SAN JOSE, Calif. — Partway through training camp in 2019, the Patriots traded for a tight end named Eric Saubert. Less than three weeks later, they cut him.
Saubert’s name likely is unfamiliar to most New England fans, unless they happened to watch one of the two passes he caught from Jarrett Stidham that preseason. But the 31-year-old still has strong memories of his cup of coffee in Foxboro, which taught him lessons he’s applied throughout his meandering NFL career.
“I remember I was traded mid-training camp,” Saubert, now with the Seahawks, said Wednesday at Seattle’s Super Bowl LX hotel. “I was like, ‘I’m going to the New England Patriots, legendary coach in Bill Belichick, Tom Brady.’ Jumping into that team and that team culture and the new offense, it was a little bit of a trial by fire, just trying to stay afloat. I remember working my ass off every night trying to grind that playbook.
“But overall, man, it was a cool experience. I’m thankful for that experience. I learned a lot in the brief time that I had with Coach Belichick and Tom Brady. I’m not sure they’d remember, but just about accountability to yourself and staying true to your process and not letting circumstances dictate how you perform on the field. I’ve carried those things with me for my career, and I think it’s made me a better player. So I’m thankful for that stop in New England.”
It was one of nearly a dozen NFL stops for the well-traveled Saubert. He’s spent time with 11 different franchises — more than a third of the league — since the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the fifth round out of Drake in 2017.
The Seahawks mostly use Saubert as a blocker and special teamer, but he did make one key play on his team’s road to Super Bowl LX: an overtime two-point conversion that clinched a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams. That win ultimately gave Seattle home-field advantage through the playoffs, and it beat the Rams again in the NFC Championship Game to set up a date with New England this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
“Those experiences and those stops, at the time, they feel so daunting,” said Saubert, the only former Patriot on the Seahawks’ roster. “I remember staying up with (then-Patriots tight ends coach) Nick Caley at the facility until, like, 2 a.m. He had to drive me to the hotel. And it’s like, ‘Man, this sucks.’ But you learn so much from those experiences, and it makes you a better player, and it’s led me here. I’m at the biggest stage in football, and I wouldn’t want my career to have gone any other way.”