Category: NFL

Could Julian Edelman’s Contract Be Holding the Patriots Back in Free Agency?

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As it turns out, I was right in predicting that the Pats would try and be players in the wide-receiver market this offseason.

Not only are there unconfirmed rumors that they may have offered a solid package for Antonio Brown, but we also now know for sure that they were aggressively pursuing former Tampa Bay slot stud Adam Humphries on Monday, before he ultimately signed with the Titans:

Humphries ended up signing with Tennessee for four years and $36 million, with $19 million guaranteed. Relatively speaking, that’s a freakin’ steal, and I’m really disappointed that the Pats weren’t willing to go above $9 million per to bring him in.

Disagree? Check this out:

He’s also averaged over 68 catches and 700 yards each of the past two seasons, catching 73 percent of his total targets. He is criminally underrated, and the Pats let him slip away. Plain and simple. (Also, Devin Funchess, who has surpassed 40 catches all of ONCE in four NFL seasons, got $10 million from the Colts yesterday, which can reach $13 [!!!] with incentives. Case in point.)

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Do not sleep on this man.

But is it because they really didn’t believe Humphries was worth that much? I don’t think so. In today’s NFL, you’d have to be a fool to think you’ll be able to bring in that type of talent for much less than eight figures, at minimum. Even Belichick knows that.

However, it’s actually mind-blowing to think about the fact that Julian Edelman – a multi-time Super Bowl Champion and the man who is second on the ALL-TIME postseason receptions list – has a base salary of just $2 million for 2019. WHAT??!! Including bonuses, his total cap hit is $4.5 million. But still, that number is unbelievably low – as in I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen the proof myself.

Could the team be worried that bringing in a guy who plays the same exact role for MUCH more money would upset Jules? ESPN’s Mike Reiss thinks it potentially could:

Look, this is all pure speculation, and there are many out there who will respond – in typical Patriots toadie fashion – by saying that Edelman is “SUCH A TEAM GUY” and only cares about the old “Patriot way!” He loves it here, Mattes! That’s all that matters to him!

Wake up, people! You really think that he’d be OK making over five times less than a guy who, while playing well over the past two years, hasn’t won anything and is an entirely unknown name to the casual NFL fan? Especially coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance? OH, and let’s not forget that Edelman is 32 years old and knows time is running out to get that paper. Even if we don’t sign another wide receiver this offseason, I doubt Edelman allows the team to get to the regular season without forcing an extension, because this is also the final year of his current contract.

So while everyone, myself included, is focused on now-departed guys like Trent Brown and Trey Flowers or who else the Pats could potentially bring in this offseason, perhaps we’ve forgotten to think about taking care of one of our own. Sure, guys like Golden Tate (*heavy breathing*), Tyrell Williams, Cole Beasley (signed with Buffalo), and Randall Cobb are still out there, but I think we need to take care of Jules first – or at the very least have an immediate plan to do so. And who knows, maybe the team can even work some magic and create more cap room by re-working both his and Brady’s contracts at the same time.

I’m not saying they can’t still get something done with another player before taking care of Edelman; they certainly could. All I’m saying is that they’re certainly not making it any easier on themselves until they figure things out with No. 11. Stay tuned.

Trey Flowers to Reportedly Sign With the Lions and Matt Patricia

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Well there you have it folks. Mere minutes after giving Justin “The Island” Coleman $36 million over four years Matt Patricia has landed another former member of his Patriots defense in Trey Flowers.

From the team side of things, Patricia is trying like hell to save his job. He lost the locker room last year, along with a fuckton of games, and he is desperate to get back in the win column not only on the field but with the entire organization. I guess he is hoping surrounding himself with familiar faces may do just that. And of course Trey Flowers as we know is a tremendous player so this is a win.

As for Flowers, well earlier today Malik Jackson got $10 million a year so you knew he was getting more than that. Boy o boy did he get paid. I was wrong about that. On top of that he’ll get to play for a coach he is familiar with and who knows how to utilize his talents in the best ways possible for both the team and, I’m guessing, Trey Flowers. If he stays in Detroit for the length of this deal, he’ll be 31 when it expires. That is plenty young enough for a defensive lineman to sign at least one more decent contract.

So this sucks. We’re losing one of our two best defensive players (I’d say it is/was Flowers and Gilmore). That will happen when you stand out as a swiss army knife stud on a perennial super bowl contender, and winner. Hopefully, the signing of Michael Bennett that Big Z and I have both written about will help cushion the blow. Nothing more we can do now but keep an eye on the draft.

