Benjamin Watson on the Patriots’ Future, Belichick’s Hall of Fame Case, and the NFL’s Next Generation

The Super Bowl loss was only part of the story.

After breaking down how the Seahawks controlled the championship matchup, former Patriots tight end and Super Bowl champion Benjamin Watson joined Vegas Insider for a wider conversation about what comes next — for New England, for the league, and for some of the game’s most debated figures.

Watson weighs in on whether the Patriots have the foundation for another dynasty under Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye, why Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame delay isn’t as simple as it looks, and what Tom Brady may have actually meant when he said he had “no dog in the fight” during the Super Bowl.

He also reflects on one of the most iconic forgotten plays in Patriots history — his chase-down tackle of Champ Bailey — explains why Cleveland’s future hinges on quarterback stability, outlines what Baltimore must fix to finally get over the playoff hump, and discusses why more NFL players are openly talking about faith today than ever before.

From dynasty talk to redemption arcs, locker-room leadership to the controversial “tush push,” Watson brings a veteran’s perspective shaped by stops in New England, Cleveland, and Baltimore — and by winning and losing on the biggest stage.

This interview transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Key Takeaways from Watson’s Patriots & NFL Outlook

On whether the Patriots can build another dynasty: “It probably won’t because the probability of something like that ever happening again is very, very minuscule.”

On Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub: “The initial reaction was: there has to be something nefarious going on…”

On Belichick’s legacy: “Belichick is a name that’s gonna be synonymous with excellence and winning in football.”

On his Champ Bailey tackle: “You don’t give up ever in whatever you do — you do it wholeheartedly.”

On the ‘tush push’: “I love it. I love it… It’s not illegal.”

On players speaking openly about faith: “Everybody has their own pulpit now in the palm of their hand.”

Is There Another Patriots Dynasty in the Making?

Vegas Insider: Alright, so moving on to the Patriots — do you see the makings of another Bill Belichick/Tom Brady dynasty with these guys?

Benjamin Watson: Possibly. Possibly. In retrospect, I’m never one to say, “This will never happen again.” There are some people in sports that will say, “Oh, we’ll never see another X. We’ll never see another Drew Brees. We’ll never see another Jerry Rice. We’ll never see another Charles Haley.” The list goes on. “We will never see this time when teams do this or that.” I never say that because you never know.

So we could be sitting here 10 years from now looking at a Patriots team that won three Super Bowls and made five appearances — it’s definitely possible. Mike Vrabel is a smart enough football mind. He loves the game. He has respect. He clearly can coach at this level. He’s got a young, talented quarterback, which is vitally important to have a dynasty. You don’t have a dynasty if you don’t have young talent — especially at the quarterback position.

Mr. Kraft, the owner, has been there before. He understands what it means to give authority and leadership to a coach and allow that coach to run the program. He knows the balance between how involved he needs to be and doesn’t need to be. He knows about providing resources for his players.

So yeah, it could happen. It probably won’t because the probability of something like that ever happening again is very, very minuscule. But there are the makings — especially in how this franchise digests this loss.

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Where Does Watson’s Chase-Down Tackle of Champ Bailey Rank in His Career?

Vegas Insider: Right. Going to the Patriots — gotta talk about one of your career highlights. I remember that one when you ran down and tackled Champ Bailey. It’s being called one of the greatest forgotten plays in Patriots history. When you think about your career, where does that rank among the moments you’re most remembered for, or most proud of?

Benjamin Watson: It’s funny, Devon, because I wanted to be like Jerry Rice — wanted to be a wide receiver. I ended up becoming a tight end. I got a little bigger than a wide receiver. I was still pretty fast, but ended up playing tight end, stayed on offense because I wanted to be a wide receiver. Wanted to be known for catching touchdowns and scoring points.

And now I’m known for a tackle — on defense — and I don’t even play defense. And that’s the thing I’m known the most about. And to me it’s funny because it’s like God saying, “You know what? I got jokes. I’m gonna make you known for something that you don’t even think about, but I’m gonna make you known in a way that people can glean a lot from what you did.”

And so the awesome thing about that play — and I get asked about it a lot — it’s humbling, because I was, you know, as we say in New England, I was doing my job. The quarterback threw an interception, and it’s our job to tackle the guy. It’s a team sport. You don’t give up ever in whatever you do — you do it wholeheartedly.

Part of me was upset because we were losing the game and I wanted to make a play. Part of me was scared — I didn’t want to get called out on the film for not chasing him. And then it turned into: how can I help my team at that moment? How can I contribute? Because, again, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.

So it’s fun for me sometimes to hear from fathers who tell me that they showed this play to their son, to talk to them about perseverance. It’s exciting when I run into people who were kids — literally — I ran into a guy the other day and he was like, “Man, I was a kid when I watched this play, and I’ve never forgotten it.”

