Ja'Whaun Bentley Ready to Have Name Called More Often

Despite an injury that setback his rookie season, Ja'Whaun Bentley is ready to step up and be an important part of the Patriots defense.

With notable losses to the New England Patriots defensive core, namely Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins, it is time for the young, talented faces of the team to step up in place of those players. s

Ja'Whaun Bentley is ready to step up and be the answer to the Patriots' defensive needs. In a video conference Wednesday, Bentley said that he is still is looking for his role this year, but he is open to whatever it may be.

"I would say this year, just like every year, just looking to find your role. Each guy has a role to play. Whatever that role might be that year, I'm going to look to progress as well as find as many opportunities as the team needs to be filled."

Bentley's optimistic attitude is a direct result of the vacancies that need to be filled at the linebacker position, and the fact that his rookie season that started off promising was cut short after three games due to an injured bicep. 

Although Bentley returned to play the entire 2019 season, Van Noy and Collins were the go-to linebackers before they signed with the Dolphins and the Lions in free agency respectively this offseason. Set to play with Dont'a Hightower next season, Bentley is prepared to take a leadership position. 

"It's clear that those guys are huge players," Bentley said of Van Noy and Collins. "They made big time plays time and time again. Being able to have those vets and being able to bounce things off of them, as well as pick their brains as they've been so great all these years. Just picking their brain means a lot and it's good to have those kind of people in your locker room."

Now with two years under his belt, the former fifth-round pick has learned a lot as he enters his third year in the league.  

"Knowledge of be the game, being able to be on the field and direct traffic a little bit more coming from college to the pros," said Bentley on how he has improved. "Year one to year two took some good steps, but year three we also want to take those progressive steps to take your game to the next level."

Despite the losses of some of the biggest contributors on defense the past couple of seasons, the future looks bright for the Patriots linebackers. Bentley and Hightower will now highlight that group, with players like Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings coming in this year and potentially filling big roles as well. 

Although Bentley's role was limited last year, that was largely in part due to the elite talent of Van Noy and Collins. But that shouldn't be considered a knock on him; Bentley is prepared to become a major contributor in 2020.