Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty reveals he recently underwent surgery to repair his injured groin

When the New England Patriots’ season came to an end on wild card weekend, Jason McCourty was not on the field. The veteran cornerback had been listed among the team’s inactives because of a groin injury that limited him throughout most of the second half of the season. Now we know that the issue forced McCourty to undergo offseason surgery, as he revealed during a new episode of his and his brother’s podcast Double Coverage.

“I am currently recovering from a little offseason surgery,” the 32-year-old pointed out early in the show before talking a bit about post-surgery nausea. McCourty offered no further information about the procedure and how his recovery is expected to look like heading into the offseason. Depending on the severity of the injury and the surgery performed on the groin, however, a recovery of up to 12 weeks might be in the cards.

McCourty first popped up on the injury report because leading up to the Patriots’ Week 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys. He subsequently played only eight more snaps over the rest of the season, while being inactive for five of seven games. While his season ended in disappointing fashion, the veteran defender had a solid year when healthy as he allowed only 20 of 42 passes thrown his way to be completed for 188 yards with an interception.

Looking ahead, however, McCourty’s spot on the roster is not set in stone. Despite his strong play in 2019, the Patriots might be willing to part ways with him considering that a) such a move would save $4 million against their salary cap and b) they have promising youngster J.C. Jackson waiting in the wings. That being said, McCourty might still be worth his $5.7 million cap hit considering his experience and proven productivity in New England’s secondary.