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New England Patriots News & Rumors

Patriots Re-Sign DT Carl Davis

April 27th, 2022 at 4:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Carl Davis is returning to New England. The nose tackle is re-signing with the Patriots, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter).

Davis joined the Patriots during the 2021 season, and he’s seen time in 20 games over his year-plus with the organization. This includes a 2021 campaign where the defensive lineman appeared in all 17 games (four starts), finishing with 19 tackles and one sack.

Davis was originally a 2015 third-round pick by the Ravens. He lasted three years in Baltimore, and in between his stint in New England, he had gigs with the Browns, Colts, and Jaguars. In total, the 30-year-old has seen time in 56 regular season games.

Davis will be hard pressed to play a significant role on New England’s defense in 2022, especially if 2021 second-round pick Christian Barmore continues to develop. The Patriots are also rostering Davon Godchaux, who the Patriots inked to a two-year deal last offseason.

Patriots, Texans Swap Day 3 Picks

April 25th, 2022 at 3:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Three days away from the draft, Bill Belichick and his former right-hand man made a trade involving Day 3 picks. The Texans picked up a fifth-round pick in this draft, while the Patriots moved down.

Nick Caserio‘s team traded sixth- and seventh-round picks in this draft to the Patriots for a fifth-rounder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. While trades featuring only Day 3 choices almost always occur during the draft, Belichick and Caserio acted early this year. Here are the official picks swapped, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).

Patriots receive:

  • No. 183
  • No. 245

Texans receive:

  • No. 170

The Patriots now hold three sixth-round picks in this draft. They already had a fifth, supplied by the Dolphins in the trade that sent DeVante Parker to New England. The Pats now have six Day 3 picks but more than one in just one of those rounds.

The Texans had dealt their original fifth-round choice to the Bears, acquiring wide receiver Anthony Miller just before last season. Miller did not last long in Houston, being cut in October. Houston previously had two sixth-round picks and one seventh. The AFC South club now has five Day 3 selections — two fourths, a fifth and two sixths.

AFC Draft Rumors: Belichick, Chiefs, Broncos

April 24th, 2022 at 5:40pm CST by Ely Allen

The first round of the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft has been billed as one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. There is plenty of top talent that will anticipate hearing their names called from picks 1-15 or so, but NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport believes that, past that, first-round picks will be used on players that some teams have third-round grades on, and, ultimately, some players with first-round talent may fall to the third round. This is part of a common analysis that the Draft lacks the top-end talent of most drafts but is much deeper than most with the strength of this Draft being in picks 30-90.

Beyond the regular challenge of guessing who a team might pick or where a player might fall, there is the near certainty that every mock draft on the internet will go down the drain when a team ultimately makes a draft-day trade. When discussing what might go down this Thursday with the Patriots, ESPN’s Mike Reiss is riding the odds.

Since head coach Bill Belichick joined New England in 2000, the Patriots lead the NFL in draft-day trades with 83. The next closest team is the Eagles with 64. Reiss believes that Belichick will stay true to form and strongly attempt to trade down later into the first round, allowing the Patriots to collect more draft capital in that deeper part of the Draft.

Here are a few other rumors concerning how teams in the AFC will be approaching the Draft:

  • In accordance with the opinions above, Michael David Smith of NBC Sports reported that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told the media they have 16-18 players on the board with first-round grades. The good news: the Chiefs have two first-round picks. The bad news: those picks are 29th and 30th overall. Veach doesn’t love their chances of having one of those guys fall to them at the end of the first round. The Chiefs could either combine those picks together to try and trade up and nab one of the guys on their board or, more likely, Kansas City will trade down, exchanging those picks for others in the 30-60 range that Veach likes, adding to their current picks at 50th and 62nd.
  • When the Broncos acquired quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, they surrendered their two earliest picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. Without those picks, they won’t have an opportunity to draft anybody until the last pick of the second round, which they acquired from the Rams in exchange for outside linebacker Von Miller. General manager George Paton says that if they suffer from the fear of missing out, they’ll just “watch Russell Wilson highlights.” Since the Wilson-trade took their first two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft, as well, ESPN’s Jeff Legwold reports that Paton will certainly be open to fielding trade calls in order to potentially get Denver some more draft picks for next year.

