Patriots Looking To Trade Up For QB Justin Fields?
Bill Belichick has a well-known affinity for trading back in the draft, but it sounds like New England could buck the trend and trade up. Jeff Howe of The Athletic writes that the Patriots have spoken with the Falcons about a trade for the fourth-overall pick.
If the Patriots are planning on spending assets to move up from No. 15, they presumably have a target in mind. Howe believes that these trade discussions are a strong sign that the Patriots have “found conviction” in at least one prospect, and he opines that the player is Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported a similar sentiment earlier this week (Twitter link), noting that the Patriots were sniffing around at a trade with the hope of landing Fields. Pelissero’s report indicated that New England had spoken with the Lions at No. 7 and the Panthers at No. 8.
If Belichick and the Patriots do decide to cash in on a quarterback prospect, it’d be a surprising development. The Patriots haven’t used a first-round pick on a quarterback during Belichick’s tenure with the team (although that was easy to do with Tom Brady under center), but they’ve also generally been wary of trading up during the first day of the draft. Belichick has only traded up in the first round on three ocassions during his time in New England, and only one of those trades saw him acquire a top-15 pick (Ty Warren at No. 13 in 2003).
For a team that likes to retain their draft capital, the Patriots would have to give up a bounty to acquire the No. 4 pick. The 49ers had to give up No. 12, two future first-rounders, and a third-round pick to get up to No. 3; the Falcons would presumably ask for a similar haul if New England wanted to jump from No. 15 to No. 4. It wouldn’t be as pricey to move from No. 15 to either No. 7 or No. 8, with Pelissero estimating that it’d cost at least a second-rounder.
Of course, it’s still uncertain if Fields will even be around at No. 4, much less No. 7 or No. 8. The 49ers could still very well select the Ohio State product with the third-overall pick.
Cam Newton In Attendance At Patriots Workouts
As you’re surely well aware by now, this year’s NFL offseason workouts have been a point of tension between the NFLPA and the league. Many teams have announced their intention to skip workouts and proceed entirely virtually like they did last year. Lots of teams also issued statements saying that “many” of their players wouldn’t be attending, and one of those was the Patriots. Well New England started their program this past week, and now we have some details on which players showed up.
Most notably, Cam Newton was in attendance, according to Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe. Fellow Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham was also there. Yang points out that Newton has a $100K workout bonus in his contract, giving him some extra motivation. This will likely be something of a trend around the NFL, with quarterbacks wanting to take initiative and not be seen as slacking off. Newton isn’t assured the starting job in 2021, so it’s not surprising he’s doing everything he can to get on the coaching staff’s good side.
Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order: Round 1
The Ravens sent Orlando Brown to the Chiefs on Friday, shuffling the first-round order of the NFL Draft once again. Now, the Ravens are one of four teams to hold multiple first-round picks, joining the Jaguars (Nos. 1 and 25), Jets (Nos. 2 and 23), and Dolphins (Nos. 6 and 18). In turn, Chiefs no longer have a top-32 choice, joining the Seahawks, Texans, and Rams.
As we look ahead to Thursday, here’s how the first round currently stands:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. San Francisco 49ers (from HOU via MIA)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Miami Dolphins (from PHI)
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. Philadelphia Eagles (from SF via MIA)
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (from SEA)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LAR)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Buffalo Bills
31. Baltimore Ravens (from KC)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Patriots Want To Draft QB In Round 1?
- The Patriots sent staffers to Justin Fields and Trey Lance‘s second pro days. Although the Pats re-signed Cam Newton and have not chosen a first-round quarterback since Drew Bledsoe 28 years ago — well before Bill Belichick‘s HC tenure — Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com writes the team would like to take one in this year’s first round. Belichick generally runs a tight ship ahead of drafts, with advance intel difficult to come by, but a recent report also indicated the Pats are on the QB radar — potentially as a trade-up team.
- The Patriots sent staffers to Justin Fields and Trey Lance‘s second pro days. Although the Pats re-signed Cam Newton and have not chosen a first-round quarterback since Drew Bledsoe 28 years ago — well before Bill Belichick‘s HC tenure — Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com writes the team would like to take one in this year’s first round. Belichick generally runs a tight ship ahead of drafts, with advance intel difficult to come by, but a recent report also indicated the Pats are on the QB radar — potentially as a trade-up team.
- Although a previous report had Washington reps attending Lance’s second pro day, Breer notes Ron Rivera‘s team was not in Fargo, N.D., for the Division I-FCS prospect’s second showcase. The 49ers, Falcons, Broncos and Patriots were there. The 49ers were the only team to send its head coach or GM; both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were there. Lack of attendance aside, Washington is believed to be high on Lance. The team might not be interested in climbing too high for him, but if Lance falls into the bottom half of the top 10, Washington may pounce.
Some Patriots Attend Workouts
- Despite the Raiders being one of the teams to join the boycott, some of their players reported to their facility Monday, according to The Associated Press. Some members of the Cowboys, Panthers and Patriots did as well. The Pats also indicated many of their players would not attend. Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said “a lot” of players were present Monday.
Latest On Trey Lance, Justin Fields
Trey Lance conducted his second pro day Monday in Fargo, North Dakota. A few notable teams attended the event. While previous reports indicated the 49ers, Falcons and Broncos were to have personnel at the showcase, the Patriots were there as well.
The Pats sent Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Dave Ziegler to observe Lance, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. The Panthers and Bears are not believed to have sent representatives to watch the North Dakota State prospect throw this time, Breer adds, though both teams were at his first pro day. Washington, which has been linked to Lance recently, did have a contingent present, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.
[RELATED: 49ers Open To Drafting Trey Lance?]