And so that’s the beauty of sports. That’s the beauty of football in this instance — where you can glean so many messages and lessons from watching it and from playing it.<blockquote>

Was Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame Snub About Politics — or Process?

Vegas Insider: Yeah. Going to the Patriots and the team you were part of — Bill Belichick, an incredible Hall of Fame snub somehow. What did you make of that? Was it more to do with how you get into the Hall of Fame? Because I feel like he should be in the Hall of Fame, no matter what. No question about that.

Benjamin Watson: Yeah. One thing I’ve learned is that there are layers upon layers and a lot of things you don’t know. And the initial reaction was: there has to be something nefarious going on — like, this, this way… like if you were to ask anybody, people that don’t know anything about football, and they ask — I mean, I will quip sometimes that the trophy should be renamed the Belichick trophy, with all due respect to Lombardi.

At this point, this guy — for the next generation of football, for the next 50 years — Belichick is a name that’s gonna be synonymous with excellence and winning in football.

And so upon learning more about how the process has gone with voting, upon learning more about the changes in the process over the last couple years because of complaints — there’s always changes when people make noise — so there will be changes after this, and then in a few years there’ll be more changes because somebody else will feel like they should have gotten in and they’ll make noise.

Where I’m at now is: Belichick undoubtedly deserves — whatever that means — to be in the Hall of Fame and to be in the first ballot.

I’m also at a place where, from what I’ve heard from people who are voters and understand the process, there are a lot of other factors — namely not only the backlog, but the amount of people that they were having to vote for, for one or two slots. And so it’s difficult to hear. It’s difficult to make sense of.

The Hall of Fame is very selective, and as odd as it sounds — and it’s not a cop-out — there are many deserving people to be in. And just ’cause you didn’t get in — it’s horrible for you and horrible for your fan base and horrible for the people who think you should be in — but you’re no less deserving just because you don’t have the jacket.

Which is kind of like sports, even now — celebrating the Seattle Seahawks and their victory; they clearly earned the right to be there — but there were a lot of other teams that were an injury away. Something unfortunate happened like a quarterback broke a leg while taking a knee in Denver and they’re in there. There are a lot of players who are Hall of Fame players, but the guy that lived down the street was just as talented — something happened with his family and he had to quit playing football.

So it’s kind of a lesson in the fact that, man, you could be super deserving and things don’t pan out for you.

But I’ll tell you this: when he does get in — which I’m assuming after all this, if they don’t announce him like halfway through the year this year — when he does get in next year, it is going to be a huge to-do in Canton, even bigger than it would’ve been if he would’ve made it this first time.

What Did Tom Brady Mean by “No Dog in the Fight”?

Vegas Insider: Yeah. Just also going back to another thing — Tom Brady, one of his comments before the Super Bowl was he has no dog in the fight for the Super Bowl. Which, as you know, as a fan, I was like, “Really?” What did you think about that? And do you think it’s coming from now his role as an analyst — and also as an owner in a way with the Raiders?

Benjamin Watson: I didn’t hear him say it. I heard the response — kind of like, would you just get — and heard people losing their mind. And I don’t know if he ever addressed it. Did he ever go back and address it again?

Vegas Insider: I don’t think so publicly.

Benjamin Watson: Okay. You know, I don’t know. I understand what he’s saying. My assumption — and I hate to assume; my mom, my grandma used to say when you assume you become the first three letters — so take that with a grain of salt.

But he owns — he has, he owns — the Raiders. He doesn’t play for the Patriots, and he works as an NFL analyst. So that’s how I took it on the surface. Not that he doesn’t have affinity for the Patriots and New England and people there. He has an entire statue that is 12 feet tall — number 12 — right out front. He won six rings there. He has affinity for New England; he has affinity for the Patriots.

Mr. Kraft — he spoke loudly and frequently about his relationship with Mr. Kraft and Bill Belichick. And even though they had tension at times, he talks about the friendship and the respect that he has for all those guys.</blockquote>

So I’m gonna take that inordinate amount of praise and put it up against that one statement and say: he clearly didn’t mean that he doesn’t care about the Patriots. What he means is he’s analyzing this game in an unbiased way.

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Can Todd Monken Unlock Cleveland’s Young Quarterbacks?

Vegas Insider: But I would say — let’s move to the Cleveland Browns. Recently you had said that Emmanuel Kos and Todd Monken were dumb, in regards to his comment and Shado Sanders listening to the new head coach. What kind of effect do you see Monken having in Cleveland’s young quarterbacks?

Benjamin Watson: Yeah, you know, I think number one: it’s important that you understand, no matter who the head coach is, it is your responsibility as a player to learn from them, to listen to them — even if you don’t agree with everything that they say.

