New England Patriots News & Rumors

Patriots Finalize Coaching Staff

February 19th, 2024 at 9:23pm CST by Ely Allen

With new head coach Jerod Mayo taking over after over two decades of Bill Belichick at the helm, the Patriots have solidified the entirety of their new coaching staff.

We already knew about the hires of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney, running backs coach Taylor Embree, offensive line coach Scott Peters, and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo on the offensive side of the ball and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, and inside linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower, as well as the retention of cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino and safeties coach Brian Belichick., on the defensive side, but below is the update on the rest of next season’s staff.

We were aware that former Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer had been going through an interview process, interviewing twice for the special teams coordinator position, but now we know that he will be heading special teams going forward in New England, replacing Cameron Achord in that role. He will be backed up by new special teams assistant coach Tom Quinn and special teams assistant and quality control coach Coby Tippett, after former assistant Joe Houston departed for the University of Florida. Quinn, a former long-time coordinator for the Giants, more recently spent last year on the Titans’ staff. Tippett was a coaching assistant in New England’s 2023 training camp and spent last season coaching cornerbacks at Tufts University.

On the defensive side of the ball, a few familiar faces stuck around and a few more were hired or promoted. The only new names here were defensive coaching assistants and quality control coaches Vinny DePalma and Jamael Lett. DePalma just finished his sixth year of playing linebacker for the Eagles at Boston College. He makes an extremely quick jump from playing in college to his first coaching position in the NFL. Lett most recently spent 2023 as a special teams analyst at the University of North Carolina. He has a litany of experience at other schools like South Alabama, Akron, Samford, Ohio, and Tennessee-Martin, but this will be his first NFL opportunity, as well. Last year, V’Angelo Bentley and Keith Jones held similar roles on the defense as fellows, but neither seems to have been retained.

Most of the new faces here are on the offensive staff. First, with former tight ends coach Will Lawing taking the offensive coordinator job at Boston College, former Saints senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell will take his place. Bicknell’s extensive experience coaching the wide receiver, offensive line, and tight end positions sets him up well for his new role, though he hasn’t coached tight ends since 2011. Joining Bicknell in coaching receiving targets will be new wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes and assistant wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood.

Hughes returns to the Patriots after a year as an offensive quality control coach at the University of Washington. Before that he had spent three years as an offensive assistant with New England. Underwood’s first NFL job came as an offensive quality control coach for the Dolphins back in 2019. Since then, he’s been coaching receivers at Rutgers and Pitt. The two replace the last two coaches for the position, Ross Douglas, who will coach the same position at Syracuse, and Troy Brown, who was not retained on the new staff.

Now, we did know that Robert Kugler would be joining the staff in some capacity about ten days ago, but now we have confirmation that he will come into the assistant offensive line coach position, the same one he held with the Panthers last year. This seems to indicate that last year’s assistant offensive line coach, Billy Yates, has not been retained after essentially taking over the position last year. Lastly on offense, the team will add Michael McCarthy to the staff as an offensive coaching assistant and quality control coach. McCarthy used to be an NFL assistant coach with the Browns and Lions but has spent the last five years as offensive line coach at Brown.

Finally, with Mayo’s younger brother, Deron Mayo, being promoted to the head of strength and conditioning, meaning that the former head, Moses Cabrera, will not be returning, the Patriots have hired Brian McDonough to fill his place as assistant strength and conditioning coach. McDonough has been a consultant for the team for over 20 years, but he’ll now accept his first full-time role with New England.

There you have it: the Patriots 2024 coaching staff. The last few years of regression following Tom Brady‘s departure are now the last chapters of a previous book. It will be up to Mayo and company to write the first chapter of a new one in the 2024 NFL season.

OL James Ferentz Retires

February 19th, 2024 at 5:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

James Ferentz saw action in one game with the Patriots during the 2023 campaigns. Rather than attempting to continue his playing career, he will turn his attention to his post-playing days. The veteran offensive lineman announced his retirement on Monday.

Ferentz joined the league as a Texans UDFA in 2014. He did not make his debut until one year later after joining the Broncos, and he made 14 appearances that season. He was an auxiliary member of Denver’s O-line as the team won the Super Bowl, marking an eventful start to Ferentz’s playing days at the NFL level.

The Iowa alum remained in the Mile High City for another campaign, though he again did not see any starts. That changed after he joined the Patriots, as he started a pair of games in 2019. Ferentz logged between 134 and 269 offensive snaps each season from 2019-22, seeing time at center as well as both guard positions.

