Patriots vs. Giants was personal for defensive tackle Cory Durden

Late in the first quarter of his team’s Monday night game against the New York Giants, New England Patriots defensive tackle Cory Durden was caught on a hot mic emphatically informing his opponent of the score at that point in the game. The emotion Durden showed with the Patriots up 17-0 carried on throughout the game.

For the 26-year-old, going up against the Giants was personal. They had, after all, decided to release him ahead of the NFL roster cutdown deadline earlier this year.

Three months later, he faced off against his ex-team.

“Cory Durden’s been playing a lot for us, and we brought him over here from the Giants,” said head coach Mike Vrabel after the game. “They let him go. And that game meant a lot to him. They told him he wasn’t good enough to play for the Giants, and we thought he was good enough to play for the Patriots.”

Originally an undrafted free agent out of N.C. State, Durden began his pro career with the Detroit Lions in 2023. He later spent some time with the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Giants’ active roster late during the 2024 season. Seeing action in four games for the club, he registered 10 tackles and was given an opportunity to compete for a roster spot during the summer of 2025 as well.

Durden was unable to make it onto the team, however, and was waived in late August. Two days later, the Patriots picked him up via their practice squad.

From there, he developed into a valuable piece of their defensive line rotation.

Durden was promoted to the active roster ahead of the season opener against Las Vegas, and has since appeared in all 13 games playing 245 defensive snaps (31.6%) and registering 17 tackles. Two of those came against the Giants en route to celebrating a decisive 33-15 victory.

“I’m happy for him,” said Vrabel. “Made some plays and continues to help us but also help himself. And I love that.”