Raekwon McMillan‘s 2023 season has ended before it even started. The Patriots announced earlier today that they’ve placed the linebacker on injured reserve. Jeff Howe and Chad Graff of The Athletic report that McMillan suffered a partially torn Achilles during practice.
This is a tough break for McMillan, who re-signed with the Patriots earlier this offseason. The former second-round pick got into 16 games (one start) for New England in 2022, finishing with 35 tackles, a sack, and a fumble return for a touchdown. The 27-year-old previously started 28 games across the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the Dolphins, including a rookie campaign where he had 105 tackles.
The Patriots haven’t done a whole lot this offseason to address their hole at off-ball linebacker. As Graff points out, the team now only has three players with any experience for those spots: Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, and Mack Wilson. Third-round rookie MarteMapu could potentially fill McMillan’s spot on the depth chart, but Graff writes that the college safety projects to be more of a nickel than a linebacker in the NFL.
Players who are placed on the injured reserve during the offseason can’t be activated by their team during the regular season, meaning McMillan’s 2023 is effectively over. New England could later release the linebacker with an injury settlement, allowing him to sign elsewhere. Considering the length of McMillan’s impending recovery, it’s more likely he sits on the Patriots IR for the rest of the season.
The Patriots will join the list of teams to lose OTA days due to minor violations. The NFL docked the Pats two OTA sessions, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. New England did not practice Wednesday and will see another of its sessions nixed next week. The violation is believed to stem from the NFLPA expressing concern about the Pats’ meeting schedule. A 15-minute special teams meeting appearing on the team’s internal schedule was deemed mandatory in nature, and not voluntary, by the union, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Bill Belichick incurred a $50K fine, Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal tweets, noting Joe Judge was involved in the violation as well (Twitterlinks). Pats players were aware they were being asked to stay longer than allowed, per veteran reporter Mike Giardi (on Twitter), with Reiss adding the team was fully cooperative with the NFL inquiry.
While on-field contact has triggered these penalties at various points in the recent past, the Pats’ violation is believed to pertain to only the meeting issue. This punishment certainly can be interpreted as steep for the reported infraction, though the NFLPA made reduced offseason work a key component during the 2011 and 2020 CBA talks.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
Austin Jackson is back at work for the Dolphins, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, participating in OTA sessions after undergoing reconstructive ankle surgery (Twitter link). Jackson did not undergo surgery upon initially injury his ankle — in Week 1 — as Miami’s starting right tackle attempted to return in Week 12. Jackson played 70 offensive snaps in that December game but did not suit up again last season. The Dolphins said before the draft they are planning to give Jackson another shot as their top right tackle, though they subsequently passed on his fifth-year option.
Miami did not draft a tackle, but the team did add ex-New England starter Isaiah Wynn. The former first-rounder is working at multiple positions during OTAs, Mike McDaniel said (via Jackson). League rules prohibit media from reporting which positions Wynn is playing, but the former Patriots left tackle did play guard for three seasons at Georgia. Wynn has spent most of his NFL time at left tackle and struggled on the right side following a 2022 position switch. The Dolphins have Terron Armstead locked in at left tackle, but the ex-Saints blocker has run into numerous injury issues during his career. He missed four games last season. Wynn’s Dolphins path could feature a starting right tackle role, a spot as the team’s swingman or potentially a guard gig. Left guard Liam Eichenberg has not solidified his position like right guard Robert Hunt has.
Damar Hamlin has made remarkable strides in his recovery and is fully expected to resume his career this season. But the Bills are playing it cautiously. Hamlin received full clearance to return and has worked out with teammates this offseason, but The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes the third-year safety is not yet participating in OTAs (Twitter link). Hamlin’s progress continues to be a situation to monitor in Buffalo, considering the historically rare circumstances he encountered after making a routine tackle in January.
A year after re-signing Matt Milano, the Bills let Tremaine Edmunds walk in free agency. The five-year starting linebacker signed a monster Bears contract and left a hole in the Bills’ lineup. Buffalo is likely to look in-house to replace Edmunds, with WGRZ’s Vic Carucci indicatingTyrel Dodson and 2022 third-round pick Terrel Bernard will compete for the middle ‘backer job. A former UDFA, Dodson made three starts last year. He played 220 defensive snaps. Starting one game as a rookie, Bernard played 110. The Bills also brought back veteran A.J. Klein, who has 82 starts on his resume (16 with Buffalo), in April.