The 34-year-old served as a de facto coach this past campaign (the final one of his contract) as a veteran member of New England’s offensive front. He has family ties to the coaching ranks since his father Kirk has been Iowa’s head coach since 1999. His brother Brian, meanwhile, has served on the Hawkeyes’ staff for over a decade after a stint on the Patriots’ sidelines. It will be interesting to see if James follows in their footsteps in his post-playing days.

“To the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots organizations, thank you for the combined ten years of my career,” Ferentz’s announcement reads in part. “Thank you Bill O’Brien, Gary Kubiak and Bill Belichick for giving me the opportunity to play pro football when no one else would… A special thank you to the towns of Foxboro and Norfolk, Massachusetts, where my family has luckily called home for the past seven years.”

Ferentz did not play in the regular season in 2019, but he did dress for one game in the Patriots’ Super Bowl run that year. He will thus exit the game as a two-time champion and a veteran of 63 total games between regular and postseason play. He amassed $5.76MM in career earnings.

Patriots To Release DL Lawrence Guy, S Adrian Phillips

February 19th, 2024 at 3:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

Cost-cutting season is in full swing around the NFL. New England is letting go of defensive lineman Lawrence Guy and safety Adrian Phillips, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Guy had one year remaining on his contract, and none of his $2MM base salary was guaranteed. As a result, today’s move will produce $3MM in cap savings and a dead cap charge of just $500K. Phillips was likewise on an expiring deal with none of the $3MM he was owed in the form of guaranteed money. His release will also save $3MM against the cap in 2024 while incurring $1.18MM in dead money.

Amidst an exodus of other longtime members of the organization in recent years, Guy found himself the longest-tenured member of the franchise heading into the 2023 season. Talks on an extension took place during the summer, but no agreement was reached. The 33-year-old had been a full-time starter in his first six seasons in New England, but his playing time dipped to a Patriots tenure-low of 46% in 2023. Now, he will begin searching for a new opportunity.

Guy remained a steady contributor along the defensive front for the Patriots across his 110 games played with the franchise, recording between one and three sacks and between 46 and 61 tackles from 2017-22. His production took a step back this past season, but the Super Bowl LIII winner could generate a decent market in free agency on a short-term deal.

Phillips inked a $12.75MM extension in 2022, and he played every game over the past two seasons. After receiving eight starts in 2022, however, that figure fell to one this past campaign. The 31-year-old’s 12% defensive snap was the lowest of his career and a far cry from his previous workloads in his three Patriots campaigns. He shifted to a special teams mainstay, something which should help his financial floor on a new contract.

The safety spot could see further turnover in this offseason. Kyle Dugger is a pending free agent, as is versatile defensive back Jalen Mills (who logged over 100 snaps at each safety spot last season). Jabrill Peppers has one year remaining on his contract, so a long-term investment at the position should be expected either through free agency or the draft this offseason.

The Patriots entered today with $66MM in cap space, the fourth-highest figure in the league. These cost-shedding moves will add to that total as the team begins a critical offseason with new personnel in place in the front office and on the sidelines. Both Guy and Phillips, meanwhile, will join the list of veteran defenders available on the free agent market.

Assessing NFL’s OC Landscape

February 15th, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

This offseason showed the turnover that can take place at the offensive coordinator position. As a result of several decisions in January and February, the NFL no longer has an OC who has been in his current role for more than two seasons. Various firings and defections now have the 2022 batch of hires stationed as the longest-tenured OCs.

One of the longest-tenured coordinators in NFL history, Pete Carmichael is no longer with the Saints. The team moved on after 15 seasons, a stay that featured part-time play-calling duties. The Browns canned their four-year non-play-calling OC, Alex Van Pelt, while three-year play-callers Arthur Smith and Shane Waldron are relocating this winter. Brian Callahan‘s five-year gig as the Bengals’ non-play-calling OC booked him a top job.

