Pats’ Malcolm Butler Denies Missing Curfew
To the shock of everyone in the football world, Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler played just one special teams snap in Sunday’s Super Bowl defeat. Over the last two days, many have speculated that Butler was benched due to some sort of disciplinary issue, but the pending free agent says that’s not the case. 
“During my four-year career with [the] Patriots I have always given everything I have to play at a high level, and would never do anything to hurt my teams’ chances of winning a game, including this year’s Super Bowl where I visited with my family every night,” Butler said (Twitter link). “During Super Bowl week I never attended any concert, missed curfew, or participated [in] any of the ridiculous activities being reported. They are not only false, but hurtful, to me and my family.”
On Instagram, where Butler’s statement was cross-posted, Tom Brady offered words of support that seemed to support his version of events. “Love you, Malcolm. You are an incredible player and teammate and friend. Always!!!,” the future Hall of Famer wrote (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com).
Butler is scheduled to reach the open market in March, so it behooves him to quiet any false speculation regarding his benching. However, even if the Super Bowl XLIX hero’s absence from the big game was not related to any disciplinary issues, teams will want to know more about what went into Bill Belichick‘s decision.
Butler did not have a banner platform year, as evidenced by his 79.2 overall rating from Pro Football Focus (51st amongst cornerbacks), down from 88.1 last season and 83.2 in 2015. However, he started in started 54 of the team’s 55 games leading up to the Super Bowl and turned in a decent performance against the Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game.
If not for the Patriots using the restricted free agent tender on Butler last offseason, he may have been in line for a multi-year deal with an annual average value of $15MM. This time around, the Pats aren’t expected to put up much of a fight to keep him. He’ll also make a lot less than $15MM/year on his next contract.
Colts Officially Hire Josh McDaniels
It’s a done deal. The Colts announced that they’ve hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. The introductory press conference for the former Patriots offensive coordinator will be held on Wednesday. 
In a sense, the Colts’ announcement was a mere formality as the two sides struck agreement on a deal in mid-January. However, there were rumblings leading up to the Super Bowl that McDaniels was getting cold feet and could instead stay with the Patriots as their OC. As of Sunday, McDaniels reportedly not yet told the Patriots that he’s leaving. Some around the league believed that McDaniels would stay in New England if Bill Belichick opted to retire and pass the torch to him. But, Belichick has indicated that he’ll return for another season, so that scenario was not on the table for McDaniels, unless he wanted to wait for an indeterminate period of time to potentially take over.
It’s not clear why McDaniels may have been having second thoughts about the job, but one has to wonder if he is at odds with team brass over the team’s offensive coordinator choice. Last month, it was reported that McDaniels had selected Raiders quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz as their new offensive coordinator and the two sides were hammering out a contract. However, team decision makers appear to have their sights set on former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. It’s also possible that McDaniels was considering his options before making everything official since his stint as a head coach with the Broncos did not go as planned.
McDaniels will be tasked with turning the Colts around after a disappointing 4-12 season. On the plus side, they own the No. 3 pick in the draft and they may have their choice between North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb or Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.
The Colts are hoping that McDaniels can help get Andrew Luck back on track. Tom Brady has done his best work under the guidance of the 41-year-old OC, so he certainly seems like the right man for the job. Prior to McDaniels taking over as Patriots OC in 2006, Brady had one 4,000-yard passing season and had never thrown more than 28 TD passes in a campaign. Brady has topped those benchmarks in each of his healthy seasons under McDaniels, save for the first one in 2006.
Belichick Not Panicking About Gronk Exit
Will Rob Gronkowski retire this offseason? The tight end hinted at the possibility following the Patriots‘ Super Bowl loss, but head coach Bill Belichick isn’t panicking.
Gronkowski maxed out his incentive-laden 2017 contract by returning to first-team All-Pro status, the fourth time he’s done so in his eight-year career. Only Tony Gonzalez (six) earned more first-team All-Pro distinctions. Gronk will turn 29 in May and still has two seasons remaining on his extension signed back in 2012. He’s set to earn $8MM in base salary in 2018 and take up $10.91MM of the Patriots’ cap.