Two months after trading Jonnu Smith to the Falcons, the Patriots will pick up one of Atlanta’s recent tight ends. Anthony Firkser agreed to terms with New England on Thursday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
This will mark a Massachusetts return for Firkser, a Harvard alum, and another ex-Titan tight end to join the Patriots. After Tennessee let Smith walk in 2021, the team turned to Firkser as a replacement option. With Smith now in Atlanta, New England will see what Firkser has to offer alongside Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
Firkser, 28, spent four seasons with the Titans before rejoining ex-Tennessee tight ends coach Arthur Smith in Atlanta. Despite Kyle Pitts going down with a season-ending injury midway through last year, Firkser did not make much of a statistical impact with the Falcons. He is coming off a nine-catch, 100-yard season. Pro Football Focus did grade Firkser as one of the top pass-protecting tight ends last year, but he only played 148 offensive snaps in Atlanta.
The Falcons added Firkser on a one-year deal worth just $1.2MM in 2022, bringing him in to replace Hayden Hurst. Atlanta did not feature a high-octane passing attack, preferring to lean on the ground game as Marcus Mariota started 13 games before rookie Desmond Ridder finished the year. Firkser fared a bit better in Tennessee, totaling 387 receiving yards in 2020 and 291 in 2021.
The Pats were able to land Gesicki — a 2022 franchise tag recipient — one a one-year deal worth just $4.5MM. Henry is going into Year 3 of a three-year, $37.5MM contract. The Pats have not quite received what they’d hoped when they splurged for Henry and Smith in 2021, but this year’s edition features plenty of experience. Henry is going into his eighth NFL season; Gesicki and Firkser each are entering their sixth years.
Adebawore was a three-year starter for the Wildcats, functioning mostly as a defensive end in Evanston. Over his final two years at Northwestern, he totaled 9.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and four passes deflected. He isn’t a pure pass rusher or run stopper, but with explosive burst and disruptive strength Adebawore should be able to compete with Taven Bryan and McTelvin Agim for snaps rotating in behind DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.
Also a three-year starter, Andrews made the move inside from right guard to center for the Trojans as a redshirt senior. The Patriots don’t have an immediate need at center as David Andrews is under contract for another two years. The long-time Patriots’ starting center will be 32 when his contract expires, perhaps opening the door for the rookie Andrews to take over after a couple of years of development. In the meantime, Andrews’s experience at both guard and center provides New England with some depth along the interior offensive line.
Patriots starting right guard Michael Onwenu is hoping to avoid a continuation of the rollercoaster start to his career. As a reflection of that goal, following an offseason ankle surgery, Onwenu is not “expected to be on the field” for organized team activities, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
As a rookie, Onwenu excelled as a sixth-man for the Patriots, starting games as a sixth, stacked lineman, a right tackle, and both guard positions depending on what the injuries to the team’s starters necessitated. He finished the year ranked as the league’s eighth-best offensive guard, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
In 2021, Onwenu was asked to shift and stay at left guard. Despite a PFF grade that ranked him as the league’s third-best offensive guard that year, Onwenu struggled on the field and was benched, with Ted Karras taking his place. He would finish out the season in his rookie-year role of sixth man.
Last year was widely viewed as a bounce-back season for Onwenu. He regained a starting role, now as a right guard with rookie Cole Strange filling the position on the left side of the line. Onwenu not only started every game of the season but, until very late in the season, was on track to play every single snap of New England’s season on offense. Not only was his durability on display but so too was his playing ability as he once again ranked among the league’s best as the fourth-ranked guard, according to PFF.
He fell short of 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ final game of the regular season, when Bills defensive lineman DaQuan Jones landed on the back of his legs. Onwenu had already been playing through an ankle injury, and the added impact led to him missing the final six snaps of the season.
Missing OTAs isn’t the end of the world as the workouts are voluntary for players to begin with. It also sounds like he’ll still be in the building, he’s just not expected to be on the field, so that’s a positive, as well. We don’t yet have an idea of when Onwenu will be full-go on the field, but we can see that the Patriots are being cautious with his return.