Lance ran 49ers drills at the workout. The idea of working in Kyle Shanahan‘s offense appeals to Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones, according to Breer. Lance and Fields opted to go through with second pro days in order for Shanahan and John Lynch to be on-hand. Lance has worked with QB guru John Beck in recent weeks and, per Graziano, did so at Shanahan’s request (Twitter link). San Francisco’s staff gave Beck a set of drills for Lance to work on during the leadup to his second pro day. Shanahan coached Beck when he served as Washington’s OC in the early 2010s.
The Panthers sent their top brass to Lance’s first pro day March 12; Matt Rhule, GM Scott Fitterer and OC Joe Brady made that trip, Breer adds. The Bears sent Matt Nagy to watch Fields’ second pro day last week, with Washington having director of college scouting Tim Gribble at that event. Nagy and GM Ryan Pace made the trip to watch Lance last month but were not believed to be at Lance’s second throwing session, which, like Fields’ workout sequel, was closed to media.
Denver OC Pat Shurmur was at both Fields and Lance’s second sessions, and while the Broncos are not a lock to draft one of this year’s top five passers, teams believe they are lurking as as stealth QB suitor, according to Breer. The Broncos are set to pick ninth. One of those QBs could well fall to them, but the Broncos have also been linked to a possible trade-up for a quarterback. The team last drafted a first-round quarterback in 2016 (Paxton Lynch) but has never selected one in the top 10. If the 49ers take Jones, the Broncos would stand to be in play for Lance or Fields.
Multiple Teams Wanted To Sign Alex Smith
When most players retire from the NFL, it’s because the phone stops ringing. That apparently wasn’t the case with Alex Smith, who announced earlier this morning that he’d be hanging up his cleats. 
“Multiple teams wanted to sign” Smith, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. Pelissero adds that Smith made the decision to call it a career a couple of weeks ago. Smith then appeared on SportsCenter, where he offered a bit more info on his process. Interestingly, Smith said he did visit with the Jaguars and considered signing with them, via Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).
That would’ve reunited him in Jacksonville with Urban Meyer, who coached him in college at Utah. We heard at the beginning of the month that the Texans had interest in bringing him in, and the Colts, Patriots, and Eagles were also intrigued, according to Greg Bishop of SI.com. Smith, of course, miraculously returned from a devastating leg injury last season to improbably help lead Washington to the playoffs.
It’s not surprising teams were interested in Smith as a veteran mentor, as the 36-year-old surely has a lot of wisdom to impart to a young quarterback. It would’ve been cool to see him give Trevor Lawrence some guidance in Jacksonville, just like he did with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
Ultimately it wasn’t mean to be, and Smith will wrap up his rollercoaster of a career after 16 seasons in the league. He can walk away knowing he had offers on the table, which is more than most can say.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/16/21
Today’s minor moves:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: DL Dakota Allen
New England Patriots
- Waived: C Dustin Woodard
Washington Football Team
- Waived: CB DeMarkus Acy
Patriots’ J.C. Jackson Signs Offer Sheet
Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson has signed his second-round tender (Twitter link via Jeff Howe of The Athletic). The second-round tender will keep Jackson in the fold for 2021 at a salary of $3.4MM. 
The Patriots waited until the last minute to cuff Jackson, opting for the second-round tender instead of the pricier $4.8MM first-round tender. The gamble seems to have paid off, as Jackson did not sign an offer sheet elsewhere. Jackson’s decision to sign does not necessarily mean he’ll be in New England this fall, however — the Pats could still flip him, as they did with Malcolm Butler a few years ago.
Jackson performed as one of the league’s better corners in 2020. Playing on 84 percent of the Patriots’ snaps, he intercepted a whopping nine passes, good for No. 2 in the NFL. He also notched 14 passes defensed with three fumble recoveries. Not bad for a former UDFA. His ballhawking skills were also on display in 2018 and 2019, as he notched a combined five interceptions.
Even after the Patriots’ spending spree, there could be room to lock up Jackson for the long term. But, if they don’t, the Maryland product could fetch a sizable haul via trade.
Jets, Patriots, Panthers Showed Interest In RB Chris Carson
Before he re-signed with the Seahawks, running back Chris Carson had interest from a number of teams. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes that the Jets, Patriots, and Panthers were among the teams that reached out to the veteran. We previously heard that the Dolphins tried to sign the running back.
After spending the first four seasons of his career with Seattle, Carson ultimately decided to stick around with the organization. However, the veteran admitted that he had some enticing offers from those rival suitors.
“[The decision] was definitely difficult,” Carson told Condotta. “Teams made offers. Some teams made it tough to decide to sign with the Seahawks.”
Besides his familiarity with the team, Carson was also swayed by the money and the security. His two-year deal includes $5.5MM in guaranteed money and could be worth up to $10.4MM.
Despite having a pair of 1,000-plus-yard seasons on his resume, he’s expected to compete with former first-rounder Rashaad Penny for snaps next season. However, Carson isn’t concerned about the unclear roles; rather, he believes himself and Penny could emerge as one of the top two-headed monsters in the league.
“I think we can be one of the top rushing duos in the league,’’ Carson said. “We both bring a different feel to the game, like different attributes. But we complement each other so well. I feel like his limit is ridiculous once he starts getting his feet wet in the game. I think it’s going to be something special.’’
While the Panthers were probably looking for Carson to relieve Christian McCaffrey, the Patriots and Jets could have offered the veteran a larger role. The Patriots depth chart is led by Sony Michel and Damien Harris, a pair of intriguing young players who have yet to secure the definitive starting spot. The Jets depth chart is a mix of unproven young players and Tevin Coleman, although they’ll probably add to the position via the draft.