Former Patriots Safety Logan Ryan Says Bill Belichick Caused Possible Locker Room Rift Over Personal Politics

Former NFL safety Logan Ryan said that a possible double standard within the New England Patriots locker room contributed to a split between players and former head coach Bill Belichick.

Joining Colin Cowherd on "The Herd" this week, Ryan — who had a great career from 2013 to 2023 — shared that a possible rift inside the locker room over Belichick's association with former president Donald Trump had players questioning if Bill stepped over his own rule of ‘no politics’ in the locker room.

Cowherd and Ryan discussed the possible backlash created by Bill's off-the-field ties, referring to some of the criticisms made against the coach in the AppleTV series, "The Dynasty: New England Patriots."

Ryan wasn't as critical of Belichick himself as he diagnosed the swell of backlash leading to Belichick ‘mutually splitting’ with his longtime team this past year.

"During that time we dealt with the Aaron Hernandez situation and Deflategate, and I think that a lot of times it was ‘us against the world,'" said Ryan of his New England tenure. "He kept everything internal. So I did see the funny (side) of Bill at times. I saw the lowlights, chewing guys out on film, but I also saw the lighthearted stuff. I had a great time there, won a lot of games."

FOXBORO, Mass. - Logan Ryan of the New England Patriots reacts afer a deffensive play in the first half against the Houston Texans during the AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium on January 14, 2017.  (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

According to Ryan, players were not allowed to discuss personal political beliefs concurrent to the rise of social media and individual players' profiles. Belichick wanted to keep the locker room devoid of distractions. However, Belichick's friendly ties