Many thought that the Patriots would address their offensive tackle depth in the draft this year and many thought that the team failed to do so. New England did draft three offensive linemen at the end of April, but all three have generally been projected as interior linemen.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that may not quite be the case. Breer posits that the Patriots actually have plans to work their fourth-round guard out of Eastern Michigan, Sidy Sow, at tackle. Sow had started 11 games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman for the Eagles before eventually moving to left guard. Sow measured in Indianapolis a 6-foot-5, 323 pounds, so he doesn’t quite have elite size, but his frame is plenty big enough to work at tackle.
The Patriots return Trent Brown at left tackle and Conor McDermott, who started six games for New England at the end of last season. The team signed Riley Reiff to come in and likely start at right tackle and also brought inCalvin Anderson, who had some starts for Denver in the past three years. After that, the Patriots’ depth is bare. Sow’s presence should help while also providing the versatility to take snaps at guard, as well.
Here are a few more rumors out of New England:
One of the Patriots’ more underrated offseason additions was that of veteran linebackerChris Board. In his five year’s in the NFL, Board advanced from just a special teamer to a core special teamer worthy of snaps on defense with the Ravens and Lions. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Board was a hot commodity with several teams showing interest in free agency. New England was reportedly the most aggressive, which makes sense when considering the team’s notable respect for special teams specialists.
New England made an offseason addition to their front office staff this week, hiring Maya Ana Callender as a scouting assistant with the team, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Callender has spent the last few years at Princeton as Director of Football Operations. This is a return to the NFL for Callender who has previous experience with the Eagles and Buccaneers.
Thomas earned starts at all five positions along SMU’s offensive line. As is the norm with the current class of UDFAs entering the league, Thomas used the extra year of eligibility — granted by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic — and played five seasons for the Mustangs, making starts in each.
The Buccaneers waived Cook earlier this week, doing so after giving him a reserve/futures contract in January. The Raiders are dropping Martin not long after making him part of their 10-man UDFA contingent. A transfer from Maryland, Cobbs caught 76 passes for 923 yards and five touchdowns during his year at Utah State.
After a busy draft along their offensive line, the Patriots parted ways with Yodny Cajuste. They waived the fourth-year O-lineman on Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
The team tendered Cajuste — a 2019 third-round pick — as an RFA earlier this offseason, keeping him on the low-end number ($2.74MM). But Cajuste will hit the waiver wire. This move will clear the entire $2.74MM from the Pats’ cap sheet.
Despite being chosen in the 2019 draft, Cajuste did not see any playing time until the 2021 season. He entered the RFA tender equation due to spending all of 2019 on the non-football injury list. While Cajuste started five games between the 2021 and ’22 campaigns, the young tackle likely saw his status in the organization change after the draft and in free agency. New England chose three O-linemen from Rounds 4-5, doing so after having signed tackles Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson.
The Pats used one of their eight injury activations on Cajuste last year, and he replaced Isaiah Wynn at right tackle upon being activated. Cajuste started three straight games following his return from injury but saw his playing time reduced soon after. Midseason add Conor McDermott saw more playing time down the stretch, starting in each of the Patriots’ final six games. Pro Football Focus graded Cajuste as a middle-of-the-pack tackle in a 197-snap season. Only six of those snaps came after his run of starts ceased.
While Trent Brown remains in place at tackle for New England, the team has now separated from Cajuste and Wynn. Reiff received $4.15MM fully guaranteed, while Anderson signed a two-year, $7MM deal that includes $4MM locked in. The Pats still roster McDermott as well. Any team that claims Cajuste would be responsible for the RFA tender amount, making it a bit more likely he lands in free agency.
Although several starter-caliber veterans remain unsigned, NFL teams have largely taken their big swings this offseason. Be it through free agency, the trade market or the draft, franchises have updated their rosters in hopes of improving in 2023.
Any conversation of 2023 improvement efforts probably needs to start with the Jets. Thanks to the Sacramento Kings’ playoff advancement, the Jets hold major North American sports’ longest postseason drought — at 12 years. After missing on a few rookie-contract QBs in the time since their last playoff run, the Jets now haveAaron Rodgers. The six nationally televised games on Gang Green’s docket illustrate Rodgers’ impact on the team’s perception, and although the four-time MVP will turn 40 before year’s end, he has made the Jets a free agency destination of sorts. The team added ex-Rodgers Packer wideouts Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, with those moves coming after the addition of safety Chuck Clark via trade.
