Kraft Addresses Brady Suspension
Robert Kraft addressed the reinstatement of Tom Brady‘s suspension on Friday night, and the Patriots owner certainly didn’t mince his words.
“Number one, there is no finer ambassador for the game of football, and the New England Patriots, than Tom Brady,” Kraft said, via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. “We always have had, and will continue to have, Tom’s back. Especially when he’s being treated unfairly. He knows that. All the decisions that this organization and I personally have made throughout this ordeal have been focused on putting Tom in the best possible position for success.”
The Patriots have seemingly started preparing for Brady’s absence, as the organization selected quarterback Jacoby Brissett during last night’s third round.
AFC Rumors: Browns, Bills, Broncos, Pats
After selecting USC quarterback Cody Kessler with the No. 93 pick in the draft, Browns executive Sashi Brown said he doesn’t think the team needs to make a roster move involving a quarterback right away, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
Cleveland’s depth chart at QB is getting crowded, with Kessler joining Robert Griffin, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw, and Pat Devlin, so the team will have to make some decisions eventually, but Brown said tonight that he likes encouraging competition at the position.
The Browns’ executive VP of football operations also said after round three that the team will consider trade options at the start of day three. Cleveland currently holds the top two picks of the fourth round, and has four overall picks in the round. The team hasn’t been shy about trading down so far, and Brown is sure the team will receive calls about those fourth-rounders, as Ulrich tweets.
- The Bills are exploring finding a way to land Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook on Saturday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who suggests (via Twitter) that it would take “some 2017 ammo” for Buffalo to move up. The club currently doesn’t own a 2016 fourth-round pick that can be traded.
- Broncos general manager John Elway confirmed that his team is in no rush to add a fourth quarterback to a roster that features Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch, and Trevor Siemian, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Elway didn’t rule out adding another signal-caller, but suggested it’s not a priority for the club.
- If the Cowboys hadn’t taken Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith early in the second round, the Patriots are one team that would have had interest in nabbing him, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. New England had back-to-back picks late in round two, but traded one of them, with Smith no longer available.
Draft Rumors: Jets, Cravens, Pats, Ravens
The Jets’ second-round selection of Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg won’t affect their pursuit of free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick, general manager Mike Maccagnan said Friday (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post). Maccagnan added that he wouldn’t rule out carrying four QBs if the team does re-sign Fitzpatrick, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Fitzpatrick, who reportedly hasn’t had meaningful contract discussions with the Jets in weeks, would be at the helm of a signal-calling corps that also includes Hackenberg, Geno Smith and Bryce Petty.
Here’s the latest on the draft with the second day in the books:
- USC linebacker Su’a Cravens said he was surprised to end up with Washington, which took him 53rd overall. He expected to land with the Patriots, who picked 60th (Twitter link via Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic).
- The Ravens tried unsuccessfully to get back into the second round after selecting Boise State edge defender Kamalei Correa at No. 42, GM Ozzie Newsome told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
- Had the Giants not taken Boise State safety Darian Thompson with the 71st pick, the Bears would’ve scooped him up at No. 72, per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (on Twitter).
- The Eagles considered moving back from 79th overall – where they selected Oregon State center Isaac Seumalo – but they became uncomfortable as names were sliding off the board and decided to stay put, reports Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Saints Acquire 61st Pick From Patriots
The Saints acquired the 61st pick from the Patriots in exchange for Nos. 78 and 112, reports Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). New Orleans then selected Ohio State safety Vonn Bell. The Patriots, meanwhile, now have three third-round picks.
Bell will join a a Saints defense that allowed the second-most passing yards in the NFL last season and hauled in just nine interceptions. Bell picked off nine passes himself during his three-year tenure with the Buckeyes and should play a prominent role in New Orleans’ defensive backfield.
Latest On Tom Brady's Suspension
- The NFL does not see any need to reignite settlement talks with Patriots QB Tom Brady and the NFLPA, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Facebook). The NFL believes that neither the NFLPA nor anyone from Brady’s camp has provided any rationale for settlement discussions, so they are not motivated to revisit that idea. The league believes the time for those talks has come and gone, Schefter writes, after the two sides had discussed a settlement last summer.
Draft Rumors: Texans, Pats, Bears
The latest draft rumors from around the NFL:
- Texas A&M cornerback Brandon Williams worked out privately for Texans coach Bill O’Brien and also visited the Steelers, Patriots, and Bears, Wilson tweets. Williams bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times at the NFL scouting combine and is said to be turning heads with his athleticism. Wilson writes that the A&M product, who had 34 tackles and seven passes defended in 2015, is drawing third/fourth round grades from scouts.
- Michigan linebacker James Ross is drawing interest from the Colts, Raiders, Ravens, and Lions, Wilson tweets.
- Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson had visited the Packers, Browns, Bengals, Chiefs, and Raiders, Wilson tweets. Anderson caught a career-high 70 passes for 939 yards on his way to an all-conference selection in 2015. The 6’3″, 190-pound receiver ran a 4.28 second 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day.
- The Buccaneers and Chargers worked out Iowa State receiver Quenton Bundrage, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (on Twitter). Bundrage, who posted a 4.5 second 40-yard-dash time, finished his senior year with 41 receptions, 548 yards, and one touchdown as a senior. He missed the 2014 season with a knee injury.
- Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton is drawing late interest from the Texans, Vikings, and Cardinals, Wilson tweets.
