Patriots Sign WR Marvin Hall
The Patriots have signed wide receiver Marvin Hall (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Details of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s likely a low-cost, one-year deal for the speedy veteran. 
Hall, a 2016 undrafted free agent out of Washington, seemed to have found a home with the Lions in 2020. After wandering the league early in his pro career, he managed 17 catches for 290 yards and two scores across eleven games. But, in an effort to see more from their younger players, the Lions cut him loose in December, leading him to the Browns.
Hall — who previously suited up for the Raiders, Cardinals, Falcons, and Bears — enjoyed a breakout performance in Week 8, catching four passes for 113 yards. Now, he’ll compete for a spot in New England where Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, and Jakobi Meyers headline the WR group. Special teams standout Matthew Slater is likely to keep his spot, even if he doesn’t see much time on offense. That leaves Hall, N’Keal Harry, seventh-round pick Tre Nixon, Kristian Wilkerson, Gunner Olszewski, and Isaiah Zuber to battle for one or two remaining jobs this summer.
Latest On Patriots' Offensive Line
- The Dolphins added Jason McCourty early this month. The veteran cornerback is expected to play a key depth role in Miami, and Brian Flores said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) some work at safety is possible for the three-year Patriots corner starter. McCourty saw most of his snaps at corner in 2020 but did work as a safety on 75 plays. The Dolphins let Bobby McCain go this offseason but have ex-Pats corner Eric Rowe and second-rounder Jevon Holland at safety. As for McCourty’s compensation, Jackson adds the 33-year-old defender signed for the veteran minimum. His base salary is nearly fully guaranteed, with OverTheCap noting McCourty is locked into $987K of that $1.1MM figure.
- Joe Thuney‘s departure for Kansas City will create a vacancy at New England’s left guard spot for the first time in many years. The Patriots‘ first-string left guard since 2016, Thuney has yet to miss a game during his career. The Pats, however, may have located a gem in 2020 sixth-round pick Michael Onwenu. The Michigan product started 16 games and played more on the edge than at guard as a rookie. But it looks like the Pats will shift Onwenu to a full-time guard role, with ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss noting he lined up as their first-string left guard in OTAs. The Pats traded for Trent Brown and are expected to use him at right tackle, Onwenu’s primary 2020 position. Pro Football Focus graded Onwenu as a top-10 tackle last season.
- Brown and Isaiah Wynn are set to be the Pats’ starting tackles, and Reiss adds Justin Herron looks like the top candidate to be their swing backup. Drafted 13 spots ahead of Onwenu in last year’s sixth round, Herron started six games and played 351 snaps as a rookie. PFF graded Herron 56th overall at tackle in 2020. Considering Wynn’s injury history, the Pats’ swing-tackle role is a pivotal gig.
Latest On Matt Patricia’s Role With Patriots
After his disastrous tenure as the head coach of the Lions, Matt Patricia rejoined the Patriots in January. Of course, it was his time as New England’s defensive coordinator that led to Patricia’s rise to the head coaching ranks, and his disappointing two-plus years in Detroit did not shake Bill Belichick‘s confidence in his long-time lieutenant.
As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes, Patricia looks like he is being groomed for a major role with the Patriots, either on the coaching staff or in the front office. After former exec Nick Caserio became the Texans’ general manager earlier this year, there is a void in the New England front office, and Volin reports that Patricia is taking on some of Caserio’s responsibilities.
Perhaps most notable is the fact that Patricia has replaced Caserio as the “closer,” the man whose name is at the bottom of every free agent contract the Patriots signed this offseason. A former high-level NFL executive told Volin, “[t]he fact that [Patricia] is the one signing all of them, it certainly says that he’s intimately involved, and probably leading the internal organization around cap management and contract negotiations.”
Like Caserio and his predecessors, Scott Pioli and Floyd Reese, Patricia’s background is in the football side of things, not the financial/legal side. Belichick apparently believes that such an arrangement, which is fairly unique — most teams have their GM or salary cap administrator sign contracts — helps to expedite the process, since the “football guy” knows exactly who a player’s comparables are and how he fits into the team’s scheme.
Patricia, who was manning the phones during this year’s draft and who served as Belichick’s “sounding board” before the Pats selected Alabama QB Mac Jones, is not just being utilized in a front office capacity. Volin and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com noted that Patricia was standing alongside Belichick at practice this past week, and he worked with defensive linemen and observed defensive drills. Caserio also coached drills during his time in Foxborough.
To be clear, Eliot Wolf — who was hired last March — and assistant director of player personnel Dave Ziegler were also heavily involved in free agency and the contract process, so it’s not as if Patricia is a one-man show. Still, the 46-year-old has long been one of Belichicks most-trusted confidants, and he is presently looking like a real candidate to emerge as the team’s future GM or even head coach. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recalls, the Rams came away from their 2017 HC interview with Patricia thinking that he might make a great GM down the road.
