‘I went from a losing team to a Super Bowl team:’ Jets castoff turns into Patriots hero

DENVER – Leonard Taylor stood inside the visitors’ locker room at Mile High Stadium, and he was all smiles. He still couldn’t quite believe it.

The young defensive tackle started this season with the New York Jets, but struggled to get on the field. After being a healthy scratch four times in the first six weeks, Taylor was released.

He wasn’t good enough for a team that was 0-6, but he’s good enough to play for a team heading to the Super Bowl.

Taylor was one of the Patriots’ heroes on Sunday, blocking a potential game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game. He’ll head to Super Bowl LX with the Patriots after a roller-coaster second NFL season and a win over the Denver Broncos.

“I went from a losing team to a Super Bowl team, so it’s pretty great,” Taylor said. “It’s pretty amazing, just knowing that all the hard work I put in has finally been noticed and seen.”

Taylor made the Jets’ active roster last season as an undrafted free agent. After getting released, he signed with the Patriots’ practice squad on Oct. 15. Mike Vrabel and his coaches quickly discovered they had a player who could help them.

Sunday marked the sixth time the Patriots elevated Taylor from the practice squad. He’s played in every playoff game for Mike Vrabel’s team.

The Patriots elevated Taylor from the practice squad three times in the regular season – against Buffalo, the Jets, and the Dolphins, where he registered a quarterback hit. Taylor was then called up for the Patriots’ wild-card game against Los Angeles and the divisional round win against Houston.

In Houston, Taylor made his Patriots debut on special teams, playing on the field goal blocking unit. He said that it started after he had a dominant rep during practice, where he knocked over an offensive lineman while trying to block a kick.

“(Coach) kind of squeezed me in there,” Taylor said. “I think one field goal block last week, I ran over an o-lineman, and he kept me in there. It was pretty cool.”

On Sunday, it paid off big for Vrabel.

While playing in a snowstorm, both teams saw their offensive efficiency grind to a halt. The Patriots took a 10-7 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter. With the ball at the 28-yard line, the Broncos had a legitimate chance to tie the game with 4:46 remaining.

That’s when Taylor pushed forward, jumped up, and tipped Will Lutz’s kick with his right hand. He said that was the first time he blocked a kick in his football life.

After being released by the Jets, Taylor said he came to New England motivated and practiced hard for Vrabel, hoping he’d be rewarded.

He was, and the Patriots are going to Super Bowl LX because of it.

“It’s pretty wild leaving an organization that was fighting every week to get to a win to now coming to a team that’s consistently winning,” Taylor said. “It’s pretty fun.”