- Take this with a grain of salt, but Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told reporters that he will not address whether he’s going to join the Colts as their new head coach or stay in New England as their offensive coordinator (Twitter link via Doug Kyed of NESN). A report emerged during Super Bowl LII that McDaniels was considering backing out of his unofficial Indianapolis agreement.
Rob Gronkowski Mulling Retirement?
In the aftermath of the Patriots’ loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl, tight end Rob Gronkowski was asked about the possibility that he could retire this offseason. Gronkowski indicated that retirement is at least a possibility, though he has not made a determination one way or another. 
“I don’t know how you heard that, but I mean I’m definitely gonna look at my future for sure,” Gronkowski said (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter). “[I’ll] sit down the next couple weeks and see where I’m at.”
Gronkowski won’t turn 29 until May and remains one of the league’s very best tight ends. However, he may be thinking about moving on from the game after a big hit from Jaguars safety Barry Church left him with a concussion. Gronk, who has plenty of money in the bank thanks to endorsement deals, is due to make $8.25MM in 2018 and that might not be enough to make him return for another season if he is having doubts.
This past season, Gronkowski hauled in a team-high 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns. He also turned in another stellar performance on the game’s biggest stage with nine catches for 116 yards and two scores against the Eagles. If the Patriots want more of that, they may have to try and coax Gronkowski to come back out for another season – and that may mean offering him a sizable raise.
Updated 2018 NFL Draft Order
With the Super Bowl in the books, we now know the draft order for the entire first round of the 2018 draft. Here’s the rundown:
1. Cleveland Browns (0-16)
2. New York Giants (3-13)
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-12)
4. Cleveland Browns (via the 4-12 Houston Texans)
5. Denver Broncos (5-11)
6. New York Jets (5-11)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
8. Chicago Bears (5-11)
T-9. Oakland Raiders (6-10)
T-9. San Francisco 49ers (6-10) (Note: The Raiders and 49ers have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broken by a coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 9 and the other club receiving the No. 10 pick.)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-10)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
13. Washington Redskins (7-9)
14. Green Bay Packers (7-9)
15. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
16. Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
17. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)
18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
19. Dallas Cowboys (9-7)
20. Detroit Lions (9-7)
21. Buffalo Bills (9-7)
22. Buffalo Bills (via the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs)
23. Los Angeles Rams (11-5)
24. Carolina Panthers (11-5)
25. Tennessee Titans (9-7)
26. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
27. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6)
30. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
31. New England Patriots (13-3)
32. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
Eagles Win Super Bowl LII
The Philadelphia Eagles have won their first Super Bowl championship, holding off the New England Patriots in a classic.
Philadelphia prevailed in a 41-33 victory in Minneapolis, riding an all-time performance from backup quarterback Nick Foles. Carson Wentz‘s backup accounted for four touchdowns, being on the receiving a historic trick play at the goal line at the end of the first half, to help propel the Eagles to their first championship since 1960.
For his work, Foles earned MVP honors.
The 29-year-old quarterback, now in his second Eagles stint, turned in back-to-back dominant outings to lift the team to the NFL’s summit — his best work coming to hand the Patriots their third Super Bowl defeat of the Bill Belichick era.
Foles completed 28 of 43 passes, throwing for three touchdowns to counter Tom Brady‘s bid for another comeback. The Patriots icon broke his own Super Bowl record by throwing for 505 yards, adding three touchdown passes. But Brandon Graham intervened in a crucial spot to stymie Brady and New England’s bid for a second straight Super Bowl title.
Graham’s pass rush stripped the ball from Brady and denied the Patriots’ offense a chance at a game-winning touchdown drive. The Patriots, like they did in a Super Bowl XLVI loss to the Giants, had a final-play opportunity. But the Eagles thwarted their hail mary to preserve the championship in a game that broke the all-time record for yardage in a Super Bowl.