-Joey B

BREAKING: The Patriots Reportedly Lose Trent Brown to the Oakland Raiders

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Well damn. That was fast!

Even though free-agent deals and offseason trades cannot be officially announced until Wednesday afternoon, teams were allowed to begin “negotiations” with available players as of Monday morning. But, as we are in the age of social media and “I SAID IT FIRST” journalism, we’ll probably know where most of the top guys are going before we all even sit down for dinner on Tuesday night.

Per Adam Schefter, we already know that Brady’s big ole blindside protector from last season is off to Cali:

Again, it’s no shocker to hear that Trent Brown is heading off to greener pastures. This isn’t to say he’s not deserving. After all, he did serve as the team’s left tackle on what was arguably the league’s best O-line last season.

It’s just that we all knew the Pats weren’t going to pay him, especially at over $16 million per year with more than double that amount guaranteed. (Seriously, though, that is one helluva windfall for a guy who had never been a full-time starting left tackle until 2018. Congrats, big fella!)

Most assume the Pats will simply plug in Isaiah Wynn as Brown’s replacement after spending a first-round pick on the 22-year-old just last season. That very well could happen, but let’s also not forget he lost his entire rookie season due to an Achilles injury he suffered just last August. Those are not easy injuries to come back from, especially for a position which relies so much on quick and stable footwork. I fully expect the Pats to bring in some competition for him, either with a high draft pick or a free-agent signing.

So there you have it: the first domino to fall for the Pats this offseason.

The Patriots Reportedly Tried to Trade for Antonio Brown (Update: Maybe Not)

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(UPDATE: The Internet can be a funny place. While I did say “reportedly” from the get-go when first posting this story, it seems as though – as of 1:40 p.m. on Monday afternoon – nobody can say for sure whether or not the Pats actually made this offer. I was using a third-party tweet which was reporting a quote from one of the NFL’s leading experts, Ian Rapoport, after he supposedly broke the news on NFL Network this morning. Apparently, though, he may have been misquoted. However, there are many sites which are still reporting this story as fact, so who knows? IF this is true, below are my two cents on the matter as well as what it could potentially mean for the Pats going forward):

I think we all owe Jon Gruden an apology.

After a nine-year absence from the NFL sidelines, he was hired last January to become the new head coach (and de facto G.M.) of the Oakland Raiders. At first, many people (myself included) scoffed at the idea. Even though he had a pretty successful 10-year run as a head coach in the late 90s/early 2000s – which included a Super Bowl victory with Tampa Bay in 2003 – most were skeptical that the 55-year-old cartoon character of an individual could be successful in today’s NFL.

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He was then eviscerated by the media for trading away one of the game’s best defenders in Khalil Mack just two months later (even though he got a pretty solid return). He also “reached” on an offensive tackle with his first draft pick in May, and things weren’t looking all that great for Gruden heading into last season…and honestly, they didn’t get much better.

BUT, even in the midst of suffering through what was a pretty miserable season in 2018, Gruden was able to trade away a young but maddeningly inconsistent wide receiver named Amari Cooper to Dallas for a first-round pick. Again, even though he received yet another first-round pick – giving Oakland THREE of them in 2019 – people still blamed him for not using Cooper correctly and giving away one of the game’s premiere young talents.

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While things certainly got better for him in Dallas, Cooper was an absolute roller-coaster ride out in Oakland.

Now, he has Antonio Brown, the game’s best receiver over the past half-decade. OH, and he only had to trade away a third- and fifth-round pick for him. So basically, Gruden traded away Amari Cooper, Khalil Mack, a third, and a fifth for the following:

  • Antonio Brown
  • Three first-round picks (2018 [1], 2019 [2])
  • A sixth-round pick in 2019
  • A third-round pick in 2020

That is absolutely ABSURD. There’s also rumors the team is gearing up to sign Le’Veon Bell as well. Things could start to turn around for the Raiders pretty quickly.

On the flip side, the Steelers are being ripped apart for getting so little in return for a guy who has been on a truly historic run over the past six years (six-straight seasons of at least 100 catches, 1,200 yards, and nine touchdowns). To be fair, A.B. pretty much had all the leverage in deciding where he would go by making a new contract mandatory from whichever team he went to. The Bills, the team he was reportedly traded to on Friday morning but then wasn’t just two hours later, weren’t willing to do that; the Raiders, though, saw no issue with it. Therefore, the Steelers had to take the best offer available.

