Former Patriot Vellano all Falcon now
Joe Vellano doesn’t qualify as an interloper. Never mind that he won a Super Bowl ring a couple seasons ago with the New England Patriots, or that his current employer — the Falcons — will play his former team Feb. 5 in the big one.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle spent the entire 2016 regular season on Atlanta’s practice squad, but he’s every bit a full Falcon now as outside linebacker Vic Beasley Jr., the NFL’s sack leader.
Cut by the Patriots at the bitter end of last training camp/preseason, he joined the practice squad soon thereafter and has been grinding since.
Activated by the Falcons after their 36-20 win over the Seahawks in the divisional round a couple of weeks ago, where starting end Adrian Clayborn was lost to a season-ending torn biceps injury, he played 18 snaps Sunday in the NFC Championship game, and registered a tackle.
He feels no special loyalty to New England. Vellano’s just plowing.
“Not really,” he said. “I’m kind of focused on what we’re doing and our side of the ball, just preparing like every other week. Not doing anything any more, not making the game bigger than it is. Just trying to do my part, get ready and let the buildup take care of itself.
Like so many Falcons, Vellano’s doing and saying the right things.
Undrafted out of Maryland, where he was first team All-ACC in 2011, he joined the Patriots and played in all 16 games for the Patriots in 2013 as a rookie, starting eight. His role was more limited in ’14. He was on the active roster, but not active for New England’s Super Bowl win over the Seahawks.
He split time on practice squads in New England and Indianapolis in ’15 before going to training camp again with the Patriots in ’16. He left behind enough tape that Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn had an idea after the Pats cut him again several months ago. The team signed him.
The former Terrapin made 60 tackles and had three sacks in 21 games for New England, mostly in ’13.
“I remember having a conversation with him, I think about six weeks ago,” Quinn said. “I said, ‘I don’t know if your time is going to come this year, but I know you’re ready. Keep putting the work in because when the time does come, you want to stay ready.’
“So when the injury happened to Clayborn, there was a roster spot available and there was no question where we were going to go; Joe was ready.”
Vellano remains friendly with former New England teammates, including injured tight end Rob Gronkowski, who won’t play in the Super Bowl. They stay in touch.
“Yeah, but it’s kind of been back-and-forth all year,” he said. “I’ll get a chance to see the guys and stuff, and it will be exciting, but you’ve got to kind of reel it in and know where [going to be] down there to win it. After the game, it is what it is.
“We’ve been friends for the last few years. I’m kind of happy for those guys, but more focused on our approach and what we’re doing to prepare on our side.”
Beating the team that let him go a few times might seem super special, yet Vellano’s not giving voice to any thoughts of that sort.
Quinn, though, said that if the Falcons pull it out against the Patriots to earn Vellano a second ring, “We’d be more pumped for him than you can imagine.”