The recent lean toward offense-oriented HCs took a bit of a hit of a hit this offseason, with five of the eight jobs going to defense-oriented leaders. Callahan, Dave Canales and Jim Harbaugh were the only offense-geared candidates hired during this cycle. But half the NFL will go into this season with a new OC. Following the Seahawks’ decision to hire ex-Washington (and, briefly, Alabama) staffer Ryan Grubb, here is how the NFL’s OC landscape looks:

2022 OC hires

Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions*
Mike Kafka, New York Giants*
Wes Phillips, Minnesota Vikings
Frank Smith, Miami Dolphins
Adam Stenavich, Green Bay Packers
Press Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars*

Although this sextet now comprises the senior wing of offensive coordinators, this still marks each’s first gig as an NFL OC. Three of the six received HC interest this offseason.

Johnson’s status back in Detroit has been one of the offseason’s top storylines and a development the Commanders have not taken especially well. The two-year Lions OC was viewed as the frontrunner for the Washington job for weeks this offseason, and when team brass did not receive word about Johnson’s intent to stay in Detroit (thus, waiting until at least 2025 to make his long-expected HC move) until a Commanders contingent was en route to Detroit for a second interview, a back-and-forth about what exactly broke down took place. Johnson should be expected to remain a high-end HC candidate next year, but Dan Campbell will still have his services for 2024.

Kafka interviewed for the Seahawks’ HC job, and the Giants then blocked him from meeting with the NFC West team about its OC position. Rumblings about Kafka and Brian Daboll no longer being on great terms surfaced this year, with the latter yanking away play-calling duties — given to Kafka ahead of the 2022 season — at points in 2023. Taylor may also be on the hot seat with his team. Doug Pederson gave Taylor the call sheet last season, and Trevor Lawrence did not make the leap many expected. After a collapse left the Jaguars out of the playoffs, the team had begun to look into its offensive situation.

2023 OC hires

Jim Bob Cooter, Indianapolis Colts
Nathaniel Hackett, New York Jets*
Mike LaFleur, Los Angeles Rams
Joe Lombardi, Denver Broncos
Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens*
Matt Nagy, Kansas City Chiefs
Drew Petzing, Arizona Cardinals*
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans*

Only nine of the 15 OCs hired in 2023 are still with their teams. One (Canales) moved up the ladder, while others were shown the door following that organization canning its head coach. The Eagles were the only team who hired an offensive coordinator last year to fire that staffer (Brian Johnson) after one season. Nick Sirianni fired both his coordinators following a wildly disappointing conclusion.

Hackett may also be drifting into deep water, given what transpired last year in New York. Rumblings of Robert Saleh — who is on the hottest seat among HCs — stripping some of his offensive play-caller’s responsibilities surfaced recently. This marks Hackett’s fourth chance to call plays in the NFL; the second-generation staffer did so for the Bills, Jaguars and Broncos prior to coming to New York. After the 2022 Broncos ranked last in scoring, the ’23 Jets ranked 31st in total offense. Hackett’s relationship with Aaron Rodgers has largely kept him in place, but 2024 may represent a last chance for the embattled coach.

Of this crop, Monken and Slowik were the only ones to receive HC interest. Neither emerged as a frontrunner for a position, though Slowik met with the Commanders twice. The Texans then gave their first-time play-caller a raise to stick around for C.J. Stroud‘s second season. Stroud’s remarkable progress figures to keep Slowik on the HC radar. Monken, who is in his third try as an NFL OC (after gigs in Tampa and Cleveland), just helped Lamar Jackson to his second MVP award. The former national championship-winning OC did not stick the landing — as Jackson struggled against the Chiefs — but he fared well on the whole last season.

Schottenheimer is on his fourth go-round as an OC, while Lombardi is on team No. 3. The latter’s job figures to be more secure, being tied to Sean Payton, compared to what is transpiring in Dallas. With the Cowboys having Mike McCarthy as the rare lame-duck HC, his coordinators probably should not get too comfortable.

2024 OC hires

Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills*
Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Ken Dorsey, Cleveland Browns
Luke Getsy, Las Vegas Raiders*
Ryan Grubb, Seattle Seahawks*
Nick Holz, Tennessee Titans
Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders*
Klint Kubiak, New Orleans Saints*
Brad Idzik, Carolina Panthers
Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles*
Dan Pitcher, Cincinnati Bengals
Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons*
Greg Roman, Los Angeles Chargers*
Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers*
Alex Van Pelt, New England Patriots*
Shane Waldron, Chicago Bears*

The 49ers do not employ a traditional OC; 16 of the 31 teams that do recently made a change. Most of the teams to add OCs this year, however, did so without employing play-calling coaches. This naturally raises the stakes for this year’s batch of hires.