Because Patricia will be paid by the Lions through 2022, Volin suggests he could be with the Pats for at least the next two seasons.
Browns Will Not Pursue Julio Jones; Patriots’ Interest Mild?
Shortly after any potential Browns-Aaron Rodgers rumors stopped in their tracks early, the ascending team will pass on the latest big name connected to a trade.
Cleveland is not interested in Julio Jones, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot, who adds no Odell Beckham Jr.-for-Jones swap should be expected. Despite a rocky start in Ohio, which has involved trade rumblings, Beckham remains a player the Browns are high on. They are eager to see him back healthy in 2021, with Cabot adding the team has no plans to adjust its receiver room — which houses OBJ, Jarvis Landry and the recently re-signed Rashard Higgins — at this juncture.
[RELATED: First-Round Pick Offered For Julio Jones]
While Cleveland did not profile as a Jones fit, Super Bowl aspirations notwithstanding, New England does. The Patriots have held internal discussions on the future Hall of Fame wideout, but the franchise known to make a splashy receiver trade from time to time may sit this one out. At this point, the Patriots’ interest in Jones is tepid, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
The Patriots reside in the top 10 in cap space ($15MM-plus), but they have not signed their top three draft picks. That will account for a few million. Though New England could move some funds around, the Falcons having a first-rounder on the table may change the equation for the Pats. Atlanta would surely prefer to send Jones to the AFC, but if an NFC team is the only one offering a first, that may well take precedence.
New England signed Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne early in free agency, with Agholor collecting more guaranteed money than all but two 2021 UFA receivers (Kenny Golladay and Corey Davis). The Patriots clearly have big plans for the ex-Eagles and Raiders wideout, even though he has been inconsistent. Jones would certainly help Cam Newton and/or Mac Jones, but he does not have a no-trade clause. He may well be sent elsewhere.
Patriots Cut LaRoy Reynolds
LaRoy Reynolds‘ tenure with the Patriots lasted a bit more than two months. The team announced that they released the veteran linebacker/special teamer today. The 30-year-old was released with an injury settlement.
Despite going undrafted out of Virginia in 2013, Reynolds has managed to put together an eight-year career. In stints with the Jaguars, Bears, Falcons (two stints), Eagles, 49ers, and Bengals, the veteran has collected 117 tackles, with most of those coming on special teams. He appeared in 315 snaps for the Falcons in 2020, including 275 on special teams. He finished the season with 12 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
The Patriots inked Reynolds to a one-year, $1.5MM deal back in March, and the journeyman was expected to serve as one of Bill Belichick‘s beloved special teams aces. Instead, Reynolds will be hitting free agency for the second time this offseason.
With the move, the Patriots have opened up a roster spot, and they’ll soon open another spot when they officially process Patrick Chung‘s retirement. The Patriots could use these spots to add an undrafted free agent or two, as their previous roster constraints only allowed them to add one rookie after the draft.
Patriots Cut FB Dan Vitale
The Patriots have released fullback Dan Vitale, as Jim McBride of the Boston Globe tweets. To take his place on the roster, the Pats have added tight end Troy Fumagalli. 
Vitale joined the Patriots last year, but opted out of the 2020 season in the midst of the pandemic. Vitale was one of the first NFL players to take the opt-out, following Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Ravens wideout De’Anthony Thomas, Seahawks guard Chance Warmack and Cowboys cornerback Maurice Canady. Before that, Vitale played 170 snaps for the Packers in 2019, catching 12 passes for 97 yards.
Fumagalli came into the league as a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Broncos. After missing his rookie year due to injury, he went on to appear in 19 games for the Broncos between ’19 and ’20. All in all, he’s notched 14 grabs for 118 yards and two scores. He’ll have his work cut out for him as the Patriots’ TE group already includes Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Dalton Keene, Devin Asiasi, and Matt LaCosse.
Adam Vinatieri To Retire From NFL
3:36pm: The NFL’s all-time scoring leader confirmed he will hang up his cleats. Vinatieri acknowledged during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (video link) he will not attempt to play a 25th season. An official announcement should follow soon, and the longtime Patriots and Colts kicker should be expected to land in Canton at some point.
9:28am: Ideally, Adam Vinatieri would like to play through his 49th birthday in December. But, at this stage, the longtime NFL kicker doesn’t see it happening.
“I haven’t officially retired, but I’m probably on that way,” Vinatieri said in a recent interview with Morten Andersen (via the Indy Star). “Like I said, I’m continuing to do stuff to try and get there. It’s just not … there might be a time to officially do that here in the near future.”