As the Jets stands to be a factor in the one of the deepest conferences in recent memory, the Dolphins added Jalen Ramsey via trade and will pay Vic Fangio upwards of $4.5MM to run their defense. Miami will bank on Tua Tagovailoa health and showed faith in the oft-scrutinized passer by picking up his fifth-year option two months early.
Making Nathaniel Hackett just the third HC since the 1970 merger to be fired before his first season ended, the Broncos paid up — both in terms of draft capital and salary — to add Sean Payton. They also spent heavily to better protect Russell Wilson, signing Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey. The latter will be Denver’s 11th Week 1 right tackle in 11 years. The Raiders added Tyree Wilson in Round 1, but the team’s Derek Carr-to-Jimmy Garoppolo transition injects considerably more injury risk into their equation.
Carolina stopped its QB carousel with the Young move, and Frank Reich will be tasked with developing the atypical prospect. The Panthers also lured Ejiro Evero from the Broncos, despite Denver’s interest in retaining its DC. Though, the team’s receiving situation — now featuring Adam Thielen and DJ Chark — may take multiple years to fix post-Moore. The rest of the NFC South will also include new Week 1 starting QBs. The Saints made the second-most notable veteran quarterback addition this year — in giving Carr what amounts to a three-year, $100MM deal — and will hope this brings the QB stability Drew Brees‘ retirement stripped away two years ago.
While the 49ers lost another coordinator (DeMeco Ryans) to a head coaching job, they gave new DC Steve Wilks superior D-line talent via Hargrave’s $20MM-AAV deal. With the Colts taking Richardson at No. 4, the Seahawks doubled down on the recently re-signed Geno Smith by beginning this year’s receiver run with Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20. Seattle also zagged from its Pete Carroll–John Schneider M.O. by taking cornerbackDevon Witherspoonat 5. This and the Dre’Mont Jones contract headlined a big year for Seahawks defensive investments.
What other teams deserve mention here? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
After selecting 12 rookies in the 2023 draft, the Patriots didn’t have much roster room to spare, leading them to signing a meager three undrafted free agent rookies. Here are the three who will attempt to defy odds for a roster spot:
Cunningham was a four-year starter for the Cardinals, helping Louisville to find its identity following the Lamar Jackson-era. After Jawon Pass failed to inspire much optimism in Cunningham’s freshman season, Cunningham took the reins and never looked back. Over five years, Cunningham threw for 9,664 yards and 70 touchdowns, adding 3,184 yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground. He can compete with Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley for backup duties behind Mac Jones and potentially provide as a scout team quarterback, especially for games against quarterbacks like Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Kyler Murray.
Lumpkin will be entering the NFL at 25 years old after spending two years at Hutchinson Community College and five years at Louisiana. He has ideal size at the tight end position and utilized it well for the Ragin’ Cajuns. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet, four of his 16 catches last year were for touchdowns.
Heilig is a surprising signing, even for New England. Drafted mostly off of potential, Heilig only had 34 total tackles in four seasons with the Mountaineers. He had actually entered his name in the transfer portal and was, reportedly, willing to move down to the FCS level, if necessary, to find more playing time. After not receiving any scholarship interest, Heilig took a job at Zaxby’s to make ends meet. Then, the Patriots called.
The presumption is that the Patriots intend to utilize Heilig as a dedicated special teams player. Yes, the Patriots do have plenty of those in players like Matthew Slater, Brenden Schooler, Cody Davis, and perhaps Chris Board, but after one of their worst special teams seasons in recent memory, New England was willing to take a flyer on Heilig. It’s really the perfect landing place for him as the Patriots lend more opportunities to specialists than any other NFL franchise.
This is a tough break for McMillan, who re-signed with the Patriots earlier this offseason. The former second-round pick got into 16 games (one start) for New England in 2022, finishing with 35 tackles, a sack, and a fumble return for a touchdown. The 27-year-old previously started 28 games across the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the Dolphins, including a rookie campaign where he had 105 tackles.