However, today we were told that there was allegedly at least one team out there who was willing to offer even more:

IF this is actually true, then this says two things to me:

  1. The Patriots have been so good that other teams are now willing to hurt themselves and TAKE LESS just so the Pats can’t get better. (Truly unbelievable stuff.)
  2. The Pats really are still trying to bring in a top-flight receiver, and maybe (juuuust maybe) they are getting ready to spend some capital to bring in some more talent to play with Brady – as I predicted they might do in my piece about the 2019 free-agent wide-receiver class this past Friday.

All we do know is that the offseason is starting off with a bang so far, and the Pats could be a lot more involved than most people think. Also, the Steelers are SHOOK and were just pantsed by two different star players this year.

Get your popcorn ready, folks. These could be a fun next couple of months.

Patriots Acquiring Michael Bennett Another Classic Belichick Move

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News of the Patriots potentially acquiring Michael Bennett broke on Friday and the general consensus is that the Patriots once again pulled off a coup. While 2019 will be Bennett’s 11th NFL season and he will be 34 in November, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. As Joey B pointed out on Friday, Bennett’s played in 16 games six of the last seven seasons and he recorded nine sacks last season, the second-best single-season total of his career. From that standpoint, this feels like a typical Patriots move. The Patriots see value in adding a veteran whom they believe can still play at a high level, even if other teams don’t.

There are many things that separate Bill Belichick from his contemporaries, but one thing that has allowed his teams to be so successful over the last 20 years is that he is not afraid to make the moves other coaches wouldn’t dare make. Playing Brady over Bledsoe. Cutting Lawyer Milloy. Bringing in Corey Dillon. Turning Troy Brown, a 12-year veteran at the time, into a two-way player. Trading away Jamie Collins. He’s not perfect – he moved on from Adam Vinatieri too soon and benching Malcolm Butler in Super bowl 52 was clearly the wrong move – but by and large his willingness to make unpopular decisions has won the Patriots far more games than it has lost them.

I bring this up because Michael Bennett could be a tough guy for Patriots fans to root for.

Also, Michael Bennett is generally an outspoken guy. There’s nothing wrong with being outspoken, but I don’t recall too many outspoken guys playing in Foxboro. The Patriots have mastered the art of saying as little as possible. Generally, Belichick and Patriots players never miss an opportunity to say nothing. It’d be interesting to find out how Michael Bennett feels about this type of locker room. I’m sure we’ll find out.

While I might not be the first guy in line at the Patriots Pro Shop to buy a Michael Bennett jersey this week, anyone who says they won’t root for the Patriots if they acquire him isn’t really a Patriots fan. It’s always business with Belichick. That being said, it may prove Jerry Seinfeld’s theory that we’re all just rooting for laundry.

 

The 300s Podcast: Celtics Rise Like a Phoenix on the West Coast, Red Sox Opening Day Nears, and Patriots Attack the Offseason

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The 300s boys are back in the podcast studio discussing everything from the manic Celtics to the Red Sox inching closer to Opening Day, some good old fashioned Vegas gambling stories, and the Pats are jumping right into the offseason. Lets goo!

– Celtics Rise Like a Phoenix from the Ashes on the West Coast

– What is up with Kyrie? Miserable malcontent one day and then all happy go lucky after the Lakers game.

– Red Sox inching closer to Opening Day

– Best sporting events to bet on? March madness? Just betting 10 football games every Sunday?

– Red Sox Going With a Closer by Committee?

– Steven Wright suspension

– WEEI 8 man radio rotation

– Patriots Offseason/Free Agency

– Michael Bennett in, Trey Flowers out?

– Danny Amendola Reunion?

Michael Bennett Close to Joining the Patriots

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I love this move. I would have loved it any of the last few off seasons. I feel like Michael Bennett is one of those solid veterans who is always quasi-available. This is also such a “Pats” move a la grabbing Chris Long and James Harrison where a smart, “football guy” pass rusher who wants to win for a solid organization comes aboard and does (hopefully) well.

Truth be told, Bennett is also more than solid. Since 2012, he has notched played in all 16 games and notched 7 sacks or more in every season except for his shortened 2016 campaign with the Seahawks. And now he gets to come to the Pats where he’ll probably just be asked to get after the QB, but can provide some support in the run as well. He’s in his mid-30’s now which is a minor cause for concern but had 9 sacks last year so I think he has plenty of gas left in the tank.

