Six Teams To Meet With Mo Alie-Cox
The jump from basketball to football may not be easy, but Mo Alie-Cox has plenty of believers in the NFL. The former Virginia Commonwealth University forward is already slated to visit the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Jets, Colts, Seahawks, and Chargers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. More teams could request to meet with the 6’7″ athlete, Rapoport adds. 
Alie-Cox held an open audition for NFL teams recently and it seems like more than half the league had scouts in attendance. In addition to the aforementioned clubs, reps from the Bears, Lions, Dolphins, Vikings, 49ers, Browns, Patriots, Redskins, and Steelers were in the house (via Lane Casadonte of WTVR on Twitter).
Despite his lack of gridiron experience, teams are intrigued by Alie-Cox’s combination of size and athleticism. He is looking to play tight end and follow in the footsteps of Tony Gonzalez, Julius Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, and other TE standouts with basketball backgrounds. At the same time, he is open to playing other positions and he took requests from scouts to perform drills that were suited for different roles.
What really sets Alie-Cox apart from other young NFL hopefuls is that he is not draft eligible and, therefore, can be signed as a free agent. A team that is really high on the hoopster could see this as an opportunity to effectively acquire a late-round draft pick for nothing.
Patriots Re-Sign Brandon King
- The Patriots re-signed exclusive rights free agent defensive back Brandon King, according to the league’s transaction wire. King, 23, has appeared in 29 total games over the past two seasons in New England. While he didn’t play a single defensive snap in 2016, King was a stalwart on special teams, where he saw action on roughly a third of the Pats’ snaps and put up 10 tackles.
Patriots Rumors: Butler, Tabor
There’s a slightly better chance cornerback Malcolm Butler will be a member of the Saints than the Patriots in 2017, says Albert Breer of The MMQB (video link). If New England does trade Butler, it could happen during the week leading up to the draft, notes Breer. Butler, a restricted free agent, is facing an April 21 deadline to sign an offer sheet with someone. Once that passes, he won’t be allowed to negotiate a contract with anyone other than the Patriots. While the Saints have discussed a contract with Butler, they aren’t going to tender him an offer sheet because they’d risk losing the 11th pick in the draft. But the Saints also own the 32nd choice, which they acquired from the Pats in the Brandin Cooks trade, and could send that back to them in a Butler deal.
- With Butler potentially on the way out, the Patriots hosted Florida corner Teez Tabor on Monday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Tabor is among the draft’s 50 best prospects in the estimation of NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, though both an underwhelming 40-yard dash and subpar interviews at the combine could cause him to slide.
Cameron Fleming Signs RFA Tender
- Patriots offensive lineman Cameron Fleming has signed his RFA tender, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Pats applied an original-round tender last month to Fleming, who was a fourth-round pick in 2014. Fleming has started in 14 of 35 appearances in three seasons, and is coming off his first 16-game campaign.
Patriots Finalize Alan Branch Deal
The Patriots agreed to re-sign defensive tackle Alan Branch to a two-year contract worth up to $12MM just over a month ago. That deal finally became official Monday, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
[RELATED: Marshawn Lynch To New England?]
The 2017 season will be the fourth in New England for the 32-year-old Branch, who was previously with the Cardinals, Seahawks and Bills. Branch is coming off back-to-back 16-appearance, 15-start campaigns, and the 10-year veteran tallied a career-high 49 tackles and chipped in 1.5 sacks in 2016 for the Super Bowl champions. He also ranked 25th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Branch, who totaled the second-most snaps among Patriots D-linemen last season (625), is primed to serve as the starting unit’s elder statesman in 2017. The other expected No. 1s, Kony Ealy, Malcom Brown, Trey Flowers, are each 25 or younger. The Pats also have 20-something reserves in Vincent Valentine, Lawrence Guy and Geneo Grissom.