WR Rumors: McLaurin, Parker, Harry

April 24th, 2022 at 12:58pm CST by Rory Parks

The 2019 draft was rife with wide receiver talent, and a few WRs from that class — the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel, the Titans’ A.J. Brown, the Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf, and the Commanders’ Terry McLaurin — have been prominently featured in PFR pages in recent weeks. That is largely because those players are extension-eligible for the first time this offseason, and they have all done enough in their first three professional seasons to command massive multi-year extensions.

Samuel, Brown, and McLaurin have elected to sit out at least the on-field portion of their teams’ offseason programs in their pursuit of new contracts, though Samuel is the only member of that trio to request a trade at this point. McLaurin, who has career averages of 1,030 receiving yards per year and 13.9 yards per reception despite a less-than-ideal QB situation, has not been mentioned as a trade candidate, and Washington head coach Ron Rivera said in February that he hopes to hammer out a new contract for McLaurin sooner rather than later.

The Commanders’ OTAs begin on May 23, and the club wants McLaurin on the field no later than that in order to start building chemistry with new QB Carson Wentz. ESPN’s Dianna Russini hears from her sources that a deal will indeed get done.

Now for more WR news and notes:

  • Shortly after the trade that sent DeVante Parker from the Dolphins to the Patriots, we heard that, while a number of other clubs were pursuing Parker, the 2015 first-rounder wanted to be dealt to New England. Albert Breer of SI.com confirms as much, and he passes along a quote from Parker himself. “I chose to get traded [to the Patriots],” Parker said. “My agent hit me up, just telling me what the situation was, and the options I had for the teams to go to. The first on my list was the Patriots. I’m just excited we were able to get everything done.” It is notable that the Dolphins not only allowed Parker a say in his next destination, but were willing to deal him to a division rival.
  • N’Keal Harry, a less successful member of the above-referenced 2019 class of wide receivers, may have been on his way out of New England even before the Patriots acquired Parker, but the Parker trade seemed to definitively signal an end to Harry’s tenure in Foxborough. He remains on the roster for now, but Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes that the Arizona State product was not with the team for the start of the offseason program last week. Harry’s agent says his client is training away from the team facilities, and that he and the Patriots continue to have “positive dialogue” about a potential trade (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network). 2022 will be a critical season for Harry, whose fifth-year option will almost certainly be declined and who will therefore be eligible for free agency next year.
  • The Jets are said to be “all in” on Samuel, but the 49ers are reportedly not even entertaining trade offers at this time.
  • Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has said Brown isn’t going anywhere, and it sounds as if Tennessee may have offered the 2020 Pro Bowler an extension with a $20MM AAV. Even if that’s the case, we do not know any of the more important details like guarantees and cash flow, and it sounds like there is still plenty of negotiating to be done before Brown puts pen to paper.

Contract Details: Brown, Mack, Woods

April 16th, 2022 at 12:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are some details on deals recently signed around the NFL:

