Gronk: Brady Wants To Play Six More Years
- Rob Gronkowski wants to play at least six more years, which is where the tight end places fellow Patriots icon Tom Brady‘s timeline at as well. “I don’t really think about it. Every single day I’m with Brady, and he’s talking about how he’s going to play six more years,” Gronkowski told the crowd (via Phil Perry of NESN.com). “So, like, in my mind, how can I stop playing before Brady? I came into the league like 50 years after him. I plan on playing as long as I possibly can.” This gels with a previous Brady proclamation his goal is to play until he’s 45. Brady will be 40 next season, his 18th in the league should he return. The 27-year-old Gronkowski is under contract for three more years but has become a major injury risk.
Floyd Hopes To Return To Pats
- If Michael Floyd has his way, he’ll return to the Patriots for another season, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. “I hope to be back in Foxborough,” Floyd said. “I love it here. I hope that I can make that happen, for sure.” He noted that he was able to pick things up very quickly in New England despite joining the team mid-season and he wants to see what he can do there in a full year. Floyd’s career was in a free fall ever since his breakout 2013 season. Now, he may be back on the right track with the Pats.
Bears To Make Push For Jimmy Garoppolo
The Bears will make a “strong, concerted” attempt to trade for Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who adds that Garoppolo is “far and away” the No. 1 priority for Chicago this offseason. Talks could occur later this month at the NFL’s scouting combine, per La Canfora, or possibly even earlier, although a deal can’t officially be finalized until early March.
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General manager Ryan Pace and the rest of the Bears front office has put in “extensive” research on Garoppolo and are “very comfortable” with the Eastern Illinois alum, reports La Canfora. Chicago is fully expected to release incumbent quarterback Jay Cutler this offseason, a move that would $14MM, bringing the Bears’ total projected cap cap space to roughly $70MM. As such, Chicago should have more than enough fiscal power to negotiate a long-term extension with Garoppolo, who is only signed through the 2017 campaign.
Rival clubs don’t believe the Bears would be forced to sacrifice their first-round pick (No. 3 overall) in order to acquire Garoppolo, but a package that contains multiple second-round selections could be on the table, per La Canfora. The Patriots are reportedly open to trading Garoppolo in the coming months, and a deal could materialize early in the offseason, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Given that other signal-callers such as Kirk Cousins, Tony Romo, and Cutler could potentially hit the market, New England wants to strike before it loses any amount of leverage, per Cole.
Garoppolo, 25, shined in two starts in relief of a suspended Tom Brady last season, completing 43 of 63 pass attempts for 502 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. That brief run as New England’s starting quarterback represents the bulk of Garoppolo’s NFL career, however, as he’d only thrown 31 total passes in the two seasons prior.
The Bears aren’t the only club expected to target Garoppolo this offseason, as the Browns will also reportedly attempt to land the Patriots signal-caller.
Patriots Notes: Rowe, Scarnecchia
Patriots cornerback Eric Rowe says he still doesn’t know why the Eagles traded him, Matt Lombardo of NJ.com writes.
- Patriots assistant head coach/offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia says he plans to coach at least through next season. “That’s the plan,” he told reporters this week (including Bleacher Report’s Doug Farrar on Twitter). Scarnecchia turns 69 in mid-February.
Browns Will Try To Acquire Jimmy Garoppolo
The Browns are on track to enter this year’s draft with the first and 12th picks, two places where they could select their next starting quarterback, but their signal-caller of the future might already be in the NFL. The club has real interest in Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo and will attempt to swing a trade for the 25-year-old this offseason, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
AFC champion New England, which is set under center with the 39-year-old Tom Brady, is reportedly open to moving Garoppolo in the coming months. The Patriots could request at least a first- and fourth-round pick for Garoppolo, whose rookie contract will expire after next season.
For the Browns, acquiring Garoppolo would likely mean parting with the 12th selection, where they were supposedly set to zero in on national championship-winning Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. However, Watson’s decision to skip last week’s Senior Bowl may have hurt his standing with the Browns, who specifically asked him to play.
