Shaq Mason lets his play do the talking as he continues to build impressive streak

FOXBOROUGH — Shaq Mason isn’t much for talking.

He isn't rude or standoffish. Quite the opposite. The right guard, in his third season out of Georgia Tech, simply prefers to steer clear of the spotlight. Some of his teammates conduct interviews. He endures them. So to get him to talk about some of his achievements are tough.

But it’s growing increasingly tougher to look past his performance this season for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he’s second in the NFL in total snaps played going into this weekend’s action. According to Pro Football Reference, he’s played a whopping 723 snaps this year. Only Cincinnati linebacker Nick Vigil (725 snaps) has seen more action.



In truth, Bill Belichick’s oft-repeated maxim of durability being more important than ability certainly holds true for Mason, who has missed just three snaps (all of them in last year’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins in Miami) since Week 3 of the 2016 season.

To be able to hold up that well as an interior lineman over a 10-game stretch is a remarkable feat.

“I didn’t know that,” the 6-foot-1, 300-pounder told BostonSportsJournal.com when informed he was near the top of the league in snaps through the first 10 games. “I just try and come to work every day and try and do a good job. If that leads me to playing every snap, I’m cool with it.”

By his own admission, there are things he struggles with, including blocking on screen passes. But for the most part, the 24-year-old has been a rock along the interior for the Patriots for the last year-plus, and earned notice on a national level on a number of occasions, including from Pro Football Focus, which put him on a list of the 10 most valuable players on smaller contracts earlier this month.

When he’s stacked against his fellow Patriots’ linemen, his totals are also impressive. Consider these charts via our Greg Bedard, who measured Mason’s game-by-game performance this year, as well as his totals against his teammates.



One other stat worth noting? He’s racked up 723 snaps on the season, and committed just one penalty.

“He comes in every day and just works really, really hard. He’s so dependable,” said left guard Joe Thuney. “He’s always out there at practice. It’s been great watching him and learning from him.”

Thuney says that when it comes to taking care of his body, Mason has few peers.

“It’s very important,” Mason said. “That goes for rehab and all the things that go along with getting your body and mind right. Just trying to push through it all. It’s a grind at this time of year, but it’s a game that I love.”

Of course, durability is nothing new for Mason, who played 11 games as a true freshman with Georgia Tech in 2011, and started 39 of a possible 41 games for the Yellow Jackets from 2012 to 2014. That included every game his junior and senior season.

“I did the same thing in college,” he said with a shrug when asked about his ability to consistently answer the bell. “It goes back to trying to be dependable. Having my guys depend on me.”

With Cleveland offensive tackle Joe Thomas’ consecutive snap streak finishing at 10.363 earlier this season, does Mason have any plans at trying to take a shot at the mark? If you include last year’s postseason, he currently stands at 965. (If he didn’t miss those three in the regular-season finale last year, his streak would be at 2,073.) But he laughs at any mention of Thomas’ streak.

“I’ll take it one play at a time, one game at a time,” Mason said with a smile.