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The last time the Patriots played the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Jack Westover was a 15-year-old kid from Bellevue, Wash., admittedly getting \u201cemotional\u201d when Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson for a Patriots victory.<\/p>\n
Now that Westover, a fullback, is playing for the Patriots, his emotions have changed while watching that play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was young. I was a little kid then. Now I\u2019m happy to be on this side,\u201d Westover said. \u201cKind of feels good, especially with how all the fans back home are acting right now. It feels good to be on this side, not going to lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westover\u2019s family will be rooting for him and the Patriots in full force at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Some friends couldn\u2019t bring themselves to cheer for the Patriots, however.<\/p>\n
Westover\u2019s message to them: \u201cKick rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh gosh, it\u2019s brutal. My family\u2019s fine, but oh my gosh, I can\u2019t stand some people right now,\u201d Westover said. \u201cI\u2019m getting the whole \u2018rooting for you but go Hawks.’\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patriots\u2019 fullback joked that he started every ticket request with \u201cinterrogation.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the loyal ones pass the test.<\/p>\n
Westover played for the University of Washington and actually began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks last season. He suffered an injury early in training camp and was released with an injury settlement.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust playing for the hometown for a bit was cool, but happy to be out here now,\u201d Westover said.<\/p>\n
He joined the Patriots\u2019 practice squad last season as a tight end and transitioned over to fullback this summer.<\/p>\n
Westover has primarily been used as a lead blocker in the run game, playing 233 total snaps. He has two receptions for 8 yards in 20 games.<\/p>\n
The Patriots have leaned into their run game more heavily as the season has gone along, so Westover figures to play a key role on Sunday against the team he grew up cheering on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Malcolm Butler interception made one Patriots player \u201cemotional\u201d 11 years ago. It feels different now that he\u2019s playing for the other side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[295,77,1046,531,1166,74,370,227,2052,225,1045,2051,226,2053,2055,2054,532],"class_list":["post-42809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-drake-maye","tag-eliot-wolf","tag-mike-vrabel","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl-draft","tag-nfl-news","tag-nfl-patriots","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-2025","tag-patriots-game","tag-patriots-news","tag-patriots-schedule","tag-patriots-stats","tag-pats","tag-robert-kraft"],"yoast_head":"\n