Extra Points: McCourty, Broncos, Thomas

The Patriots appear to be a natural fit for recently-released cornerback Jason McCourty. Predictably, you can count brother (and current Patriots defensive back) Devin McCourty among those who’d like to see him land in New England.

“I’m excited for him,” McCourty told Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “I was hoping he would be out of Tennessee a couple years ago just to experience something different. I think obviously now everyone is saying ‘he’s going to come here, he should come here.’ But you never know. I hope we’re interested in him.”

Devin believes his brother should be seeking a gig that would allow him to start, which might not be possible in New England. If the Patriots end up keeping Malcolm Butler, McCourty would presumably slot in behind him and free agent-addition Stephon Gilmore on the depth chart.

“He’s not at the point in his career where he just wants to sit on the bench,” Devin McCourty said. “He wants to get a chance to get out there and compete. I’m excited for him. It’s a little bit of the unknown, but he’s my brother, he should do all right. He should just tell people he’s related to me.

Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NFL…

  • Veteran offensive lineman Ryan Clady is arguably the best available free agent, but Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the 30-year-old hasn’t garnered much interest this offseason. Clady has only appeared in nine total games over the past two seasons, but the four-time Pro Bowler still looked competent when he was on the field. The lineman visited the Seahawks last month, and Smith wonders if teams will start showing interest in Clady following the draft.
  • Mike Klis of 9News.com believes Broncos general manager John Elway can make the “biggest draft splash of his career” by selecting Stanford running back (and Colorado native) Christian McCaffrey with the 20th-overall pick. If the team is really looking to stir excitement, the reporter suggests the team also trades their second-rounder and third-round compensatory pick to the Browns for veteran offensive lineman Joe Thomas.
  • Speaking of Thomas, Troy Renck Denver7 can’t envision the Browns trading the offensive lineman (Twitter link). The reporter notes that the organization has rebuilt their offense around their lineman, so it’d be counter-intuitive to deal the best player on that unit. Reports from last season indicated that Thomas was available, although head coach Hue Jackson recently said that the veteran was staying put.
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