Retreads became rather popular. Dorsey, Getsy, Moore, Van Pelt and Waldron were all OCs elsewhere (Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Seattle) last season. Smith will shift from calling the Falcons’ plays to running the show for the Steelers. Dorsey, Getsy and Van Pelt were fired; Moore and Waldron moved on after the Chargers and Seahawks respectively changed HCs. Moore and Smith will be calling plays for a third team; for Moore, this is three OC jobs in three years.

Coen, Kingsbury and Roman are back after a year away. Kingsbury became a popular name on the OC carousel, having coached Caleb Williams last season. This will be his second crack at an NFL play-calling gig, having been the Cardinals’ conductor throughout his HC tenure. This will be Coen’s first shot at calling plays in the pros; he was Sean McVay‘s non-play-calling assistant in 2022. Likely to become the Chargers’ play-caller, Roman will have a rare fourth chance to call plays in the NFL. He held that responsibility under Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco; following Harbaugh’s explosive 2015 49ers split, Roman moved to Buffalo and Baltimore to work under non-offense-oriented leaders.

Grubb, Holz, Idzik, Pitcher and Robinson represent this year’s first-timer contingent. Grubb has, however, called plays at the college level. Robinson is the latest McVay staffer to move into a play-calling post; he was a Rams assistant for five years. A host of teams had Robinson on their OC radar, but Raheem Morris brought his former L.A. coworker to Atlanta. Pitcher appeared in a few searches as well, but the Bengals made the expected move — after extending him last year — to give him Callahan’s old job.

* = denotes play-calling coordinator

Patriots Gave Bill O’Brien Chance To Stay; Latest On Team’s Coaching Staff

February 15th, 2024 at 6:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bill O’Brien‘s second stint with the Patriots ended after one season. The Pats’ 2023 offensive coordinator has since committed to both Ohio State and Boston College, becoming the ACC program’s head coach after initially pledging to be the Buckeyes’ OC.

With O’Brien set to replace Jeff Hafley as Boston College’s HC, he not do so after being booted from the Patriots. The veteran coach said he was given an opportunity to stay on under Jerod Mayo. A number of Bill Belichick assistants are still in place, including Brian Belichick, but O’Brien is now back in the college ranks.

“I definitely had an opportunity to stay,” O’Brien said (via WEEI.com’s Mike Kadlick). “I thought it was really important for coach Mayo to hire his own staff. I came and worked for Bill Belichick, and I think it’s really important for Jerod to be able to hire his own staff. The Krafts were great about that, and I really appreciate that. And Ryan Day was awesome about offering me a job, so that’s why I made that decision.”

Robert Kraft played a key role in bringing O’Brien back to Foxborough. A rumor pegged Belichick as remaining interested in keeping Matt Patricia on as the Patriots’ de facto OC. But O’Brien — the Pats’ OC in 2011, closing out a multiyear play-calling stint with the team — brought extensive experience on the offensive side. This led Patricia to Philadelphia. O’Brien committed to Ohio State on Jan. 18. The Packers hired Hafley on Jan. 31. Days later, O’Brien agreed to come back to Boston.

A January report indicated the Pats were not planning to run it back with O’Brien as OC; he would have needed to vie for the job as part of a search. O’Brien took his name out of consideration early. After a thorough search, the Patriots ended up with ex-Browns OC Alex Van Pelt, who has one season of play-calling experience. But Van Pelt represents a new voice in a building still filled with Belichick assistants.

Mayo having only worked for the Patriots led to some concerns about his ability to fill out a staff, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes. This helps explain why Eliot Wolf, who is believed to be the team’s new front office boss, was involved in coaching searches and why a few ex-Packers assistants are part of Mayo’s first staff. Wolf was a regular presence in coaching interviews during this hiring period. He and Van Pelt overlapped as Packers staffers from 2012-17.

Ben McAdoo is another ex-Packers assistant who is now with the Patriots. The former Giants HC and Van Pelt worked together in Green Bay from 2012-13, a stay that ended with McAdoo as QBs coach and Van Pelt as running backs coach. After the Giants hired McAdoo as their OC in 2014, Van Pelt — a longtime NFL backup QB — shifted over to become Aaron Rodgers‘ position coach. While McAdoo will now work for Van Pelt, Volin adds he hold the title of senior offensive assistant in New England.

