After one of the most stunning plays in NFL history, the game-clinching Malcolm Butler interception in Super Bowl XLIX, New England quarterback Tom Brady jumped up and down on the sideline and celebrated wildly with teammates. As for Patriots left tackle Nate Solder, he was seen simply fastening his chin strap in robotic fashion and walking past his delirious teammates. “There’s a video and it’s a hilarious,’’ Solder said about what was shown on the official Super Bowl XLIX film from the epic Feb. 1, 2015, game in Glendale, Ariz. “There’s a famous video of Tom screaming and jumping up and down and all my teammates are going crazy. Then you see me just walking through the screen with a deadpan look on my face, no emotions. I just think all the blood had run out of my body. I was in absolute shock.” That was Solder’s initial reaction to Butler, a New England cornerback, intercepting a pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson near the goal line with 20 seconds remaining. After it looked like the Seahawks, facing second-and-goal at the 1, were about to take the lead, the Patriots amazingly held on for a 28-24 win. Solder eventually grasped what had happened and celebrated with teammates. Another film clip shows him enthusiastically taking selfies with his wife, Lexi, during the trophy presentation. Now, the Patriots and Seahawks will have a rematch in Super Bowl LX on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., and Solder, 37, will look on with interest. Solder grew up in tiny Buena Vista, Colo., before starring at the University of Colorado. He played for the Patriots from 2011-17, winning two Super Bowls, before finishing his NFL career with the New York Giants from 2018-19 and in 2021. Nate Solder and his wife Lexi in 2025. Solder, a former star at the University of Colorado, played tackle in the NFL from 2011-19 and 2021. He won Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the 2014 and 2016 seasons. (Photo courtesy of Nate Solder) “I was excited,’’ Solder said of when the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25. “I guess people who aren’t Patriots fans, they’re probably sick of seeing the Patriots (in the Super Bowl). But for those of us who are associated with them, we’re happy to see them.” Solder made it to four Super Bowls in his seven New England seasons, being on the losing end in two. He was a fixture when it came to protecting the legendary Brady. “He was a guy who was willing to throw himself in front of a bus to stop the quarterback from getting hit,’’ said Ryan Wendell, the Los Angeles Rams offensive line coach who was a Patriots center from 2008-15. Now, though, Solder is far removed from football. The 6-foot-9 Solder, who was listed at 316 pounds when he played, now weighs 280 pounds and says he’s “skinny as a rail.” Solder lives in McLean, Va., outside of Washington, with Lexi and his three children, sons Hudson, 10, and Emerson, 5, and daughter Charlie Grace, 8. Solder, who became a Christian in 2014, is studying at Reformed Theological Seminary in nearby Vienna, Va., to earn a master’s degree in divinity. He has been a pastoral intern at a local church for the past year and plans to become a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Nate Solder at his home in McLean, Va., in 2025, with his children (left to right), Hudson, now 10, Emerson, now 5, and Charlie Grace, now 8. Solder, a former star at the University of Colorado, played tackle in the NFL from 2011-19 and 2021. He won Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the 2014 and 2016 seasons. (Photo courtesy of Nate Solder) “I started taking some (divinity) classes during the (coronavirus) pandemic (in 2020) just to keep myself busy and I loved it and enjoyed it so much,’’ Solder said. “It all came to light for me. So now I want to use those things I’ve learned and share them with other people. … I’ll be done with the seminary in the next year and then I’ll have to start ordination, which will take a year or two, and so maybe in the next three years or so I’ll be a pastor.” Solder still keeps up with several former Patriots teammates, including Wendell, special teams ace Matthew Slater and tackle Sebastian Vollmer, whom he said were instrumental in him becoming a Christian. And while he said he tries to “keep things in perspective” about once being a football player, he doesn’t deny the Patriots being back in the Super Bowl and again facing the Seahawks has stirred some memories. “My mind has drifted back to just reliving some of those moments,’’ said Solder, who will watch Sunday’s game with some friends, none of whom played football. “It’s the Seahawks and the Patriots. It’s a different era, it’s a different group of people (on the teams), but the fan bases are the same and that’s really fun.” It wasn’t Solder’s first Super Bowl. After being selected with the No. 17 pick in the NFL draft in 2011, Solder started as a rookie in Super Bowl XLVI when New England lost 21-17 to the Giants. The Patriots lost in the AFC Championship Game to Baltimore in the 2012 season and at Denver in 2013, but they were back in that position in 2014 against Indianapolis. In the 45-7 rout of the Colts, Solder made the most high-profile play of his football career. With the Patriots leading 17-7 in the third quarter, Solder was announced as an eligible receiver. Nevertheless, the Colts failed to cover him and Brady threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to the wide-open tackle. “We had practiced that play all season and we called it one time (against the New York Jets), but we had to call if off because the defense wasn’t right, and I kind of let the dream pass that I’m not going to score a touchdown,’’ Solder said. “But (against the Colts), Tom looked at me (in the huddle) and I didn’t have to say anything. “People always make fun of me, saying I was looking like I was pulling a train behind me because I was running so slow and I almost got caught at the goal line. My teammates went crazy, but I’d never scored a touchdown, so I didn’t know what to do. So I