Draft Rumors: Watson, 49ers, Texans
Here’s a rundown of the latest NFL Draft news:
- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is visiting the 49ers on Monday and Tuesday before meeting with the Cardinals on Wednesday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Niners, of course, own the No. 2 overall pick and the Cards are at No. 13.
- The Bills worked out UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Sunday, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Owner Terry Pegula was there, along with head coach Sean McDermott. In our mock draft from last week, Dallas Robinson has the Bills passing on Trubisky in order to take a wide receiver.
- The Texans worked out Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson on Friday before flying to the 49ers over the weekend. Next up is a Panthers workout on Tuesday (Twitter link via Rapoport). Carolina has already met with Robinson, so this could be a sign of serious interest. The Panthers own the No. 8 overall pick.
- Safety Jamal Adams, who had a strong showing at LSU’s Pro Day, is visiting the Panthers today (Monday), Rapoport tweets. Rapoport wonders aloud whether he’ll be available at No. 8.
- Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman has workouts for Steelers, Bills, Chiefs, and Patriots, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Marshawn Lynch Interested In Patriots
Marshawn Lynch has privately expressed interest in playing for Patriots if talks break off with the Raiders, Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald tweets. He remains focused on returning to the NFL as a Raider, but he is at least viewing the Pats as a Plan B. 
Lynch met with the Raiders last week and the belief, to this point, has been that he would only return to football with Oakland. The Seahawks still hold Lynch’s rights, so any union with the Patriots or Raiders would require him to be released or traded.
The Patriots do not have a clear need at running back after signing Rex Burkhead this offseason and re-signing Branden Bolden last week. Dion Lewis, James White, and D.J. Foster are also on the roster and a reunion with free agent LeGarrette Blount remains a possibility. There’s also the (outside) chance of the team circling back to Adrian Peterson after last week’s workout.
Lynch was held back by injuries in 2015 due to nagging injuries, but he had a strong 2014 with 4.7 yards per carry and a career-high 13 touchdowns on the ground. He’s still only 30 years old and, theoretically, would be returning to football with fresh legs.
Latest On LeGarrette Blount
The Patriots made an offer to LeGarrette Blount weeks ago, but they have not moved at all from their original proposal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. In order to get more money out of New England, Blount will need to drum up a market for his services. So far, it doesn’t sound like there has been much outside interest. 
Blount is without a competing offer and actually hasn’t taken a visit with any other teams yet. Until he can get that leverage, the two sides may continue to be in a holding pattern. For what it’s worth, there is strong interest on both sides in a return, but the Patriots are trying to take a cold, numbers oriented approach to the negotiations. Meanwhile, Blount doesn’t want to come back on a deal that would have him earning less than offseason acquisition Rex Burkhead.
Blount, 30, is now coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He had career highs in carries (299), yards (1,161) and touchdowns (an NFL-leading 18). Still, the running back depth chart is crowded and the Patriots historically have had success in replacing valuable vets.
Latest On Sherman, Peterson
Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says that the Patriots‘ apparently had at least some interest in free agent RB Adrian Peterson, or they wouldn’t have put him through various tests and drills during his recent visit with the club (some have speculated that head coach Bill Belichick merely brought Peterson in as a favor for someone, like an agent or mutual friend). The Patriots have a take-it-or-leave-it proposal on the table for LeGarrette Blount, and if Blount does not return, the club could turn back to Peterson or could shift its attention to a draft class deep at the running back position.
- In the same piece, Reiss confirms a report from several days ago indicating that the Patriots are not expected to trade for Richard Sherman. Our Zach Links suggests that could be a sign that Malcolm Butler is staying in New England.
Reiss: Pats' Unlikely To Budge On Blount
- The Patriots have an offer out to LeGarrette Blount, but Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes the bulldozing running back is probably looking for the team to increase the guaranteed money in said offer. While Blount has continued to circle back to the Patriots in recent years, Reiss believes this is a take-it-or-leave-it proposal due to the deep running back class.