Vinatieri’s contract with the Colts expired at the end of the 2019 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. The veteran planned on returning to the field in 2020, but quarantine life hampered the rehabilitation of his surgically-repaired knee. Meanwhile, the Colts moved on to undrafted rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
On the whole, Vinatieri’s career has been legendary. Over the course of 24 seasons, he captured four Super Bowl rings, three First Team All-Pro nods, and countless clutch kicks. His late-year injury resulted in his first missed game since Super Bowl XLIV. And, with the Colts, he had perfect attendance dating back to 2010.
With that said, Vinatieri did show some signs of slowing down in 2019. He made just 17 of his 25 field goal tries and 22 of his 28 extra points. The Colts had issues beyond the special teams unit, of course, but those misses did not help matters as they dropped out of playoff contention.
“When you get to be our age, and you’ve kicked as many balls as we have, things start to wear out a little bit,” Vinatieri said. “Unfortunately, it was a little bit more than we were hoping. We knew we had some stuff in (the knee) that needed to be fixed. But when our surgeon went in there, he said, ‘I’m not giving you the 40,000-mile overhaul; it looked like we gave you the 80,000-mile overhaul.’”
If Vinatieri returns for another NFL season, it’ll be a historic feat. Currently, quarterback/kicker George Blanda holds the league’s all-time record on that front having played at the age of 48 in the 1975 season.
Patriots Ink Only One UDFA
- The Patriots have a 17-year streak going of at least one undrafted rookie making their opening day roster. That streak looks like it may be coming to an end, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Reiss points out the team has only signed one UDFA so far, kicker Quinn Nordin from Michigan. The Pats have three kickers on the roster and Nordin will need to beat out both Nick Folk and Roberto Aguayo if New England is going to make it 18 years in a row.
Patriots Have Discussed Julio Jones Trade
With more smoke surfacing on the Julio Jones front, another potential suitor has emerged. The Patriots have held internal discussions on Jones, according to NFL.com’s Mike Giardi (on Twitter).
This certainly does not mean a deal is close, but the Patriots have operated aggressively at the skill positions this offseason. Four new weapons — Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne — are in Foxborough, with the group set to aid Cam Newton and/or Mac Jones in 2021. One of this era’s most accomplished players, Jones would stand to help as well.
Despite the Pats’ uncharacteristic March spending, they still have north of $15MM in cap space. Although they still need to sign some draft picks — Jones among them — that cap-space figure ranks in the top 10. The Falcons, who hold less than $500K as of Saturday, rank 30th here. They have identified a Jones trade as a way to remedy this issue, even though dealing the 32-year-old All-Pro would would an offense that just added Kyle Pitts fourth overall.
[Poll: Who Will Julio Jones Play For In 2021?]
Bill Belichick sent the Falcons a second-round pick for longtime Jones teammate Mohamed Sanu in 2019, but that move backfired. While this is a new Falcons front office, Belichick dealt with GM Terry Fontenot‘s former team in a high-end receiver swap in 2017. Fontenot was with the Saints when they sent Brandin Cooks to the Patriots for a first-round pick four years ago. The new Atlanta GM said last month the team must listen to offers for Jones. Belichick has used the trade market extensively to land impact wideouts, with the 2007 offseason including deals for Randy Moss and Wes Welker. The Pats also traded for Chad Johnson in 2011 and Josh Gordon in 2018.
New England’s passing game sputtered last season — and neither Agholor nor Bourne profiles as a No. 1-caliber wide receiver. Jones missed seven games in 2020, due to a hamstring malady, but only missed four over the previous six years combined. His 9,388 receiving yards from 2014-19 not only led the NFL by more than 1,000; that total is the most ever in a six-season span. Jones’ 95.5 yards per game over the course of his career ranks No. 1 in NFL history.
The Titans are also believed to be on the radar for a Jones trade, and other teams should be expected to explore what it would take to acquire the 10-year veteran. Though, the Falcons are not expected to receive a first-round pick for their future Hall of Fame wideout. A Jones trade would need to take place after June 1, when such a move becomes less financially punishing for the Falcons. Jones’ $22MM-per-year contract includes a $15.3MM 2021 base salary; Jones is due $11.5MM in 2022 and ’23.
PFR Poll: Who Will Julio Jones Be Playing For In 2021?
Julio Jones remains on the trade block. We learned earlier today that the star receiver is still available, and the Falcons would like to trade the future Hall of Famer.
While Jones missed a handful of games in 2020, these trade rumors aren’t based on his production…there are few wideouts in the NFL who can compare to Jones’ consistent receiving numbers. Rather, the Falcons are shopping the veteran for financial reasons. The front office is currently sitting with around only $500K in cap space, and they still need to sign their draft class. With Jones earning an AAV around $22MM on his last extension, he’s always seemed like the likeliest cap casualty. GM Terry Fontenot even acknowledged that the team has to consider trading the seven-timer Pro Bowler.