just screamed like a small child.” New England Patriots tackle Nate Solder (77) scores on a 16-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Tom Brady against Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson (52) during the second half of the NFL football AFC Championship game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) Two weeks later, Solder won his first Super Bowl ring after one of the most thrilling finishes in NFL history. The Seahawks long have been blasted for not on the last-minute play calling for a handoff to star running back Marshawn Lynch. “I thought for sure they were going to score,’’ Solder said. “I was on the sideline so zoned in on the fact we were going to probably have to put together a drive and maybe kick a last-second field goal. It didn’t even occur to me that the game was over (when Butler made the interception).” Once the initial shock wore off, Solder realized what he had accomplished. “I never thought (growing up) that I was going to get to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl,’’ said Solder, who grew up a big Broncos fan and cheered them on during their Super Bowl wins in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. “I’m just a kid from a small town, Buena Vista (population 2,855). So that was pretty cool.” It was a comeback season of sorts for Solder, who played in every game after having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in April 2014 following a team physical and having a testicle removed. But Solder did not end up going public with his condition until April 2015. “I kept it quiet at first because I didn’t want to cause a distraction for the team,’’ Solder said. “Then I was asked by an organization that said, if I went public, it would help people to get checked. … It is a very treatable cancer, but sometimes men are embarrassed and don’t want to say anything (when something is initially suspected).” Also in 2015, Solder received some very bad news. Hunter, when 3 months old, was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer. “It was real tough,’’ Solder said. “For six years we were going through that. That was the hardest time of my life.” Hunter’s cancer included him having surgery to remove tumors in 2019. But Solder said his son has recovered well. “He’s doing great now,’’ Solder said. “He’s done with chemotherapy. He’s been healthy for four or five years now.” But there was plenty of uncertainty in the family when Solder continued his NFL career in 2015 with the Patriots and beyond. He earned a second ring when New England stormed back from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to stun Atlanta 34-28 in overtime in Super Bowl LI in Houston in February 2017. Solder came up short, though, in his attempt to win a third ring when New England lost to Philadelphia 41-33 in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis in February 2018. After that season. Solder left the Patriots to sign a four-year, $62 million contract with the Giants, then the biggest deal ever handed out to an offensive lineman. Colorado’s Nate Solder, right, gives high-fives to fans after the Buffaloes defeated Colorado State 24-3 in a NCAA college football game at Invesco Field in Denver on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/ Matt McClain) Solder spent three seasons with the Giants. He opted out of the 2020 season during the pandemic to focus on the health of Hunter and to begin studies to become a pastor. With new goals in life, he retired after the 2021 season. “He had an incredible career,’’ said Ryan Harris, an NFL tackle from 2007-16, including having stints with the Broncos from 2007-11 and in 2015. “He played at the highest level for a long time.” Wendell said Solder used his height to his advantage. “There haven’t been a lot of guys who are 6-9 who could bend like that on a football field,” Wendell said. “He had a great career. He maximized what he could do physically and mentally. I couldn’t think of a better guy, a better teammate in the O-line room.” Now, Wendell calls it “awesome” that Solder is studying to becoming a pastor. “Nate is one of the smartest people I’ve ever been around,’’ Wendell said. “He loves reading. He loves having deep conversations. This is somebody who is always studying to try to make himself better. …  I spent a lot of time with him in Bible study. He wasn’t raised in a church like I was, but it was so cool to see his faith grow (when with the Patriots). I know he’s going to be very impactful (as a pastor).” Since his playing days, Solder has worked closely with Compassion International, a Christian humanitarian aid organization for children based in Colorado Springs. Over the years, he has made six trips to Guatemala on humanitarian missions. In 2020, the Solder family donated $1 million to the organization. “Maybe part of the reason God gave us this money from the NFL was so we could help these children, and we’re real thankful to be a part of that,” said Solder, who also returns to alma mater Buena Vista High School each summer for a football camp. In this photo taken Wednesday, June 1, 2011, New England Patriots first round draft pick Nate Solder, left, listens as quarterback Tom Brady gives instructions during a player organized football workout with teammates in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson) As for his own children, Solder said they’re not much into football. He recently tried to get them watch a replay of Super Bowl XLIX. “We got their attention for about 30 seconds but they didn’t really care to watch it,’’ Solder said. “So a 10-year old, an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old old kind of couldn’t care less about dad’s glory years. My kids put it back in perspective. They’d rather play with Legos or run around the house.” Solder is looking into whether his kids will want to watch Super Bowl LX. He said Emerson at least has expressed interest in seeing “the end of it.” If the ending is anything like the one between the teams 11 years ago, it will be must-see TV. ...read more read less