Patriots Explored Adding Year To Bennett's Deal
- Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports that, when the Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett this offseason, the two sides explored a scenario that would have added a year on to Bennett’s existing contract. However, no agreement was reached, and Bennett will consequently become part of New England’s large free agent class at season’s end.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/12/16
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Kennard Backman
- Cut: TE Austin Traylor
Patriots Activate Dion Lewis From PUP List
SATURDAY, 3:16pm: Lewis now appears on New England’s 53-man roster, with ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweeting the team has activated its preferred passing-down back in advance of the Seahawks-Pats Sunday-night tilt.
THURSDAY, 8:37pm: The Patriots will activate running back Dion Lewis from the physically unable to perform list, tweets Jim McBride of the Boston Globe. While that move doesn’t necessarily mean that Lewis will be ready to go this weekend, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports that Lewis is “on track” to play against the Seahawks on Sunday night.
[RELATED: New England Patriots Depth Chart]
Lewis, 26, will slot back into a New England rushing attack that ranks only 21st in DVOA despite LeGarrette Blount‘s thunderous activities on the ground. Blount leads the league with nine rushing touchdowns, but is only averaging 3.8 yards per attempt — as a team, the Patriots are 23rd in yards per carry. While James White has excelled as the club’s passing down back, New England hasn’t gotten much from the rest of its RB corps, a unit that includes special teams-first players such as D.J. Foster and Brandon Bolden.
Lewis will likely eat more into White’s role than Blount’s — in seven games last season, Lewis saw 50 targets from Tom Brady, and hauled in 36 of them for 388 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Lewis managed only 49 attempts, but averaged nearly five yards per carry. He’s signed through the 2017 campaign after agreeing to a multi-year extension last October.
On the mend from a torn ACL, Lewis was forced to miss at least the first six games of the season after landing on the PUP list. He’ll need to be added to the roster by 3pm CT Saturday in order to play the following day. The Patriots have already cleared a roster spot by waiving fellow RB Tyler Gaffney earlier today.
Patriots Bring Back Tyler Gaffney
- A day after cutting Tyler Gaffney, the Patriots are re-signing the running back and will place him on their practice squad, reports Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link). PFR’s Zach Links suggested Thursday that the Pats were likely to re-sign Gaffney, who lost his roster spot with the activation of fellow rusher Dion Lewis from the PUP list.
Patriots Work Out Former Jet Jarvis Jenkins
The Patriots worked out defensive end Jarvis Jenkins, tight Kennard Backman, and defensive tackle Davon Coleman, according to a source who spoke with Doug Kyed of NESN (on Twitter). Jenkins is arguably the most notable name of the group, having just been released by the Jets in year one of his two-year, $6MM deal. 
The Jenkins deal backfired on GM Mike Maccagnan and the rest of the Jets’ front office, but he could be a solid value for a rival team like the Patriots. Jenkins could also provide strategic help for New England in advance of their Nov. 27 matchup against Gang Green in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Jenkins had a career-best four sacks in 2015 but didn’t do much to pressure the quarterback this season. He may get a chance to have a stronger second act with the Pats.
Backman appeared in seven games with the Packers last season. After reaching an injury settlement with Green Bay in early September, he recently auditioned for the Ravens and Lions. Coleman was waived by the Giants in late August before the 75-man deadline. He has appeared in four NFL games over the course of his career, all of them coming with the Cowboys.
Patriots Release RB Tyler Gaffney
The Patriots have released running back Tyler Gaffney, according to Doug Kyed of NESN.com (on Twitter). This could be a sign of good things to come for New England as Gaffney’s release is likely paving the way for a Dion Lewis return. 
Gaffney, 25, was a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft, but various injuries have held him back over the last few years. The Patriots claimed Gaffney off waivers from the Panthers during his rookie season, and stashed him on injured reserve in each of the next two years. After being waived with an injury settlement in September, Gaffney signed on with New England’s practice squad in mid-October. Although he was bumped to the 53-man roster recently, he still hasn’t seen the NFL field.
Gaffney was expected to serve as a depth option behind LeGarrette Blount, James White, Brandon Bolden, and D.J. Foster. Now, he’s out of the picture altogether as Lewis gears up for his highly-anticipated return. Given his injury history, it seems likely that New England could sneak him through waivers and stash him on the practice squad again.
Jets Sign Anthony Johnson From Pats’ P-Squad
The Jets have signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson from the Patriots’ practice squad, freelance NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. The move leaves a vacancy on the Pats’ 10-man p-squad and will require a corresponding move from the Jets to make room on the 53-man roster. 
In May, the Patriots signed Johnson just after shipping linebacker Jon Bostic to the Lions. This fall, Johnson has been dropped, signed to the practice squad, promoted, dropped, signed to the practice squad, given a raise on his p-squad salary, promoted, dropped again, and signed to the Pats’ practice squad again before being plucked by Gang Green today. Johnson now hopes to find some stability in the swamps of New Jersey.
This year, Johnson appeared in four games for the Pats and registered eight total tackles. His only other previous NFL experience came in 2014 when he played in seven games for the Dolphins. The AFC East tour continues for the 23-year-old as he joins the Jets ahead of their Sunday matchup versus the Rams.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/7/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Michael Campanaro, TE Mitchell Henry
- Cut: WR Dobson Collins
Houston Texans
- Signed: TE RaShaun Allen
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Trevor Bates
- Cut: Glenn Gronkowski
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: T Tyreek Burwell (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune)
Collins Trade Not About Money
- The Patriots‘ decision to deal Jamie Collins was not about money, per La Canfora, who observes that New England now has only $65.8MM in salary and cash committed to the 2017 payroll, by far the least in the NFL. Indeed, the Pats could have easily paid (or overpaid) for Collins if they really wanted to, but the trade suggests that Collins was simply not in their long-term plans. Some industry sources wonder if the trades of Collins and Chandler Jones suggest that New England is set to splurge in free agency, though it is difficult to imagine the Patriots being big spenders in March. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms that the Pats did not consider Collins to be a part of their future, and that the team was slowly turning him into a part-time player and was concerned about the locker room issues that such a transformation could create (Twitter links).
Tom Brady: I Could "Absolutely" Be Traded
Football is a strange business and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is aware of how quickly things can change. In the wake of the surprising Jamie Collins trade, Brady was asked if he knows he could be traded at some juncture. “Absolutely. You can’t be around this long and not realize the world will keep spinning,” Brady said (Twitter link via Doug Kyed of NESN). Of course, there’s no reason to expect the Patriots to move on from Brady anytime soon.
- Some that played with Collins believed that he did not have to grind as hard as others on the team because he is so athletically gifted, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss writes. In the Patriots‘ hard-working culture, that rationale likely didn’t fly with Bill Belichick. Reiss also hears from other ex-teammates that Collins was fully engaged, despite talk to the contrary. Of course, Collins’ pending free agency was also a factor in the trade. Earlier today, Collins personally denied asking for “Von Miller money” in his talks with New England.