Owners Want Goodell To Settle Brady Dispute
Here’s the latest from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via video links):
- The Bills and Jets are “extremely” interested in quarterback Paxton Lynch, according to multiple NFL executives who spoke with Cole. Both teams see Lynch as a future star in the NFL and know that they will have to move up into the high teens to possibly land him. The Browns pick at No. 8 and are said to be fond of the Memphis product, though that’s probably a little too high to pull the trigger on him. By the same token, the belief is that Lynch will move up the board with Jared Goff and Carson Wentz going in the top two.
- The NFL will speed up its ongoing investigation into Johnny Manziel‘s domestic violence incident this week, an NFL source tells Cole. The expectation that Manziel will get a suspension of some length of time since he narrowly escaped a suspension for a previous incident. Meanwhile, the attorney for Manziel’s ex-girlfriend tells Cole that she is unaware of any NFL investigation at this time.
- Two NFL owners tell Cole that they would like to see Brady and the NFL reach a settlement rather than drag things out in court and in the public. A growing number of owners apparently share this sentiment, he adds. Owners generally feel that some suspension is appropriate for Brady, though a four-game ban is too much.
Settlement Unlikely For Tom Brady, NFL
- In theory, the NFLPA and the NFL could reach a settlement to resolve the Tom Brady/Deflategate situation at any time, but in reality, such an agreement remains very unlikely, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio observes, the league has most of the leverage now, and hasn’t shown any willingness in the past to settle. With the Patriots‘ starting quarterback once again facing a four-game suspension, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explores some ways the team could add depth at the QB position.
Tom Brady’s Suspension Reinstated By Appeals Court
3:27pm: Brady is “far from” ready to simply accept today’s court ruling, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who tweets that the former MVP is mulling over his options with his legal team.
10:42am: Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension related to the Patriots’ Deflategate incident, which was initially overturned in court by Judge Richard Berman last year, has been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, according to Reuters (Twitter link via CNBC Now). The court’s full decision can be found right here.
“We hold that the Commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement and that his procedural rulings were properly grounded in that agreement and did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness,” reads the ruling from the Court of Appeals. “Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND with instructions to confirm the award.”
While the ruling is significant, it likely won’t put the issue to rest — as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets, Brady’s next recourse would be to seek an injunction and request a re-hearing before the full Second Circuit, or even to appeal to the Supreme Court. Given how Brady and the NFLPA fought the original four-game suspension in 2015, there’s little reason to think they wouldn’t attempt to get it overturned again for the 2016 season.
However, if today’s ruling is ultimately upheld and Brady serves the four-game suspension, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots would be without their starting quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in that scenario.
Jimmy Garoppolo would likely step into the starting role in New England if Brady is forced to miss the first month of the coming season, but the team would have to address the quarterback position further — Brady and Garoppollo are currently the only two QBs on the roster, so another backup would be necessary.
Additionally, assuming the suspension is upheld, it will be interesting to see whether or not the NFL attempts to take away Brady’s pay for four games based on 2015’s salary, or settles for docking that pay from his 2016 salary. Brady reworked his contract earlier this offseason, and will earn a base salary of just $1MM this year, as opposed to $8MM in 2015. Losing four games of 2016 pay would cost him just $235K, whereas it would have cost him $1.88MM a year ago.
The Wells report commissioned by the NFL more than a year ago determined that Brady was “more likely than not” to have been aware of footballs being deflated below their usual levels during the AFC Championship Game against the Colts in January 2015. The league issued a four-game suspension for Brady as a result of those findings, and that penalty was overturned by Judge Berman last summer, prior to the start of the 2015 campaign, allowing Brady to play the full season. The NFL appealed Berman’s decision.
Today’s ruling by the Second Circuit isn’t concerned with whether or not Brady or the Patriots actually deflated footballs intentionally, but rather with the authority of the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell to uphold their disciplinary rulings based on the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Former Patriots Defensive Tackle Ron Brace Dies
Former Patriots defensive tackle Ron Brace has died from an unknown cause, Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com reports. Police recovered the body on Saturday night after being dispatched to Brace’s Springfield, Mass., home for an unattended death. He was 29.
The cause of Brace’s death was not deemed suspicious, Police Capt. Robert Strzempek told Duffy. The Hampden County Medical Examiner’s Office is now in charge of the case, Duffy reports.
A Springfield native, Brace played four seasons for his local team after the Patriots selected the 6-foot-3, 330-pound nose tackle in the second round of the 2009 draft.
Brace played in 40 games with the Pats, including the 2011 AFC championship game against the Ravens. He played his entire football career in Massachusetts, including a standout stay at Boston College from 2005-08. Once with New England’s professional franchise, Brace started seven games in 2009-10 before serving as a depth player in the following two seasons.
Brace finished his Boston College career with 22 tackles for loss and five sacks.
“We were deeply saddened to hear the news this morning of Ron Brace’s death,” a statement released by the Patriots late Sunday afternoon said. “Seven years ago tomorrow (4/25/09), we drafted Ron after his standout career at Boston College. During his Patriots career, the Springfield native was always eager to volunteer and give back in our communities, especially when those community initiatives were held in Western Mass.
“It is difficult to believe that someone so young and in the prime of his life is no longer with us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ron’s family, friends and the many former teammates who will mourn Ron’s passing.”
Falcons quarterback and Brace’s former Boston College teammate, Matt Ryan, also offered his condolences (on Twitter).
We at PFR offer our thoughts and condolences to Brace’s family and friends.