Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was a guest on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Thursday, speaking about rookie Keenan Reynolds of the Baltimore Ravens, and he added further context to the status of second-year New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona.

"He played last year while he was on active duty because he was able to work them both out. He's [now] been assigned to a ship, and he's going to report to that ship, so he may have to leave the Patriots for a year or so to go fulfill that role," Mabus said on the program.

Cardona's current absence from the team was previously noted, which sparked the signing of free-agent long snapper Christian Yount.

One of the highlights of the 2015 season for Cardona came when Mabus attended the Patriots' win over the Jets in late October, and visited the locker room afterward.