introductory press conference after signing with the Eagles, former Patriots defensive end Chris Long said there wasn't any "bad blood" that led to his departure from New England after one season.
He said he let the Patriots coaching staff know right after the season concluded with the Pats' fifth Super Bowl title that he'd be looking elsewhere. Long signed a one-year deal last offseason with the Pats.
“It wasn’t any bad blood,” Long told reporters on Friday in Philly. “Just football-wise, it was more about finding a positive, and the positive for me, the thing I enjoy the most is playing in a situation that allows me to be proud of what I put on the field every Sunday. Pretty quickly after the season I was able to be straight up with the coaches there, who I admire a lot, that I was probably going to look to go elsewhere.”
Long, 32, signed a two-year deal with Philadelphia, whose 4-3 defense, Long thinks, will afford him more playing time. He was part of a rotation at defensive end in the Patriots 3-4 hybrid scheme.
“If you watch what I did in St. Louis for eight years, that was more like what we do here,” Long said. “So schematically there’s a big difference. I’m just lucky to find a place that I think I can at least compete to try to have a role.
Long was appreciative of the opportunity to show he "still had a lot in the tank" with the Pats.
"I was really lucky to take that step and for Coach [Bill] Belichick to take a chance on me, and I found out that I still had a lot in the tank. I didn't miss a practice, I didn't miss a game last year, and that was something that I was very proud of -- and was able to play, and I think at a pretty high level."