Additionally, the Patriots will split up their linebacking coach role. Dont’a Hightower will coach the team’s outside ‘backers, per Volin. Drew Wilkins is overseeing the ILBs. This will allow Hightower a smoother path into the coaching ranks. The standout Patriot has not held a full-time coaching job previously.

The Pats are also hiring Taylor Embree as their running backs coach, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. Embree, 35, spent the past three years coaching the Jets’ running backs. The team dismissed the former Mike LaFleur hire earlier this offseason. The son of Dolphins TEs coach/ex-Colorado HC Jon Embree, Taylor had been a lower-level staffer under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. The Jets gig marked the 35-year-old assistant’s first position coach role in the NFL.

Patriots tight ends coach Will Lawing is on track to follow O’Brien to Boston College, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel tweets. This is not exactly surprising, as Lawing has worked with O’Brien for more than 10 years. Lawing followed O’Brien to Penn State, the Texans, Alabama and then the Patriots.

Patriots Notes: Bourne, Front Office, Brown

February 12th, 2024 at 9:33pm CST by Ben Levine

Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne tore his ACL at the end of October, an injury that had especially poor timing considering his impending free agent. However, the wideout has made it clear that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery, and he’s eyeing a return to New England in 2024.

Speaking to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the receiver said he’s expecting to be ready for the start of next season. Bourne also discussed his upcoming unrestricted free agency, with the veteran stating his desire to stick with the Patriots.

“I want to come back [to New England],” Bourne said. “That is a goal of mine. I love being a Patriot — it’s a great environment for a person like me. Being a Patriot helped me grow into the player I am today. I’m thankful for the organization, but you never know. I’ve been in free agency before and I didn’t know what would happen. And I don’t know now.”

After spending the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers, Bourne inked a three-year deal worth up to $22.5MM with the Patriots. The wideout had an up-and-down three years in New England. He finished 2021 with career highs in receptions (55), receiving yards (800), and touchdowns (five). He found himself in the doghouse in 2022, but he rebounded in 2023, averaging a career-high 50.8 yards per game prior to his injury.

The wideout now has to navigate both his injury recovery and his impending free agency. Bourne told Reiss that he has a physical therapist living with him, and his current focus is on strengthening his quadriceps and legs in support of his knee.

“I was in the best shape of my life and the knee slowed me down a lot,” Bourne said. “It’s annoying to have someone always on me and bugging me, but I know what I need to get back to where I was when I got hurt. I’m embracing it now.”

More notes out of New England…

While it’s uncertain if the Patriots will make a move at general manager, Eliot Wolf is expected to control the 53-man roster for the time being. Reiss has provided a bit more insight, noting Wolf’s ascension is a sign the Patriots are focusing on more of a “Packer-based structure” to their front office. Wolf, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf, spent more than a decade with Green Bay, and Reiss believes the Patriots are pivoting to a system that values the personnel department’s input vs. the head coach’s final say (a tactic that was impossible with Bill Belichick at the helm). Reiss notes that Wolf was also heavily involved with the head coaching process, and he subsequently worked with Jerod Mayo to fill out the coaching staff.
Speaking of the front office, the Patriots have added a familiar face to their operation. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, the Patriots have hired executive Bobby Brown for a front office role. Brown previously served as the Patriots associate director of football administration, but he left for the Texans this past season to work alongside his brother, Andrew Brown.
The Patriots continue to add to their coaching staff. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the team has hired Drew Wilkins as their outside linebackers coach. Wilkins spent more than a decade on the Ravens coaching staff, where he worked alongside current Patriots star linebacker Matthew Judon. Wilkins spent the past two seasons as the Giants OLBs coach, but he was let go following New York’s overhaul of the defensive coaching staff.
Former Patriots WR Troy Brown has spent the past three seasons as New England’s receivers coach, but with his contract having expired and a new coaching staff in place, his future with the organization is in doubt. Reiss writes that Brown could be one of the few holdovers to stick around in 2024. Alex Van Pelt is now in place as the Patriots offensive coordinator, so there’s a chance the new hire decides to pursue his own WRs coach.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

February 12th, 2024 at 8:58am CST by Adam La Rose

With Super Bowl LVIII in the books, the 2023 campaign has come to a close. Teams outside Kansas City and San Francisco had already turned their attention to the offseason well before Sunday’s game, of course.

Regular season standings determine the order for the top 18 picks, so they have been known since the conclusion of Week 18. For the second straight year, the Bears face the question of dealing away the top selection and starting over at quarterback or re-committing to Justin Fields. Expectations still point toward Caleb Williams heading to Chicago, although the Bears will not move the No. 1 pick at a discounted price.