“We are in a difficult cap situation,” Fontenot said. “That’s just the circumstance…Our administration has done an excellent job up to this point getting us in position to be able to manage the cap. Yet, we still have more work to do.
“So, when teams call about any players, we have to listen, and we have to weigh it and we have to determine what’s best for the organization, and we have to handle everything with class. Obviously, that particular player [Jones] — we hold him in high regard. He’s special…but we have to consider [listening on] any player if it’s right for the team, because we have to do what’s right for the team.”
There are some hurdles with a trade, particularly Jones $15.3MM salary for 2021. At this point of the offseason, it’s going to be tough for teams to find the cap room to afford the receiver…and, similar to the Falcons, few teams will want to renegotiate with Jones and pile money onto the later seasons of his contract. As a result, the Falcons reportedly aren’t seeking a first-round pick for the 32-year-old.
So, considering Jones’ talent and the Falcons asking price, a long list of teams have been mentioned as potential suitors for the receiver. So, that leads us to today’s question: who will Jones be playing for come Week 1 of the 2021 season? We provided a handful of candidates below.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Jones ever since the wideout hit the block, and the connection makes plenty of sense. The team hasn’t really filled the hole on their depth chart left by Corey Davis, who signed with the Jets. If the Titans want to continue their postseason momentum, pairing A.J. Brown with Jones would make for one of the best receiver tandems in the league. Plus, new Falcons head coach Arthur Smith had spent the previous decade in Tennessee, so he’d certainly have some good words about the organization if Jones tries to control his own fate.
For what it’s worth, running back Derrick Henry made it abundantly clear on Twitter today that he’d welcome the future Hall-of-Fame receiver to Tennessee.
The downside? The Titans don’t have a whole lot of cap space, so it’d be tough to fit Jones’ massive contract on their books.
Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden has been hunting for a big-name wide receiver since he joined the Raiders organization. He played a role in the infamous acquisition of Antonio Brown, and they used their 2020 first-round pick on Henry Ruggs III. In other words, the head coach would undoubtedly be a supporter of a Jones acquisition. Besides Gruden’s apparent attraction to top wideouts, the team also kind of needs help at the position; their top-three options are currently Ruggs, John Brown, and Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders still have around $10MM in cap space, so while they’d have to overcome a few financial hurdles to acquire Jones, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have made headlines for revamping their offense this offseason. The team added the two top free agent tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, they acquired Trent Brown to solidify the offensive line, and they drafted Mac Jones to compete with Cam Newton at quarterback. However, the team’s wide receivers are still a bit underwhelming. The team dished out some money on Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, but neither of those players really profile as top-end receivers.
Bill Belichick has seemingly had a love-hate relationship with receiver acquisitions over the years, as he often provided Tom Brady with too many receivers or not enough receivers. The Patriots currently have a clear need for a receiver, and Jones would certainly help their quest to return to the postseason. Plus, the Patriots are currently sitting with $15MM in cap space, which would be almost enough to acquire Jones without any funny cap machinations.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are clearly all-in on this current iteration of this team, as they’ve sacrificed their first-round picks through 2023 in order to snag Trey Lance with the third-overall pick. With that in mind, giving up a handful of non-firsts for a star receiver doesn’t seem like a huge risk when the cupboard is already a bit empty.
Plus, while it remains unseen if Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for Week 1, the 49ers could use a player of Jones’ caliber. The team hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Anquan Boldin in 2014, and Jones would provide the starting quarterback with another Pro Bowl talent alongside tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers have more than $17MM in cap space, and they could carve out even more space if they decide to move on from Jimmy G. If any suitor has the financial flexibility to add Jones, it’s San Francisco.
Atlanta Falcons
Financial ramifications aside, keeping Jones in Atlanta also makes plenty of sense. The wideout has established himself as one of the top players in franchise history, he’s been incredibly productive throughout his career, and he’s only played in fewer than 10 games twice (of course, one of those seasons came in 2020). Plus, if the Falcons have any hope of returning to the Super Bowl with Matt Ryan as their starting quarterback, a loaded offense would certainly help. Jones would just be one of the many talented targets in Atlanta, along with former first-round receiver Calvin Ridley and the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, tight end Kyle Pitts.
We could have listed at least a handful of other teams on this list: the Chargers, Ravens, Colts, and Packers have also been listed as potential suitors (by both pundits and bookies). But for the sake of a tidy poll, we’ll group each of those teams into the “other category.”
So, with all that said, who do you think Julio Jones will be playing with to begin the 2021 campaign? Vote in the accompanying poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Who Will Julio Jones Be Playing For In 2021?
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Other 24% (835)
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Atlanta Falcons 21% (726)
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New England Patriots 20% (714)
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San Francisco 49ers 14% (506)
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Las Vegas Raiders 12% (429)
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Tennessee Titans 8% (282)
Total votes: 3,492