And by virtue — I mean, I’ve had some head coaches that were head-scratchers. I’ve had some that were literally… The reason they were there was primarily because they knew somebody. But they’re still in that position for a reason. And you can still order yourself under them while still gleaning the things that you can from them in order to perform — probably for the next coach. They’re probably not gonna be there that long anyway.

So Monken — I first was aware of him at University of Georgia. He was offensive coordinator there during the years when Georgia won back-to-back national championships. The offense was one of the best in the nation, most explosive in the nation, which is what propelled him back to the NFL. I think he was there before, but back to the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, where they had some great offenses there with Lamar Jackson — the run game, the tight ends, the play action.

I think clearly they think he’s a fit for Shado Sanders’ skillset. And what I’ve seen from Shadur — there’s no reason in my mind he should have been drafted the way he was, the place he was, after watching him. His draft grade was much higher than the way he was picked.

But I think what you see from him is intangible qualities of leadership. I don’t hear guys say they don’t think he’s a good leader. I hear people say on the outside that he’s arrogant or flashy, but I don’t see him being that. I see him as being confident — but also as a guy that can grow and lead.

Sometimes you need a fresh start. Sometimes you need somebody new. My hope for Cleveland — I played at Cleveland for three years; three of my kids are from Cleveland — so I’m always cheering for Cleveland. My hope is that Coach Monken is able to take that offense to the next level, ’cause the defense has been solid.

Have the Browns Already Built Their Identity Around Myles Garrett?

Vegas Insider: Yeah. Speaking of defense — with Myles Garrett winning Defensive Player of the Year, how important is it for the team to build a clear identity around someone like Garrett?

Benjamin Watson: I mean, they already have. He’s been — how many years has Garrett been in the league? Has it been 10 years yet?

Vegas Insider: Yeah.

Benjamin Watson: Yeah, he’s been around a decade and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down. And so defensively — I don’t have the data in front of me — but the last five years or so, they’ve had some solid defenses. Enough to get ’em to the playoffs.

It’s been offensively where they’ve had some struggles — inconsistency, especially at quarterback. They’ve gone through several quarterbacks. Even going back to when I was there from 2010 to 2013, we had a number of different quarterbacks come through, and that’s kind of been the Achilles heel for Cleveland: stability at that position.

So defensively they’ve done well. And honestly, Myles Garrett’s commitment — he’s clearly contractually compensated for what he brings to the table — but the fact that he stayed there, he wants to win in Cleveland.

What Do the Ravens Need to Change to Get Back to the Super Bowl?

Vegas Insider: Moving to the Ravens — with the new head coach coming in now, several staff changes, new quarterback coach — what’s the most important thing for them to set the tone right from the start? And what do they need to be back in Super Bowl contention?

Benjamin Watson: Man. So the Ravens — we cheer for the Ravens too. I feel like they’ve been close, but consistency has been their problem in the big games. It seems that they falter — whether it’s a fumble or two in the red zone going in, whether it’s an interception, whether it’s giving up a big play defensively — they seem to act out of character.

Coach Belichick used to always talk about performing under pressure. Big thing for the Ravens: the roster is stout. I love Lamar Jackson. The window, I think, is still open for Lamar Jackson. People talk about a window closing — I don’t think the window’s closing at all.

But the biggest thing for Baltimore is being consistent down the stretch. Even this year — they were a team that they were largely “moed” out of the playoffs, and then they come back and have an opportunity to get back in the playoffs and the dream dies on a field goal that was missed.

So the consistency throughout the season is not there. And then when they get in the playoffs, it’s being able to perform at the highest level under pressure. For a new head coach to establish that, it comes to organizational culture.

It’s the same thing you would preach whenever you’re going into any sort of business. Who are the leaders in the business? In this case it is an NFL locker room. Who are my veterans? Who are the guys that I’m bringing in? What are the messages that we are preaching to them? How are we reinforcing those?

And then how do we practically take that from the meeting room to the practice field to create a pressure situation so that when we get in the game, nothing rattles us?

One thing in New England: we were put through the most pressure-type situations by Bill Belichick as possible in practice, so that when we got in the game it was second nature. And that’s not to say that every team doesn’t practice hard — I’m not saying that at all — but there has to be some change. Especially when it’s a new head coach, it’ll be interesting to see how he establishes that.

What Does Sam Darnold’s Redemption Arc Say About Handling Pressure?

Vegas Insider: Yeah. I would say three more questions then we’re good for the day. Something about Sam Donald again — his journey to the Super Bowl and winning it is being talked about as a redemption arc. From a veteran’s perspective, what does it show about handling pressure?

Benjamin Watson: You know, people get to it in different ways. Going back to what we first talked about with Sam Darnold: it was a journey. This guy was highly touted coming out of college. He was the number three pick, I believe, to the New York Jets — immediately put into a pressure cooker. There is no other media market that is more intense than New York — that’s number one.