With the Commanders also in position to add a signal-caller second overall, the Patriots and Cardinals will be worth watching closely. New England will be in the market for a QB, but it may not come via the team’s top selection. Arizona’s position could also be a trade-up target for teams seeking a quarterback addition. This year’s class is expected to be dominated by blue-chip prospects under center, as well as at wide receiver and offensive tackle.

The final 14 spots in the draft order are filled by postseason results. The Chiefs find themselves in familiar territory picking at or near the end of the first-round order for the fourth time in the past five years following another Super Bowl appearance. The team has a mixed track record with its selections in that regard, but another impact rookie would of course help its bid to sustain its impressive run.

While a number of selections will no doubt be swapped between now and draft day, here is the full 2024 first-round order:

Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
Washington Commanders: 4-13
New England Patriots: 4-13
Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
Los Angeles Chargers: 5-12
New York Giants: 6-11
Tennessee Titans: 6-11
Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
Chicago Bears: 7-10
New York Jets: 7-10
Minnesota Vikings: 7-10
Denver Broncos: 8-9
Las Vegas Raiders: 8-9
New Orleans Saints: 9-8
Indianapolis Colts: 9-8
Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
Cincinnati Bengals: 9-8
Los Angeles Rams: 10-7
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-7
Miami Dolphins: 11-6
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6
Houston Texans (via Browns)
Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
Green Bay Packers: 9-8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-8
Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
Buffalo Bills: 11-6
Detroit Lions: 12-5
Baltimore Ravens: 13-4
San Francisco 49ers: 12-5
Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6

Patriots Reportedly Open To Trading No. 3 Pick; Team Expected To Seek Mac Jones Trade

February 11th, 2024 at 9:37pm CST by Rory Parks

After seeing Mac Jones regress from Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021 to third-string quarterback by the end of the 2023 campaign, the Patriots, in the first year of the post-Bill Belichick era, are widely expected to select a signal-caller in the upcoming draft. With Caleb Williams likely to be the No. 1 overall pick, New England will have at least one of Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels to choose from when it is on the clock with the No. 3 overall selection. However, ESPN’s Dan Graziano hears that the Pats are open to trading that pick and acquiring more assets to restock a generally weak roster (subscription required).

In that scenario, New England would look to free agency for a quarterback. Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield presently top the free agent QB class, though both players could re-sign with their current clubs before the legal tampering period opens. If that happens, the Pats would be picking from a number of backup or bridge types like Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston, and Drew Lock (it should be noted that Russell Wilson is also likely to hit the open market in short order).

A team like New England that is probably at least a year away from contention may be perfectly willing to roll with a stopgap option for one season if that strategy allows them to supplement other areas of need. On the other hand, the 2025 class of collegiate QBs is not shaping up to be an inspiring one, so selecting a player like Maye or Daniels now may prove to be the Patriots’ best course of action, even if the bottom-heavy 2025 crop increases the value of the No. 3 pick in 2024.

If new personnel chief Eliot Wolf and new head coach Jerod Mayo ultimately decide that a trade down makes more sense, then Graziano expects the Falcons, who presently hold the No. 8 overall pick, and the Vikings (No. 11 overall) to have interest. Atlanta, which came close to hiring Belichick as its new HC, has plenty of non-QB talent and could be a quarterback away from being a legitimate contender (though team brass is currently undecided on how it will go about upgrading the position). Minnesota, meanwhile, has already been mentioned as a trade-up candidate, and if the team is unable to agree to a new deal with Cousins by the start of the 2024 league year on March 13, it will be saddled with a $28.5MM dead money charge. Per Graziano, there are some within the Vikes organization that are particularly keen on pairing Daniels with fellow LSU product Justin Jefferson, so New England and Minnesota could line up on a trade if the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is not selected with one of the first two picks in the draft. The Vikings having their QB1 on a rookie deal would certainly help ease the sting of a Cousins departure and his dead money parting gift.

In a piece detailing the quarterback situations of a number of clubs, the NFL.com trio of Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo believe that the Patriots will try to trade Jones in the coming weeks. The relationship between Belichick and Jones deteriorated over Jones’ first three years in the league, and although Belichick is gone, New England’s new power brokers are seemingly prepared for some sort of reset at the position. Indeed, a change of scenery may benefit both parties.

Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, in an article that is well-worth a read for Pats fans in particular, notes that Jones was (understandably) frustrated with Belichick’s decision to hire Matt Patricia as a replacement for Josh McDaniels in 2022 and to shift to an offensive system different than the one in which Jones thrived in his rookie season. Jones’ resistance to those changes angered Belichick, and the HC-QB dynamic went downhill from there.

Hiring Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator in 2023 did not yield the results that the team hoped for, and Mark Daniels reports that New England staff did not view Jones as a strong enough leader, believing instead that the third-year passer simply “wanted to be one of the guys.” Plus, when the Pats’ offense sputtered, Jones began to freelance and play outside of O’Brien’s system, and as Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal observes, Jones simply lost the locker room.

After he was benched in favor of Bailey Zappe, Jones watched every NFL game he ever played in to see what went wrong, and he ultimately acknowledged that his improvisational tactics were a major reason for the offense’s struggles. Given his status as a 2021 first-rounder and the potential he showed that season, Jones may draw some trade interest, but as Mark Daniels unsurprisingly reports, the Patriots will not exercise Jones’ fifth-year option if he is still on the club by the May 2 deadline to pick up or decline those options.

Robert Kraft Addresses Patriots’ Cash Spending

February 9th, 2024 at 10:13pm CST by Adam La Rose

The issue of cash spending has been a talking point for the Patriots in recent years in particular, but the departure of Bill Belichick and the cap situation the team is in could bring about a change. When speaking about the matter, owner Robert Kraft pushed back on criticism of the team’s financial approach while stating money will not be an issue in the coming offseason.

“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending,” Kraft said, via Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe. “Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true.”

New England ranked 31st in the league with respect to cash (as opposed to salary cap) spending in 2023, continuing a trend in terms of Belichick’s roster management preferences as de facto general manager. The Patriots do not have a recent track record of retaining many homegrown players on second contracts, relying heavily on players on their rookie deals and low-cost veterans. Things could change moving forward with Eliot Wolf now in charge of roster decisions, but Kraft defended the approach Belichick employed for many years.

“Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system who was a great coach and also understood value,” Kraft added. “He ran a tight ship. They say we’ve been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true, but we had a pretty good record. And we won three Super Bowls. But our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted.”

The issue of finances was a public talking point this summer between Belichick and Kraft in advance of the season in which their storied working relationship ultimately came to an end. New head coach Jerod Mayo will oversee the team’s transition, one which will likely include a starting quarterback being added either in free agency or the draft. The Patriots have the No. 3 selection as well as the third-most cap space in the league at the moment, so their new brain trust will have considerable flexibility in attempting to rebound from the struggles of the post-Tom Brady era.

Patriots Hire Dont’a Hightower As LBs Coach

February 9th, 2024 at 7:32pm CST by Ely Allen

The trend of former players turning to coaching after their playing careers end continued today with former Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower getting hired to coach his former team’s linebackers group, according to his agents at SportsTrust Advisors. ESPN’s Mike Reiss posted that the hiring seemed to complete the main coaching hires on the defensive side of the ball, indicating that cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino would be returning to coach the position in 2024.

Hightower was a 2012 first-round addition out of Alabama for the Patriots back in 2012. An immediate starter, Hightower performed at a high level for the entirety of his ten-year career, all of which saw him play in red, white, and blue. The two-time Pro Bowler’s only big issue throughout his career was durability. Throughout his time in New England, he only appeared in every game of a season once and missed 11 games in 2017 due to a torn pectoral muscle. He also was one of the few NFL players who opted out of the 2020 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hightower would return for the 2021 season and, after going unsigned in 2022, would retire in 2023. Hightower finished his career with 569 total tackles, 43 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, two forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries. He hit the quarterback 67 times, intercepted them once, and deflected 18 passes over his career.

Hightower will return to the NFL as a coach for the only team he ever played for, joining his former teammate, and new head coach, Jerod Mayo. With former defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington taking over as defensive coordinator, Hightower is joining new defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, returning safeties coach Brian Belichick, and Pellegrino as the position coaches on the defensive staff. This should conclude the major hires on this side of the ball, though minor roles may still be filled.

Speaking of a minor coaching role, New England is reportedly finalizing a deal to bring in former Panthers assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler, per Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal. Kugler is a hot name in coaching circles who is viewed as a possible candidate for offensive coordinator jobs in the not-too-distant future.

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