Devin McCourty will play for the Patriots in 2019

Matt Kartozian | USA TODAY Sports

After having a couple of weeks to reflect on his career, New England Patriots’ safety Devin McCourty says he’ll be back for the 2019 season.

In the days leading up to Super Bowl LIII, McCourty had brought up the idea of retiring, as he didn’t think anything could top winning a championship with his twin brother, Jason.

But in an interview with Sports Spectrum podcast on Thursday, the safety said he’s going to further his football career. Having some time to reflect these past couple of weeks helped him with his decision.

“At that point, that was Media Night when Deion [asked about his football future], and it’s like, yeah, man, if we won a Super Bowl, I don’t know what else could top that. I think in that moment, I kind of forgot that I don’t play this game just to win Super Bowls.”

“There’s so much more that comes from me playing the game that I love,” McCourty continued. “I think once you get a chance to step away for a couple weeks now, you’re like, ‘Yeah man, I still do want to be around these other guys that come in.”

Devin is entering the final year of his contract, a $47.5 million deal he signed back in 2015.

His reliability and durability are something the Patriots will be glad to have back as he started in all 16 games in 2018 for a third consecutive season.

Follow Megan on Twitter: @carnahanmegan