After that, he’ll be off to Bath, Maine, to join his shipmates on the USS Zumwalt.

Cardona started the changeover Monday afternoon by cleaning out his locker at Gillette Stadium, and planned on continuing that night by shaving his wispy playoff mustache (his answer to a playoff beard, since the Navy doesn’t allow beards). Soon, he’ll report to the Norfolk (Va.) naval base for more schooling, standard for any surface warfare officer.

FOXBOROUGH — Joe Cardona’s transition from Patriots long snapper to full-time US Navy officer will be a quick one, and if all goes as expected, he’ll transition back this summer for a second season in New England.


“This year was great, being on the field,” Cardona said. “I obviously have a higher priority than being here. It’s different. It’s important to me that I’m doing my job on both ends the best I can.”

According to Cardona, the bosses who oversee his work — as a professional football player and a serviceman — remain open to him continuing both careers.

The Patriots drafted Cardona, 23, in the fifth round last spring, knowing it was possible they might not have him immediately because of his service commitments. The Navy granted him a one-year deferment, with Cardona working one day per week at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I.

Now, it appears that he’ll operate under a similar arrangement for the 2016 season. It’s mostly a matter of the Patriots and the Navy hammering out logistics.

“I have a lot of support at high levels,” Cardona said. “So just like this year, working a schedule that everything comes together, I’ll be able to make my requirements for each.

“There’s a lot of specifics to work out. Things can always change.”

Cardona said most of the sailors and Marines he works with, folks from all over the country, have supported the Patriots and their long snapper.


His dual career paths can make for a busy and complicated schedule, but if 2015 was a test run, it seems to have been a success.

“It’s just navigating the waters on both ends,” Cardona said. “No pun intended.”

Pro Bowl uncertainty

The season isn’t quite over for a handful of Patriots. The Pro Bowl is Sunday in Honolulu, and a free trip to Hawaii seems like a nice consolation prize for the AFC runners-up.

Seven Patriots were elected to the Pro Bowl, but it’s unlikely they all will attend.

Quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski are dealing with lots of bumps and bruises. Special teamer Matthew Slater has been dealing with a shin issue, and as of Monday afternoon, his status was up in the air.

“I haven’t decided that yet,” Slater said. “Got some things I’m dealing with physically, so we’ll see.”

Also elected were cornerback Malcolm Butler (his first Pro Bowl), linebacker Jamie Collins (first), kicker Stephen Gostkowski (fourth), and defensive end Chandler Jones (first). Jones has mostly avoided the media since his trip to a local police station and hospital earlier this month.

Computer down time

The Patriots’ issues with their tablets on the sidelines Sunday had no affect on the game, according to coach Bill Belichick, and it’s a pretty common problem.

“We have ways of playing, working through it,” said Belichick. “There’s really nothing you can do. It’s not like the headsets where the other side is really affected. You deal with what you deal with, and we’ve had it at home, we’ve had it on the road. Other teams have had it.”


As a backup, the team had old-school photos to use in lieu of the tablets.

Microsoft issued a statement regarding the problem, saying, “Our team on the field has confirmed the issue was not related to the tablets themselves but rather an issue with the network. We worked with our partners who manage the network to ensure the issue was resolved quickly.”

Getting a taste

New England’s loss to the Broncos was a thrill for at least one Patriot: rookie linebacker Kevin Snyder, who was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad Saturday — a move that came with a contract for 2016, according to Snyder. He was active against Denver but did not play a snap. Still, last week was different from all the others since he signed with the team in mid-December. “It was good to get into the game plan, be able to get some reps during practice and understand what it takes here,” Snyder said. “The weeks before that, it wasn’t really much of a game plan for me.”

TV ratings soar

The AFC Championship game drew its second-largest television audience on record, the Associated Press reported. CBS averaged 53.3 million viewers Sunday. The network said that trails only the 54.9 million for the 2011 Steelers-Jets matchup, which was played in a later time slot. CBS’s records go back to 1978 . . . Belichick’s roster construction for 2016 has begun. The team signed safety Cedric Thompson, fullback/running back Joey Iosefa, and offensive linemen Chris Barker and Keavon Milton, wide receiver DeAndre Carter, safety Brock Vereen, and cornerback Rashaan Melvin to futures/reserves contracts, according to player agents and various reports. Players signed to futures contracts are in effect signed for the upcoming season. All seven of those players ended the season on New England’s practice squad . . . Among the lingering questions from the season-ending loss: Why, after winning the coin toss, did the Patriots elect to receive? It was the first time they’d done so all season, and the second time since 2008. “It was a combination of factors,” Belichick said. “We felt that was the best way to go.” He said potential weather issues in the second half were not a factor . . . Set up in the Patriots locker room were several large bins, filled to the brim with players’ cleats, some of them showing only light wear. The team donates some to area high school programs.


Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @timbhealey.