Pats Not Expected To Trade Jimmy Garoppolo
The Patriots are not expected to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If the Patriots stick to their guns, Garoppolo will play out 2017 as Tom Brady‘s backup before being eligible for free agency.
A number of teams were expected to show interest in the young QB, including the Browns. With a stockpile of picks and plenty of cap room, Cleveland was reportedly angling to trade for Garoppolo and quickly get to work on an extension for him. The 49ers were also interested, though at last check they had Kirk Cousins as their No. 1 target.
Taking Garoppolo off of the market will have a ripple effect across the NFL. The Browns will now be forced to look at other options, which could push them to pursue Cousins more heavily via trade and potentially take away the 49ers’ Plan A. That ripple effect will also impact the Jets, who are on the hunt for less glamorous options. The stock of Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and other draft QBs could increase and the same could be said for Bengals trade chip A.J. McCarron.
Michael Floyd Might Not Sign Until Summer
- As a result of his 120-day jail sentence for Extreme DUI, Patriots wide receiver Michael Floyd won’t be able to leave the state of Arizona until at least June 17. Thus, it’s unlikely the impending free agent will sign anywhere until the summer, writes Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com. Although he was a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LI and could face a suspension to begin next season, the Pats have interest in re-signing Floyd.
Jared Odrick Visited Patriots
Free agent defensive end Jared Odrick visited Monday with the Patriots, with whom he passed a physical, reports Mike Kaye of WLTV. The Patriots now have “real” interest in signing the 29-year-old, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
New England is the first team to publicly court Odrick since the Jaguars released him last week. In doing so, the Jaguars saved $8.5MM against the cap in 2017 and brought an end to a disappointing tenure in Jacksonville for Odrick. After signing a five-year, $42.5MM contract with the Jags in 2015, the ex-Dolphin totaled 32 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 22 games (all starts). He missed 10 contests last year with injuries, which ended a streak of five straight 16-game seasons.
The Patriots could lose a pair of established defensive ends, Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long, when free agency opens March 9. In that event, adding Odrick would give the Pats a fallback option at the position. Odrick has amassed 63 starts, 23 sacks and five forced fumbles since entering the NFL in 2010.
Patriots Will Not Tag Dont’a Hightower
The Patriots informed Dont’a Hightower they will not apply the franchise tag to him, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This will allow the star linebacker to test the open market. 
Hightower was willing to sign the franchise tag, but the Pats have opted against potentially paying him roughly $14.7MM for the 2017 campaign. It’s not 100% clear whether the Patriots have decided against the transition tag, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be using that either. That tag would cost less but also wouldn’t entitle New England to draft pick compensation if Hightower signs elsewhere. Still, with plenty of cap space, the Patriots can likely match any offer Hightower scores on the open market.
Hightower clearly rates as the best linebacker available in free agency, even though non-rush linebackers typically do not get as much attention as their sack-compiling cohorts. After Hightower, Zach Brown, Kevin Minter, Perry Riley, and Lawrence Timmons represent some of the better LB options out there.
Hightower, 26, played in 13 games last season and racked up 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-best linebacker among 87 qualifiers.
Hightower’s reps can begin speaking with teams on March 7th, when the legal tampering period begins. Starting on March 9th, free agents are allowed to sign with clubs.
Patriots Promote Nick Caley
- The Patriots announced that they’ve promoted coaching assistant Nick Caley to tight ends coach. Caley will replace Brian Daboll, who left New England to accept the University of Alabama’s offensive coordinator position. Caley has worked for the Patriots for the past two seasons, and spent a decade in the NCAA prior to that.
Latest Between Dont’a Hightower, Patriots
A new deal between the Patriots and free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower is “not imminent,” reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (all Twitter links). New England could employ the franchise or transition tag on Hightower before Wednesday’s deadline, but it’s unclear whether the club will use that option. If they do, it could be a sign the two sides are nearing an extension that would supersede the tag, per Howe.
[RELATED: Patriots Unlikely To Retain Martellus Bennett?]
Hightower has indicated a willingness to sign the franchise tag, which would pay him roughly $14.7MM for the 2017 campaign. But the Patriots are also reportedly considering deploying the transition tag, which will cost less but also wouldn’t entitle New England to draft pick compensation if Hightower signs elsewhere. The Patriots have plenty of cap space, however, and would likely be able to match any offer Hightower scores on the open market.
Hightower, 26, played in 13 games last season and racked up 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-best linebacker among 87 qualifiers. Given that the Patriots have already traded away other key defenders such as Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones, Hightower may be the last man standing when New England decides where to spend its free agent dollars.