  • Trent Brown, OL (Patriots): two-year, $11.5MM deal. Brown’s deal includes a $750K weight bonus in 2022 and 2023, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. He’ll earn $150K if he shows up to the first day of offseason program at 385 pounds or less, another $75K if he’s at or under 375 pounds by June 1, another $75K if he’s at or under 365 pounds by July 15, and $25K weekly bonuses if he’s at 365 pounds or less each Thursday during the season.
  • Marlon Mack, RB (Texans): signed. It’s a one-year, $2MM deal, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The deal includes a $250K signing bonus, a $1.25MM base salary, and $29K in per-game roster bonuses.
  • Auden Tate, WR (Falcons): one-year deal. The deal includes a $1.03MM base salary and only counts $930K against the cap, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein (on Twitter). Tate can also earn $5K per-game roster bonuses.
  • Xavier Woods, S (Panthers): three-year, $15.75MM deal. Deal includes more than $6MM in guaranteed money, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The deal includes a $5MM signing bonus. Woods can earn $250K for each Pro Bowl he makes. The safety will be owed a $1MM roster bonus on the third day of the 2023 league year.
  • Solomon Thomas, DL (Jets): one-year deal. The deal is worth $2.25MM, including $1.9MM in guaranteed money, tweets ESPN’s Rich Cimini (on Twitter). Thomas can earn another $2.5MM in incentives.
  • Will Hernandez, OL (Cardinals): one-year deal. The deal is worth $1.18MM, with $1.04MM in guaranteed money, according to veteran reporter Howard Balzer. The deal includes a $152K signing bonus. As a veteran qualifying contract, the deal counts $1.04MM against the cap.
  • Jesse Davis, OL (Vikings): one-year, $3MM deal. The deal includes a $1.5MM signing bonus, a $1.25MM fully guaranteed base salary, a $50K workout bonus, and up to $200K in per-game roster bonuses, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star-Tribune.. There’s also a void year in 2023.
  • Randy Bullock, K (Titans): signed. It’s a two-year deal worth $4.68MM, plus additional money for incentives, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

AFC Free Agency Rumors: Pats, Ogbah, Texans, Broncos

April 15th, 2022 at 7:36pm CST by Ely Allen

After an anomalous offseason that saw the Patriots rank fourth in the NFL in total spending, New England fans have seen a bit of a return to the norm in 2022 with the team currently ranking 21st. Whereas last year saw the Patriots sign Matt Judon, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, and Jalen Mills, this offseason for New England has mainly consisted of a few re-signings, a few trades, and fewer additions of players like Terrance Mitchell, Ty Montgomery, Malcolm Butler, and Jabrill Peppers.

According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, next year could see the Patriots return to a higher priced offseason. Attractive names on the market, along with guarantees from last year’s signings coming off the books, could lead to New England pursuing the strategy of surrounding a young quarterback on their rookie deal with tons of talent.

Here are a few more free agency rumors from around the AFC, starting with a note from Dade County:

  • Emmanuel Ogbah‘s new dream deal to stay in Miami was dangerously close to not happening, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Ogbah signed an enticing four-year, $65MM deal with $32MM guaranteed in mid-March. While the Dolphins always planned on pursuing Ogbah, the offer they originally had in mind wasn’t quite that lofty. Rumors claim that another team was looking to offer Ogbah a deal close to the contract he ended up with in Miami. The Dolphins upped their offer moments before the start of free agency and were able to keep Ogbah in his home of the past two seasons.
  • In a press conference with new Texans head coach Lovie Smith, a question was raised about the team’s cornerbacks room. Smith’s reply was that the play from last year’s group was not good enough. If players were brought back from last year, Smith claims that the team has faith in them to play a role, but that the team is definitely looking to improve their cornerback room. If the team is looking to free agency to do so, there are still some veteran names available on the market such as Joe Haden, Kyle Fuller, and Chris Harris.
  • According to Mike Sando of The Athletic, while the Broncos obviously improved their quarterback room with the addition of Russell Wilson, an executive in the NFL claims that the move should still be considered a miss as the team obviously would’ve preferred Aaron Rodgers. It’s no secret that most teams in the NFL would prefer Rodgers over Wilson and Wilson clearly improves the Broncos’ offense as the best back up plan after missing on Rodgers. Yet the quoted executive seems to believe that the Broncos deserve a little less credit for the move, since it’s essentially the result of missing on Rodgers.

Patriots To Meet With CB Andrew Booth

April 6th, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Andrew Booth may miss his NFL team’s offseason workouts due to hernia surgery, but that should not deter teams from considering the Clemson cornerback in Round 1. Booth has met with the Bills (No. 25) and Eagles, with Rapoport adding Patriots (No. 21) and Saints (Nos. 16 and 19) meetings are also on Booth’s docket.

