Devin McCourty knows NFL fans and analysts are "already burying" the New England Patriots and declaring their dynasty as over following the departure of Tom Brady.
Quarterback Brady, a six-time Super Bowl winner with the Pats, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
Safety McCourty thought he was going to be following Brady out of New England but ultimately agreed a new two-year deal.
Keeping the franchise's run of success going at a time they are being written off was one of the key motivations in his decision to stay.
"People are going to say that because Tom's gone, the dynasty is over," McCourty wrote in The Players' Tribune.