Latest On Jimmy Garoppolo, Michael Floyd
Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will continue to be one of the most-discussed players this offseason until he’s either traded or New England officially decides to keep him, and Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com expects Garoppolo rumors to heat up even more this week. For the first time this offseason, the entire NFL will be in the same place at the NFL combine, which begins Wednesday, and as Hannble writes, the foundation for a future trade is often laid at the combine. While it is highly unlikely a trade will be consummated this week, we could start to get more of an idea of which teams are truly interested in trading for Garoppolo and what the Pats might realistically seek in return.
- Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes receiver Michael Floyd could return to the Patriots, who claimed him off waivers in mid-December, but despite Floyd’s tantalizing physical ability, Reiss does not think New England will get into a competitive situation to retain him. Floyd will likely be suspended for at least two games as a result of his recent DUI, and he struggled to get on the same page with Tom Brady during his brief tenure in New England. He was a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LI.
Rob Gronkowski: "I Want To Play As Long As I Possibly Could Play"
- Tight end Rob Gronkowski doesn’t expect the back injury that kept him out of the Patriots’ lineup from late November onward, including for their Super Bowl-winning playoff run, to limit him in 2017. Gronkowski told ESPN on Friday that there’s “no doubt” he’ll be ready for Week 1. Longer term, the 27-year-old said earlier this month he’d like to play at least six more years, though he wasn’t willing on Friday to put a number on how much longer he’ll last. “I mean, I still love playing the game, and as of right now, I want to play as long as I possibly could play,” Gronkowski said. “My mindset is to keep on going” (via Ryan Hannable of WEEI).
Pats May Transition Tag Dont’a Hightower
The Patriots could use the transition tag on pending free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower instead of offering him the franchise tender, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Patriots Unlikely To Retain Martellus Bennett?]
Hightower has expressed a willingness to sign the franchise tag, but he’s said nothing about the transition tender, which will likely be about $3MM less expensive. While the franchise figure for linebackers could approach $15MM, the transition number should reside closer to $12MM, leading Mike Reiss of ESPN.com to earlier this week guess New England could instead deploy the transition tag.
The non-exclusive franchise tag amount is determined by a formula that includes the salary cap figures and the non-exclusive franchise salaries at the player’s position for the previous five years. Alternatively, the transition tag figure is the average of the top 10 highest-paid players at the player’s position in the previous league year, so it’s cheaper than the franchise number. Only one club — the Dolphins — used the transition tender in 2016, but soon revoked it after originally placing it on defensive end Olivier Vernon.
If the Patriots assign the transition tag to Hightower, he could negotiate with other clubs, but the Patriots would retain the right to match any offer sheet. Unlike the franchise tag, however, the transition tender wouldn’t entitle New England to any draft compensation if it chose not to match a contract offer. The Patriots currently have the sixth-most cap space in the NFL, though, so they should be able to match even the most creative of offer sheets.
Hightower, 26, played in 13 games last season and racked up 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-best linebacker among 87 qualifiers. Given that the Patriots have already traded away other key defenders such as Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones, Hightower may be the last man standing when New England decides where to spend its free agent dollars.
Chiefs Could Part Ways With Alex Smith?
Alex Smith has averaged nearly 11 wins per season during his four-year run with the Chiefs, but that won’t stop Kansas City from exploring other quarterback options this offseason, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who notes a “growing sense” among NFL executives that the Chiefs could move on from Smith. However, Kansas City will likely only part ways Smith if it’s able to acquire another signal-caller such as the Cowboys’ Tony Romo or the Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo, per Cole.
[RELATED: Chiefs Likely To Decline Nick Foles’ Option]
Smith’s potential ouster has been a topic of conversation before, as has possible mutual interest between the Chiefs and Romo. A prospective Kansas City acquisition of Garoppolo, however, has not, although the New England signal-caller figures to be a desirable item in the coming weeks, as the Browns, Bears, and 49ers are all expected to make a push for Garoppolo (and have more attractive draft picks to offer).
A “strong feeling” exists within league circles that the Chiefs have plateaued with Smith, but Kansas City won’t acquire Romo — or presumably, Garoppolo — without cutting ties with Smith first. While the Chiefs could look to trade Smith to a quarterback-needy club, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier this month that Kansas City would likely release Smith if they landed Romo. The Chiefs would save $9.7MM by cutting Smith, or $13.3MM by designating him as a post-June 1 release.
Since being acquired prior to the 2013 campaign, Smith has averaged 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions per season while completing 64.5% of his passes for the Chiefs. Smith, 32, has led Kansas City to three postseason appearances during that span, but the Chiefs have never advanced past the Divisional Round.