So for a guy that’s picked number three, going to a franchise that has been losing — that’s a lot of pressure to turn things around. He didn’t play well. He made statements about seeing ghosts that followed him. You gotta think: he’s got social media after him. He is disappointed. He feels like he’s disappointed his family, disappointed himself.

But one thing he said — I saw in his interview — he was like, “My parents always believed in me.”

Part of handling pressure is finding the people that believe in you — remembering the people that believe in you, whether it’s your family members, your spouse, your wife. For me, my wife, she believes in me. So it’s listening to those voices instead of listening to the voices that are detractors — and really, the voices that don’t even really matter.

So performing under pressure: you see him leave there, he goes other places, he kind of has a resilience in Minnesota, ends up going to Seattle, and now in the Super Bowl.

Everybody’s talking about his journey at this point, praising him. But it’s also understanding that when you get to the top of that mountain, you don’t hold grudges against some of those people that show up now. But you also understand that the same people that are praising you now were probably some of the same people that were condemning you five, six, seven years ago.

So with that, you hold the people that support you even closer. And you don’t allow yourself to get too high or too low based on what people have been saying. That’s the thing that Sam Darnold’s probably learned — and I don’t know him at all — but if you were to ask him, I think part of the things that he learned is that I have to be very steady in understanding my own self and my skills, and being confident in myself, because I can’t get that from people that are only gonna critique or praise my performance and don’t know me.

Should the Tush Push Be Banned?

Vegas Insider: What are your thoughts on the tush push? Do you think it’ll be banned, or do you think it should be banned?

Benjamin Watson: Yeah, I hope it doesn’t get banned. I hope it doesn’t get banned. I get in some arguments with some defensive players — like, “It’s not fair. There’s false starts.” And even some people who like football, football fans — they’re like, “Well, it’s more like rugby,” and everything.

I love it. I love it. And I love the fact that you know it’s coming and you can’t stop it. Every time I see it, I’m like, “This is amazing.” Why didn’t people think about this before? Why weren’t we doing this in New England? Belichick thinks about everything — he thinks about all the loopholes — why did we think about this?

To me it’s like: it’s not illegal. It’s not getting penalized. And I love it. I mean, I hope it doesn’t get banned. I think maybe it will, depending on what voices say what, but I hope they keep it in the game. It’s beautiful to see.

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Why Are NFL Players More Open About Their Faith Now?

Vegas Insider: You’ve actually been pretty outspoken about your faith, and you’ve also said now players are freer to share their beliefs. And Mike McDonald also said that he believes God called him to be a coach. What do you think has changed in the game now that players are more comfortable to express?

Benjamin Watson: I think that we live in an age that is more digitally and media-friendly than it was in the past. We have more digital outlets. I’m doing an interview with you guys overseas — these are things that never really happened 10, 12, even 15 years ago.

So with the proliferation of social media, proliferation of international media sources, everybody has their own pulpit now in the palm of their hand — it’s called their cell phone. I can say whatever I want to say. And journalism has become even more reactionary than investigative.

Journalists can look at players’ media profiles and get statements from them, or hear where they’re going or things that are important to them, and then have questions to ask them about — instead of only having to rely on the times when you’re in the locker room for that short amount of time to ask specific players specific things. There’s more avenues than just the local newspaper now.

So I think that’s part of it. We’re able to hear more about what players think in general and what people think in general.

And with that, there have always been believers in every sector of society. Since Christ came, there have always been believers who were in government, entertainment, obviously in religion, in sports — whatever. When I was playing, there were plenty of believers. There were guys I looked up to like Ania Williams and Reggie White and Kurt Warner’s testimony — I used to read these things about these players — Darryl Green.

But what we’re seeing now is that more players that are already comfortable expressing their innermost thoughts are also comfortable talking about their faith.

And also, we’ve done some research with Sports Spectrum — a media platform that I work with, that I helped lead — and we found that about 70… over 70% of fans are okay with athletes talking about some of these things. They want to hear what athletes believe in, and they wanna engage with those sorts of things.

So it’s kind of a false narrative that fans don’t want to hear that and “just stick to sports.” No — a lot of fans wanna know about your philanthropy, your causes, and your faith.

So I think there’s this synergy of players seeing each other talk about it. They believe some of the same things. And they understand, man, if I have an opportunity to share why I do what I do and what’s most important to me — on a big stage, or a small stage in the locker room, whatever — I’m gonna share it. And it’s okay because people want to know what makes you tick.

For a lot of these players, it’s the fact that they’re playing for God who loved them and sent his son Jesus to die for them. And so that gives them joy to be able to share that. And also they’re being reinforced by others who are believers as well, and are excited to hear about it and watch their brothers in Christ go out there and perform on the football field.