The current Panther wrote an article for the Players’ Tribune detailing his release from the Patriots just before the 2013 season. The undrafted tackle had gone from unknown to a key player during his three seasons in New England, starting 25 games.
But when he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, he was no longer wanted.
MORE: Love tells SN all about Diabetes diagnosis, release from Patriots
“In so many words, they said that they didn’t want to be liable if I were to have any health complications during training camp,” he writes. “From the sound of it, they didn’t think I would be able to function at an NFL level. After three years giving everything I had to the team, I was reduced to being a legal complication.”
Love would have understood if the team just didn’t want him anymore, but, as he says, “blaming it on my diabetes really hurt me.”
“In the aftermath, I had people contacting me from all over telling me that I should sue the organization,” he continued. “But I never wanted to go that route. The Patriots gave me a chance. They were good to me. At least until I wasn’t good for them.”
Love says the team gave him two options: Retire and possibly come back later, or get cut so he could play somewhere else. He wanted to play, so the team released him.
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After bouncing around a few teams in the following years, Love found a home in Carolina. He’s played in 15 games this season, starting two, and matched his career high of three sacks. There’s a chance the Panthers and Patriots face each other in the Super Bowl this year, and Love relishes that possibility.
“Honestly, I’m not mad at the Patriots anymore,” he writes. “But I would love to play them in the Super Bowl.
“Not out of any kind of bitterness, but just to show that I’m not a liability. In fact, I’m better than ever.”
