On Tuesday, New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft made a special, surprise appearance at the Gillette Stadium press conference podium to honor fullback and German-native Jakob Johnson for reaching the 1,000-snap threshold in his NFL career.
Johnson first joined the Patriots organization by way of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. His milestone marked the third player from the program to reach 1,000 career snaps.
“For years, the NFL has been trying to expand to international markets, and we try to recruit international talent,” Kraft said. “I love this program, especially over in Europe because since we’ve gone outside the U.