Larry Izzo Q&A

Of the many veteran free agents the Patriots signed prior to the 2001 season, only linebackers Larry Izzo and Mike Vrabel remain with the club.

The 33-year-old Izzo, a longtime Patriots special teams captain, enters his 13th NFL season. He took some time to answer questions after a recent workout in the offseason program:

What are your thoughts about re-signing with the Patriots?
“I’m excited to get back. It’s good to be back with the team. Now I’m very much looking forward to a good offseason, training hard and getting my body in the best condition possible to get ready for the ’08 season.”

You’ve mentioned taking it year to year at this point in your career. Was retirement an option?
“Yeah, you think about things like that [year to year], but my decision, obviously I am excited for the opportunity to come back and play. Going onto 13 years, it’s much more than I ever could have imagined coming out of college. Yes, I say I’m on a year to year program and I am, because you never know how many more opportunities you’ll get. For various reasons you see a lot of guys come and go. I definitely feel that I still have years left in the tank here. I’m glad the organization feels the same way. I definitely am excited about the season.”

How many more years do you hope to play?
“I don’t put a number on it. I say that just because a lot of times it’s not up to the player to say when your career is over. Very few players have the opportunity to leave on their own terms. I don’t know if I’m a guy to have that opportunity. I’d love to play a Morten Anderson-type career. I feel like I can still play but for various reasons, teams go in different directions, they want new faces. It’s across the NFL – the supply and demand business. There are a lot of players coming out of college, a lot of players out there on the free-agent market. I’m glad I’m with an organization that values what I do and has given me an opportunity to come back and fight for a roster spot.”

The Patriots’ first free-agent signing from another team this offseason was Buffalo's Sam Aiken. Would you say that’s a reflection of how special teams are valued in New England?
“I definitely can see why we targeted him, just from having played against him the last few years. I know first-hand he’s a high quality special teams player, he’s very productive. He definitely fits into the mold of the kind of players we typically look for in free agency. Especially seeing him twice a year, obviously Bill [Belichick] and our organization is familiar with him, as we’ve seen other players come in from divisional opponents. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out -- you play against guys twice a year, you have a high appreciation for a quality player, and you want them on your team if have an opportunity to get him. I’m glad he’s on our team now, he was definitely a pain in the butt to deal with when he was on the other sideline. I wasn’t surprised at all how highly Bill thought of him.”

What has it been like with the offseason program?
“People are usually surprised when they hear we’ve been working out, because they assume that football starts in July, or maybe a minicamp. Mike Woicik, Harold [Nash] and Don [Davis] do a great job. We’re working on speed, power and agility type exercises. Football-related position-specific work. You’re not only building [as a team] but you’re getting your body prepared and filling up that tank as much as you can, so when the season starts you have a full tank to work with. It’s also a time where you build camaraderie. There are a lot of new faces coming on.”