The New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints had all the motivation they needed to put in a hard day’s work of practice Wednesday.
That’s because the two teams had a special visitor during their joint practice at Gillette Stadium: Former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand.
V cool! @EricLeGrand52 at Patriots practice today, played w McCourty, Harmon, Logan- will speak to players later pic.twitter.com/SHVBbCMXsR
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) August 10, 2016
LeGrand suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down during his junior year at Rutgers. He has served as an inspirational speaker since then, and given the Patriots’ close connection with Rutgers — defensive backs Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon and Logan Ryan all played with LeGrand, and Bill Belichick’s son, Patriots safeties coach Steve Belichick, is an alum — he decided to stop by Gillette Stadium.
Both teams met with @EricLeGrand52 after practice @RFootball pic.twitter.com/WotKvfSg9T
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 10, 2016
.@SeanPayton with @EricLeGrand52 pic.twitter.com/dfjXA7fJv4
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 10, 2016
LeGrand addressed both teams in a big huddle after practice and apparently left a pretty strong impression.
“The message was to look at every obstacle as an opportunity, and to not let whatever problem you’re dealing with conquer you,” Patriots rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell said, via ESPN.com. “You conquer the problem or situation.”
Patriots defensive end Chris Long also mentioned the impact LeGrand has had on him and other NFL veterans.
“Eric has inspired me from a distance,” Long said. “I know I speak for a lot of guys when I say that. I remember watching that game (when he got hurt) or seeing the highlights of it immediately after, and when you hear something like that, you just pull for the guy. …
“You think you’d be so down on yourself, but he’s done a great job of inspiring others and bringing other people into the fold. … He’s inspired a lot of people, including us.”
