Kyle Van Noy in rare company with snap streak: 'I just want to be on the field no matter what'

FOXBOROUGH — Kyle Van Noy ... ironman?

The linebacker has been the only defensive player on the Patriots’ roster to play every possible snap through the first three games of the 2017 season. Informed that he’s in the rarest of company, the 6-foot-3, 243-pound linebacker initially looked surprised, but he rolled with it.

“I do what I’m told. They tell me to be out there, I’m out there,” he told Bosonsportsjournal.com with a shrug. “If it’s for one play or a thousand straight plays, I’m going to do it.

Van Noy, who was acquired midway through last season, has grown into a larger role this year for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Dont’a Hightower has been on and off the field through the first three games because of a knee injury. But he’s had the green dot on his helmet this season and has done well with the increased level of responsibility, according to defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

“He kind of established himself as a guy that can handle a lot of information, put himself in some different spots, a guy that can handle the communication part of it from the linebacker aspect of it,” Patricia said of the former BYU product who was acquired from Detroit last year. “(He can) run the defense, understand the checks, the adjustments and the different things that we require the linebackers to know not only in coverage but also with the front. I think he has embraced all that.”

Van Noy has had a rapid ascent over the last couple of months. He scored a contract extension earlier this month, and with Hightower going down, he’s seen a dramatic uptick in playing time from where he was at this point last year in Detroit. Now, he’s one of five — a group that includes Tom Brady, Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney and David Andrews — who has gone wire-to-wire over the first three games of the season.

“I just want to be out on the field no matter what,” he said. “I love playing football and love playing with this team, and I’m just trying to win. Doesn’t matter if it's one play or a hundred.”

Van Noy said this is “probably” the first time in his career he’s played this many consecutive snaps. Asked if he’s looking to start a Joe Thomas-style streak of durability, he just laughed and shook his head.

“That’s pretty crazy to play as many snaps as he has,” he acknowledged. “At the end of the day, my goal is to just want to help the team out and pay some ball.”