Patriots Rework Deatrich Wise’s Deal

April 6th, 2022 at 10:32am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have converted $2.85MM of defensive lineman Deatrich Wise’s base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The adjustment will carve out $1.9MM in additional salary cap room for the Patriots. 

[RELATED: Patriots Trade For D. Parker]

The move will allow the Pats to absorb the salary of wide receiver DeVante Parker, who came from the Dolphins — along with a 2022 fifth-round pick — in exchange for a 2023 third-round choice. Parker’s deal calls for a $5.65MM base salary in 2022 and $5.7MM in 2013, though there’s zero guarantees remaining on his deal. For the Pats, it’s a thrifty WR upgrade after missing out on more ambitious targets like Odell Beckham Jr.

Wise Jr., 28, has blossomed into a quality edge player who can also moonlight at defensive tackle. Last year, the 2017 fourth-round pick was rewarded with a four-year, $22MM deal. This revision probably won’t impact his bottom line much, but it will give the Patriots the flexibility they need in 2022.

Before the move, the Patriots were near the bottom of the league in available cap space. They’re still in the cap cellar, but they’ll likely restructure other veterans in the coming weeks to clear up the books.

Wise finished 41 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble last year while starting in nine of his 16 games played.

QB Josh Dobbs Visited Ravens, Patriots

April 5th, 2022 at 10:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Josh Dobbs is generating some interest around the league. The quarterback tried out for the Ravens yesterday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that Dobbs also had an audition with the Patriots.

Dobbs entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017. He spent the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Steelers, and after spending most of the 2019 campaign in Jacksonville, he returned to Pittsburgh for 2020 and 2021.

Dobbs ultimately saw time in six games for the Steelers, completing 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 45 yards and one interception. He also added 31 rushing yards on six carries. After re-signing with the organization last offseason, the QB ended up spending the entire 2021 campaign on injured reserve.

The Ravens are currently rostering only two QBs in Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, so Dobbs would provide some depth at the position. In New England, Mac Jones has a pair of backups in Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, so Dobbs would have more of an uphill battle to make the Patriots roster.

Cowboys, Falcons, Packers, Texans Pursued DeVante Parker

April 4th, 2022 at 4:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots’ latest wide receiver trade sent DeVante Parker from one AFC East team to another, but at least four teams from outside the division discussed acquiring the former first-round pick.

The Packers, Falcons and Texans engaged in talks with either the Dolphins or Parker’s agent about the veteran wide receiver, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds the Cowboys resided in the mix as well (Twitter links).

Parker went to the Pats in a deal that sent the Dolphins a third-round pick, with Fowler adding talks between the rivals heated up on the pro-day circuit. The career-long Dolphin wanted to be dealt to the Patriots, per Fowler and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link).

Dallas’ receiver room changed in March, when the team dealt Amari Cooper to Cleveland for little compensation — at least compared to what the Cowboys parted with to acquire Cooper — and let Cedrick Wilson Jr. defect to Miami. The Dolphins’ Wilson move and their Tyreek Hill blockbuster left Parker without a certain role in Mike McDaniel‘s offense. This led to the seven-year vet going on the trade block.

Green Bay joined Dallas in dealing its No. 1 wideout in March, sending Davante Adams to Las Vegas. Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s Chiefs commitment leaves the Packers with little at receiver. The Falcons have seen their receiving corps gutted over the past 10 months, to the point they do not have a No. 1- or No. 2-caliber receiver on their roster. The Texans do not have much beyond Brandin Cooks at the position. And the oft-traded wideout is going into the final year of his Rams-constructed contract.

Parker is signed through the 2023 season and is on the Patriots’ books at $5.65MM and $5.7MM for the next two years. While the 29-year-old target has not been especially consistent, he has a 1,200-yard season on his resume (2019) and carried a contract that looks quite reasonable considering where Adams and Hill took the market last month.

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