FOXBOROUGH – Craig Woodson’s eyes hid behind his sunglasses, but the smile on his face said it. The second-year pro is sporting a new number – 4 for those of you keeping score at home – but for good reason. His new partner in crime, veteran Kevin Byard, has worn #31 his entire career and has it again. Did Woodson get anything to make the switch?
“Did I?” Woodson cracked. “I might have. I’m not going to disclose that.”
The 25-year-old is no dummy (Cal guy and all). Considering it can cost upwards of a million dollars to change numbers – the player is responsible for buying out the inventory – at the very least, Woodson should have gotten Byard to pick up the tab. After all, he has earned more than $76 million over the course of his decade-long career.
It’s that last part that’s truly appealing to Woodson (although getting a few extra dollars in the wallet probably didn’t hurt). Byard is a been-there, done-that player, and he is opening his “book” so to speak, to help his new running mate grow and continue to blossom after a damn good rookie campaign.
“I think he’s a very talented player, just watching the film, seeing some things that he did last year. Trying to build upon that,” Byard told us recently. “A very smart – he’s a mature guy too. I know he’s only in his second year. He seems very mature in how he goes about his business, so I’m excited to be able to play with him for sure.”
“Knows a lot of ball, just watching him, even during the little practices that we’ve had, just watching how he does things,” Woodson admired. “It’s cool to have somebody like that with a lot of experience, and you get to ask him a lot of questions in the locker room and on the field. I’m excited to play with him this season. You know, I think we’re going to make a lot of plays.”
If there’s one thing that Byard has always done at a high level, it’s
