The NFL season may be over for the Patriots after their playoff loss to the Bills, but Jakob Johnson can still look back on a good year. The German has become an important factor for the Pats – and should therefore also get a new contract.

Munich – The NFL season could not have ended in a more unpleasant way for the New England Patriots. They suffered a nasty 17:47 humiliation in the Wild Card Game against the Buffalo Bills at the weekend, meaning the playoffs are over early.

For the players, the holidays are just around the corner – sooner than they had hoped. This is also the case for Jakob Johnson. The German has played for the Foxborough team for three years and has an impressive history behind him.

The Stuttgart native once missed the NFL draft due to a serious injury, only through the International Pathway Programme did he get a chance in the best football league in the world. And he was able to take advantage of it.

1,000 snaps in the NFL

While head coach Bill Belichick spoke at the beginning that the now 27-year-old was unlikely to make the Pats’ squad, he has since become an integral part. This is also evident when looking at the stats.

Johnson played in all 17 regular-season games this season and played 309 snaps. During the current season, he was given a great honour in this regard.

On December 7, not only was he part of the O-line on nearly every other snap in the Patriots’ 14-10 win over the Bills, he also became only the third player in Pathway Program history to break the 1,000 NFL snaps mark. Previously, only Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata and Bills defensive end Efe Obada accomplished that feat.

Patriots owner Kraft praises Johnson

Accordingly, this special achievement was even celebrated by team owner Robert Kraft. The latter presented the German with a special gameball at the press conference afterwards. “We hope you make 1,000 more plays for us,” he said, thanking the fullback.

The offseason will show whether Johnson will get the chance. After the end of the season, the German’s contract expires and he becomes a restricted free agent. However, it does not seem too likely that the Pats will let the 27-year-old go.

Head coach Belichick never tired of mentioning during the season how important the fullback is for the franchise. And he has also found an advocate in Mac Jones. “He’s great. That’s my boy. He always does exactly what he’s supposed to do,” the quarterback praised, noting that Johnson has “hardly any mistakes and bad decisions” while doing “a great job at representing Germany. “

Johnson with promotional impact in Germany

Similarly, ex-Patriots pro Sebastian Vollmer sees it the same way. On the

As a 13-year-old in Germany in 2008, @JohnsonJakob watched his first American football game on television.

Now, more than 1,000 snaps later as a fullback for the New England Patriots, he’s right at home: https://t.co/3Bezqkm8d3

– New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 30, 2021

However, Johnson is not only important for the Patriots in his function as a pre-blocker for the running back, the German also has a promotional effect that should not be underestimated. A fact that Damani Leech, COO NFL International, makes no secret of.

“Of course, we also look at things from a numbers point of view, such as jersey sales in the NFL Shop. We compare Jacob’s jersey sales in Germany with those in the USA. We see that he does better than average there. We also analyse the social media. That definitely has an effect,” he said.

So it’s no surprise that the Patriots recently acquired the marketing rights for Germany.

NFL game in Germany as a big wish

There is no denying that the fullback has value for the Patriots outside of his athletic achievements. But he has earned his place in the squad in recent years solely on the basis of his performance.

He trained hard, was often the first to arrive at the training ground, and also gained a lot of muscle mass – a lot of virtues that go down well with head coach Belichick. And Johnson has also long since settled in on a personal level. For example, he had to dye his hair red at the end of October after losing a bet against teammate Damien Harris.

In addition to personal development and success with the team, the fullback has one wish above all for the future – as he revealed on the franchise’s homepage. He would like to play an NFL game in Germany as a Patriot: “I’m keeping my fingers crossed and will do my best to make that happen.