Patrick Christopher Chung (born August 19, 1987) is a Jamaican-American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Patriots, where he spent 11 non-consecutive seasons. Chung was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for one season in 2013 in between his Patriots tenure. A three-time Super Bowl winner with New England, Chung was named to the franchise's All-2010s Team and All-Dynasty Team in 2020.
Chung was born on August 19, 1987, in Kingston, Jamaica. His mother is Sophia George, who was a one-hit wonder in the UK with her 1985 hit "Girlie Girlie" that reached number one in Jamaica, topping the RJR chart for 11 weeks, and was also a Top-10 hit in the UK. At the time of recording, George worked as a teacher of hearing-impaired learners. She married her manager, Ronald Chung (Patrick's father), and they relocated to Miami in the mid-1990s and later settled in Los Angeles.
Chung lived in Jamaica until age 10 before moving to California, where he attended Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Chung played football as a safety and wide receiver and was a two-time All-League pick. He graduated high school in June 2004, two months before his 17th birthday.
Chung enrolled at the University of Oregon in 2004 once he turned 17 years old. After redshirting in 2004, Chung took over at the "rover" position at age 18 in 2005, ranking second on the team with 91 tackles (five solo) while also recording a forced fumble and five pass deflections. He earned All-Pacific-10 Conference honorable mention honors, and a spot on the Sporting News Freshman All-American Team.
As a sophomore in 2006, Chung once again earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention, finishing third on the team with 84 tackles, two sacks, and four interceptions.
As a junior, Chung was named Second Team All-American and first-team All-Pac-10 Conference. He earned the Gordon E. Wilson Award, given to the team's top special teams player. Chung averaged 22.3 yards on nine kickoff returns while leading the Ducks with a career-high 117 tackles (71 solos), adding 7.5 stops for loss. He broke up nine passes and was credited with a pair of interceptions.
Chung garnered Third Team All-American accolades in addition to making the All-Pac 10 first-team for the second consecutive year in 2008. Along with offensive lineman Max Unger, the pair set the school record with 51 consecutive starting assignments. Chung finished his senior season with 92 tackles (58 solos) in 13 games, coming up with two sacks among his 6.5 stops for loss to go along with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, seven pass deflections, and a pick-six.
Chung holds the distinction of starting more games than any other defensive player in Oregon history, having started 51 straight games during his collegiate career.
On January 16, 2009, it was announced that Chung had decided to forgo his last year of eligibility and enter the 2009 NFL draft. Three days later, Chung announced that he decided to instead return to Oregon for his senior year. On January 24, Chung participated in the 2009 Senior Bowl as part of Cincinnati Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis' North team that lost 18–35 to the South. He went on to attend the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the majority of drills before sustaining a knee injury. Chung was unable to perform the short shuttle and three-cone drill due to the injury. On March 12, he attended Oregon's pro day and ran the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and positional drills. At the end of the pre-draft process, Chung was projected to be a second-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top strong safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the second-best safety by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.
New England Patriots (first stint)
The New England Patriots selected Chung in the second round (34th overall) of the 2009 NFL draft. He was the second safety drafted in 2009, one pick behind Western Michigan safety Louis Delmas. The second round pick used to select Chung was previously traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Patriots in exchange for Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel. On July 27, 2009, the Patriots signed Chung to a four-year, $5 million contract with a signing bonus of $2 million.
Defensive coordinator Dean Pees held a competition to name to new starting safeties between Chung, Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, and Brandon McGowan. Head coach Bill Belichick named Chung the backup strong safety to begin the regular season, behind Brandon Meriweather.
Chung made his NFL debut in the season-opener against the Buffalo Bills and recorded one tackle during the narrow 25–24 victory. He made his first NFL tackle with teammate Darius Butler on cornerback Leodis McKelvin during a 21-yard kick return in the fourth quarter. During Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, Chung had a season-high eight combined tackles, a pass deflection, and his first NFL interception off a pass by quarterback Vince Young in the 59–0 shoutout victory. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium, Chung recorded four solo tackles and made his first NFL sack on quarterback Josh Johnson during the 35–7 victory. Three weeks later against the Indianapolis Colts, Chung earned his first NFL start and recorded five combined tackles in the narrow 35–34 road loss.
Chung finished his rookie year with 37 combined tackles (25 solo), two sacks, a pass deflection, and an interception in 16 games and one start. The Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 10–6 record. On January 10, 2010, Chung appeared in his first NFL playoff game as the Patriots were defeated 33–14 by the Baltimore Ravens during the Wild Card Round.
On January 15, 2010, it was reported that defensive coordinator Dean Pees would not be renewing his contract or returning to the Patriots, so head coach Bill Belichick took over defensive coordinator duties for the season. Chung competed for the job as the starting strong safety against Brandon McGowan and James Sanders. He was officially named the starting strong safety to start the regular season, along with free safety Brandon Meriweather.
Chung started in the season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals and collected a career-high 16 combined tackles (12 solo) during the 38–24 victory. Three weeks later against the Miami Dolphinson Monday Night Football, Chung made five combined tackles and returned an interception by Chad Henne for a 51-yard touchdown to mark the first score of his career while also blocking a punt and a field goal in the 41–14 road victory.
During a Week 6 23–20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Chung recorded 13 combined tackles (five solo). In the next game, he had a tackle before exiting a 23–20 victory over the San Diego Chargers after injuring his knee. Chung was sidelined for the next two games (Weeks 8–9) due to the knee injury.
Chung finished his second professional season with 96 combined tackles (72 solo), nine pass deflections, three interceptions, and a touchdown in 14 games and 13 starts. The Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 14–2 record, clinching a first-round bye and home-field advantage. On January 16, 2011, Chung made his first NFL start in a playoff game and recorded four solo tackles during a 28–21 loss to the New York Jets in the Divisional Round. With 1:14 left in the second quarter, Chung made the decision to call an audible on a punt and opted to receive a direct snap from the long snapper on a trick play instead and attempt to gain four yards for the first down. He botched the direct snap and recovered the fumble for no gain at New England's 37-yard line. The mistake proved costly as the Jets capitalized on their field position and scored a touchdown in four plays and 41 seconds to enter half time leading the Patriots 14–3. Chung accepted responsibility for the mistake and stated it was his decision to call for the direct snap. He explained that he called the audible after discovering the Patriots had an eight on six advantage with their blocking scheme.