In addition to surrendering at least one high-round draft choice for Garoppolo, the team that acquires the three-year veteran would have to award him a hefty contract extension, writes Joel Corry of CBS Sports. The likelihood is that Garoppolo would want a deal similar to the four-year, $72MM pact (including $37MM) in guarantees the Texans gave ex-Broncos backup Brock Osweiler in free agency last winter.
While signing Osweiler has blown up in the Texans’ faces, Garoppolo’s limited sample of playing time has been far more impressive than Osweiler’s was with Denver. Garoppolo began the season as New England’s starter because of Brady’s four-game Deflategate ban, and he completed 42 of 59 passes for 496 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. The second game was Garoppolo’s last start of the year – and perhaps his Pats tenure – as he suffered a sprained AC joint on a hit from Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso and sat out for the remainder of Brady’s suspension.
Even though Garoppolo would likely fetch a quality return via trade this offseason, the Patriots could be inclined to keep him, observes Corry. As great as Brady is, he’ll turn 41 in 2018 – the same year in which Garoppolo is slated to become a free agent – meaning the Patriots could elect to retain the understudy to guard against the elder’s potential decline. That would mean either placing the franchise tag on Garoppolo or handing him a short-term contract worth “top backup money” (as much as $12MM per year, including incentives). It could help the Pats’ cause that their rapport with Garoppolo’s representatives at Yee & Dubin Sports is “excellent,” per Corry.
Opinion: Bill Belichick Unlikely To Retire
- There’s no indication that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is getting ready to walk off into the sunset, Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com writes. If the Pats manage to win on Sunday, Belichick will have five Super Bowl rings to his name, giving him the most of any head coach in league history. Still, it appears that he still craves the competition and we have no reason to believe that he wants to retire to Florida right now. Curran’s best guess is that Belichick will wrap it up after the 2019 season, when he’ll be 68 and will have just completed 20 years in New England.
Mehta: Patriots Should Trade Rob Gronkowski
- The Patriots advancing to Super Bowl LI without Rob Gronkowski prompts Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News to argue the league’s most aggressive traders should make another. New England faltered without Gronkowski in the 2012 and ’13 AFC championship games, losing one-sided matchups, but orchestrated two routs during this year’s run without him. He’s missed extensive time with injuries during his otherwise stratospheric career, and Mehta points to the Patriots’ league-high 61 trades during Bill Belichick‘s 17-year tenure as evidence Gronk isn’t untouchable. Gronk will be 28 next year, but the three-time All-Pro tight end is on an affordable deal given his stature. He’s due to take up just $7MM of the Pats’ cap next season on a contract that runs through 2019.
Jamie Collins' Extension Could Be A "Floor" For Dont'a Hightower
- Browns linebacker Jamie Collins received a four-year, $50MM extension earlier today. CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry believes the contract should serve as a “floor” for Collins former teammate, Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower (Twitter link). Corry notes that the Patriots will have a tough time convincing Hightower’s agent that the linebacker deserves less than the player they traded away.
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Could Chip Kelly Land With Patriots?
- CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora would be “very, very surprised” if Chip Kelly ultimately replaces Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan (Twitter link). This move would have been a bit ironic, as Shanahan is set to replace Kelly as the head coach of the 49ers. Instead of moving to Atlanta, La Canfora suggest Kelly could catch on with the Patriots as a consultant/assistant.
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Martellus Bennett Likely To Have Offseason Surgery
Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett is playing with a cracked bone and bone chips in his ankle, and will likely undergo surgery once New England’s season concludes, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
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Bennett, 29, hasn’t been fully healthy all season, as shoulder and knee issues — in addition to the aforementioned ankle problem — have hampered him for the majority of the 2016 campaign. The ailments haven’t slowed Bennett’s production, however, as the veteran tight end has stepped up in the absence of Rob Gronkowski, posting 55 receptions 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Given that he’s been playing through injury for most of the year, Bennett figures to suit up if the Patriots win today’s contest and advance to the Super Bowl.
From an individual point of view, there’s always the possibility that any type of surgery and rehab could affect Bennett’s market when he becomes a free agent in March. Having already reportedly turned down a $7MM/year extension offer from New England, Bennett is clearly looking to land a hefty contract on the open market, where he should be the best tight end available. Other free agents at the position include Jack Doyle, Ryan Griffin, and Jared Cook.