The teams combined for 1,151 yards, 75 of those coming on the Eagles’ go-ahead touchdown drive that ended in a Foles-to-Zach Ertz connection. That ended up being enough to clinch a championship in Doug Pederson‘s second season as HC. Philadelphia constructed a dramatic improvement from its 7-9 2016 effort.
The 85th-year franchise won three playoff games — despite being underdogs in all three — to hold seed in the NFC then upend the Patriots, winning a Super Bowl in its third try and avenging a loss to the Patriots 13 years ago.
Josh McDaniels Not Viewed As Lock To Leave Patriots?
Although reports already have the Colts being in line to hire certain coordinators, Josh McDaniels may not be 100 percent committed to leaving New England.
“Increasing” buzz around the league has the possibility the longtime Patriots offensive coordinator staying with the team in play, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offers.
Florio reports McDaniels has not yet told the Patriots he’s leaving, despite numerous reports circulating for weeks he’s heading to Indianapolis. Some around the NFL believe McDaniels would stick around in the event Bill Belichick surprises the franchise and retires after the game, Florio writes. However, if Belichick operates as expected and remains as New England’s HC for 2018, McDaniels would likely require a pay bump and a promise he will be the next Pats head coach when the time comes.
This would certainly qualify as stunning given how long the Colts and McDaniels have had an unofficial agreement in place. And given how poorly McDaniels’ first HC run went, it might be difficult for another team to trust him enough to offer him an HC job again if he spurns the Colts.
Brandin Cooks To Miss Rest Of Super Bowl
The jarring hit Brandin Cooks absorbed in the second quarter will end his first Super Bowl. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter) the Patriots’ top deep threat is done for the game.
Malcolm Jenkins delivered the blow that will leave the Patriots without their prized offseason acquisition. For the second straight game, New England will be without one of its key pass-catchers after a first-half collision.
The first-year Patriots wide receiver suffered a concussion, Doug Kyed of NESN.com tweets.
New England has a bevy of receiving options and was able to survive the Jaguars’ effort in the AFC title game without Rob Gronkowski, who was lost for that game due to a concussion, in the second half. But Cooks is the Pats’ top long-range weapon. The Patriots traded for Phillip Dorsett just before this season, and the former Colts first-round pick could now see time.
Acquired from the Saints for a first-round pick this offseason, Cooks has not missed a game since his 2014 rookie season. He reeled off his third straight 1,000-yard season, and the 16.6-yard average is the 24-year-old’s highest per-catch figure of his career. Cooks was the Patriots’ second-leading receiver this season, behind Gronkowski.
Tom Brady Confirms He’ll Play In 2018
Tom Brady and the TB12 method will return for yet another NFL campaign, as the Patriots quarterback confirmed in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Westwood One’s Jim Gray that he will indeed play in 2018.
“Yeah, you’re gonna see me playing football next year,” Brady said. “I don’t envision not playing. You’re at the end of the race but you’ve got your biggest mountain to climb right at the end. Hopefully all the lessons we’ve learned have allowed us to be at our very best for this moment and that’s what it’s going to take and that’s what we’re prepared for and that’s what I go out and expect our team to do.”
Even at age-40, Brady was terrific in 2017, leading the league in passing yardage on the way to his third MVP trophy. Reported turmoil in the Patriots’ organization had lent some credence to the notion that Brady could retire after the season, but New England has refuted many of the details in that original ESPN.com report. Both Brady and head coach Bill Belichick are expected to return for a 19th season together.
Brady, who will attempt to secure his sixth career Super Bowl title later today, is signed through the 2019 campaign. Next season, he’ll earn a $15MM base salary and count for $22MM on the Patriots’ salary cap.
ESPN On Joe Judge, Dante Scarnecchia
- We heard several days ago that the Patriots are likely to lose special teams coach Joe Judge and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia this offseason — Judge to another team and Scarnecchia to retirement — but Mike Reiss of ESPN.com does not believe either departure is a foregone conclusion. Given that New England will lose top coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, Reiss can envision a scenario in which owner Robert Kraft gives Judge a raise to convince him to stay and head coach Bill Belichick “leans on” Scarnecchia to come back for at least one more season.