Patriots’ 2018 team captains to include first-timers James White and Patrick Chung

In three days, the New England Patriots will open their 2018 regular season against the Houston Texans. Before the game and season gets started, the Patriots’ team captain will walk out for the first coin toss of the year (and likely call tails). Now, as first reported by the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride, we know who those captains will be:

OC David Andrews

QB Tom Brady

SS Patrick Chung

FS Devin McCourty

WR Matthew Slater

RB James White

Four of the six players listed above have already served as team captains last season: Tom Brady has been a captain since 2002, while Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater were both promoted to the roles in 2011. David Andrews, on the other hand, received the honor for the first time in 2017.

The two new additions have been with the Patriots for quite some time but never actually served as captains: Patrick Chung, a second-round pick in 2009, spent all but one season of his NFL career in New England and has repeatedly been among the team’s most emotional contributors. Meanwhile, James White joined the team in 2014 and has since grown into the leader of the team’s offensive backfield.

While Chung and White have joined the captains, three players have been removed from the list: tight end Rob Gronkowski, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, and safety Duron Harmon are no longer serving as captains. Gronkowski and Hightower first received the honor in 2016, while Harmon was named a captain last year.