What also can’t be overlooked is the Bennett brothers are kind of just the shit. Just sort of wacky,  affable guys that happen to be talented as hell at football. They’re “list” guys. As in if you were to told to give your top five guys to go to Vegas with, bring on your bachelor party, invade a small country with etc. the Bennett brothers would be sneaky good additions to those lists. To this end also there is now a slight possibility Marty ends up coming out of retirement to give the Pats one more year as well which I would NOT MIND in the slightest.

This also means Trey Flowers is officially gonzo which sucks. But we knew that was happening. And Michael Bennett is a great 1-2 year fix until we find the next man up. As is the Patriot Way.

So with that we have our first official “LET’S FUCKING GO” of the not yet full incubated 2019-2020 (!) season. O boy o boy.

***UPDATE BECAUSE I’M A GENIUS***

-Joey B.

Could the Patriots Finally Break the Bank for a Free Agent Wide Receiver?

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This is going to be an interesting offseason for the Patriots. Coming off a Super Bowl victory with an aging roster, the next few months will be crucial to the long-term success of the franchise.

The new NFL league year starts this Monday (March 11), and after the team decided not to use their franchise tag this offseason, we already know that some of the team’s biggest names from their championship squad are set to hit the open market, including:

  • Trey Flowers: Your leading sack artist for the past three seasons and one of the best young edge defenders in the league.
  • Trent Brown: The guy who served as a more than solid blindside protector for your soon-to-be 42-year-old quarterback.
  • Jason McCourty: Your starting slot cornerback who had a career year and may have single-handedly saved the Super Bowl this past February.
  • Stephen Gostkowski: Your starting kicker for the past 13 seasons. He may have had some big misses in his career, but he has also been one of the league’s most consistent legs over the past decade and a half.
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With the current state of kicking in the NFL, Stevie Boy could receive a pretty penny for his services this offseason.

While I do believe the team will re-up with McCourty, it’s looking more and more likely that the other three above are on their way out of Foxborough. This also fails to mention that besides Julian Edelman, the Pats have pretty much no other wide-outs of note under contract for 2019, as all of Cordarrelle Patterson, Chris Hogan, and Phillip Dorsett are unrestricted free agents as well. (Josh Gordon is technically still under the team’s control, but who the hell knows what’s going to happen with him?)

OK then.

Look, we’ve been here before. Anyone who believes that the Pats will be in dire straits next season, even if all of those players walk, obviously hasn’t been watching this team for the past 18 years. Belichick & Co. always find a way to make up for their perceived shortcomings, and their ability to bring in key guys on the cheap or in shrewd ways is unparalleled, uncanny even. Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier wrote a great piece this week highlighting Belichick’s roster-building mastery over the years.

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Relax, everybody. This ain’t Bill’s first rodeo.

But, again, with Edelman being literally the only non-running back the team knows it will be able to rely upon next season (stiiiiillll no word on Gronk…), maybe it’s time to bring in another big piece to help Brady during his twilight years.

Fortunately, the 2019 free-agent class is ripe with talent at wide receiver, a few of which the Pats have been connected to before. I already highlighted last week that Golden Tate said he would love to don the Pats colors, and Jay Glazer reported this week that the Pats apparently tried to bring in long-time Aaron Rodgers favorite, Randall Cobb, at some point last year. They ultimately ended up bringing in Josh Gordon instead…and we all know how that worked out.

Most would say that the Pats would likely want to target another outside/big-play receiver a la Gordon, and Cobb would fit that mold. Others like Tyrell Williams, John Brown, Demaryius Thomas, Devin Funchess, Dez Bryant, and even Mike Wallace (yes, that Mike Wallace) would be welcomed additions to a team severely lacking in weaponry on the boundary. I wouldn’t hate the team taking a stab on any of those guys. (Except maybe Dez. I just don’t want to deal with all the B.S. that comes along with him.)

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So Cobb could potentially go from playing with one H.O.F. quaterback to playing with an even more legendary signal-caller. Man, tough life.

But truthfully, the slot is where it’s at with this free-agent group, highlighted by the aforementioned Tate. And even though we already have one of the game’s best in Edelman, I’d much rather see the Pats open up the purse to bring in the best players possible as opposed to signing a lesser guy due to “need.” Obviously, Tate is at the top of my wish list, but he’ll likely be a bit too expensive.

