Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona returning to Navy duties in offseason
By Sam Galanis
The New England Patriots officially began their offseason Sunday, but Joe Cardona is going right back to work.
The Patriots cleaned out their lockers Monday after their 20-18 AFC Championship Game loss to the Denver Broncos, and for the long snapper, it also represented his transition back to full-time Navy duties. After being draftedin the fifth round of this past NFL draft, Cardona split his season between the NFL and the Navy.
“This year was great, being on the field,” Cardona said Monday, per The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey. “I obviously have a higher priority than being here. It’s different. It’s important to me that I’m doing my job on both ends the best I can.”
The Navy allowed Cardona to work one day per week at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I., while he played for the Patriots, and it seems as though that will happen again in 2016. For now, he’ll go to Norfolk, Va., for more training before reporting to his station in Bath, Maine, on the USS Zumwalt.
“I have a lot of support at high levels,” Cardona said, per Healey. “So just like this year, working a schedule that everything comes together, I’ll be able to make my requirements for each.
“There’s a lot of specifics to work out. Things can always change.”
But Cardona isn’t too worried, as he made it work the first time around.
“It’s just navigating the waters on both ends,” Cardona said. “No pun intended.”
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