But what about someone like Jamison Crowder? A 25-year-old who had 133 catches and over 1,600 yards between 2016-2017 for Washington before being slowed by a tough injury last season. Or maybe Adam Humphries, who had 76 catches on 105 targets last year in an extremely crowded wide receiver group in Tampa Bay. According to various reports, both players are expected to receive around $10 million per year, which honestly isn’t a price that should prohibit the Pats from acquiring Brady some much-needed talent to play with.

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If we can’t have Tate, then I’d say Crowder is probably No. 2 on my list.

Even Cole Beasley, who has basically been a poor man’s Julian Edelman in Dallas for the past few seasons, would be a nice piece. Michael Crabtree, Chris Conley, Dontrelle Inman, and J.J. Nelson are names to keep an eye on as well. The point is, there’s no shortage of receiver help for the Pats to choose from, and signing a guy off the wire would also allow the team to use its abundance of draft capital this year toward beefing up some other important positions.

I know a lot free-agent receiver additions haven’t worked out so well in the past for the Pats (see: Ochocinco, Chad; Decker, Eric; Wayne, Reggie), but those guys were also past their prime and heading toward the end of the line. Getting one of the marquee names available this offseason would be a different move entirely.

So, if we’re going to let Flowers walk, we might as well use that $20 million or so in cap space (which could potentially be even more if Brady restructures his contract) on something. There’s a first time for everything, Bill. Go get us a wide out!

Von Miller to Star in Animated Series About an NFL Expansion Team on Mars

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Deadline – OBB Pictures and Denver Broncos all-pro linebacker Von Miller are teaming on a half-hour animated comedy project titled Mars Martians, about the NFL’s first expansion team on Mars. Miller will voice the lead role and serve as an executive producer on the potential series, which is being written by Maxwell Theodore Vivian (The Cool Kids).

“VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!”

I’ve been yelling that at my TV for just under ten years now, whenever Von Miller lays out a QB or chases one into a bad decision. I don’t really know why I’ve always had an affinity for the bespectacled, pass rushing demon. I think part of it was that he looked that much more dominant and that much faster, even in real-time, than really any player I had watched before. Also part of it was that this was his college career and that he played for the Aggies, who I have always liked as they aren’t what you’d call a perennial National Title contender and had an underdog team back then that you could get behind. My fan-hood got complicated for a few years as we had a brief rivalry with Miller’s Broncos. Yes, in case you didn’t know he now terrorizes those under center to a similar degree of success as he did in college. But then Fuckhead With the Big Forehead retired, the Broncos receded to an extent, and I got to go back to rooting for Von’s personal success from afar.

And now this. What seems to be a pretty big deal (I don’t think Deadline covers bullshit) of an animated series has cast none other than Von Miller, who has shown a flair for acting/commercials in recent years. The show is about the son of an NFL legend, who, while crushed by that pressure and has underachieved to start his career, is sent to play with a gang of misfits on the NFL’s Mars (do you capitalize planets?) expansion team. Sounds sort of like “The Longest Yard” and the “The Replacements”. Either way I’m not a HUGE animation guy but shows like “Archer” and “F Is For Family” have convinced me to give these kinds of things a try.

But lets address the most important part of this endeavor. The part that will really drive the nail home for my and Von Miller’s relationship.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA FUCK YOU LEBRON!

This is fucking RICH. You think you’re going to come back and fill MJ’s shoes in “Kind of Space Jam 2” when an athlete who is THREE THOUSAND times more likable is already starring in a series about playing sports in an intergalactic capacity? Do you think you’re little foray onto the big screen is going to be nearly successful when you have a show like this up and, by the time your stink bomb is being made, there are full-fledged international superstars in your sport like Giannis, Zion, etc. that would be better faces to sell it than you? Think again KING!

Hats off to Von Miller for landing this. It honestly sounds like a cool/possibly funny show. Hats off to whoever came up with it.

My hat stays on for you Mr. James.

-Joey B.

Was Kyler Murray Wearing George Costanza’s Boots to Appear Taller at the NFL Combine?

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Because my brain is a useless amalgam of rap lyrics from the early 2000s and pop culture references, the first thing that popped into my brain after seeing this tweet was George Costanza’s Timberland boots. Clearly Kyler Murray took a page out of old Georgey’s book if this is true. Maybe Kyler met Kliff Kingsbury while he was wearing some Timberland boots in the cold Indianapolis weather and was now worried about not seeing eye to eye with his potential future coach. If this is in fact true I am totally fine with it because thats exactly the kind of gutsy, resourceful type of guy I want leading my team.