1 – Christian Gonzalez and the Patriots announced this week that the second-year cornerback will be wearing No. 0 this coming season, same as he wore during his final college football season at Oregon. In some ways, the new look might as well be a bull’s eye on the back of the talented young defensive playmaker.
Not only will the 2023 first-round pick become the first New England player to don No. 0 – not coincidentally in the first season that old-school GOAT coach Bill Belichick is no longer running the football show in Foxborough – but Gonzalez just might be the key to his team’s defensive and overall success in 2024.
Yes, Gonzalez is that important.
Clearly in Jerod Mayo’s first season as head coach – and with the QB position still very much TBD, in many ways the same being said for the offense as a whole – the Patriots are expected to be a team led by its defense this fall. And given that Gonzalez is clearly the No. 1 cornerback on the depth chart and only true outside cornerback option at this point, the young player will very much be in the crosshairs of opposing passing attacks.
Certainly Gonzalez has the tools to be up to the task. He earned September Defensive Rookie of the Month honors last fall, turning draft night potential into on field play.
But he also was lost for the season to a shoulder injury in just his fourth NFL game. He never had shot to face teams a second time around or even have a “book” get out on him via film of his tendencies, style of play or would-be holes in his rookie game.
Now, as a sophomore with little experience, Gonzalez needs to be New England’s best cornerback and one of its handful of best defensive players for first-year coordinator DeMarcus Covington’s unit.
There may be a zero on Gonzalez’ back (and front) this fall in New England, but there will be loads of pressure on the young defenders shoulders if the Patriots have any chance to be a top-end defense to give a rebuilding roster a shot to win each week.
2 – Tom Brady just can’t seem to help himself. He certainly doesn’t seem to be able to go off quietly into the Fox broadcast booth and collect on his crazy contract set to pay him more than he ever made playing for the Patriots.
It wasn’t so much that Brady told the “Deep Cut” podcast that he was “not opposed” to returning to the NFL after a year away from the game, it was more that he offered up the possibility of returning to a team like the Patriots.
Sure the scenario proposed by “Deep Cut” host/barber Vic Blends of Brady stepping up to the opportunity for a contending team like the 49ers is a logical question, but for TB12 to interject with his former New England team and then a Raiders team he’s attempting to become a minority owner of was more interesting. Neither team is a contender. Neither could lose its mainstay QB to injury because neither really has a QB at this point and could be in line to take one in next week’s NFL Draft.
That returning to play for a team like the Patriots was top of mind and tip of tongue for Brady would seem to be telling in terms of where his mind and motivation is at.
Or, maybe he just can’t help himself and loves the attention such comments get on social media and the talk show circuit.
3 – So, then, let’s give Brady the attention he so wants.
Let’s answer the elephant in the room. Would you want Brady to be the Patriots quarterback in 2024?
While on the surface it’s sad to think about Brady needing to return, needing to feed some urge and even sadder to think the Patriots need anyone the team can get at QB four seasons removed from the GOAT’s departure, it’s a scenario that might actually make sense.
Brady would be the perfect bridge QB – sorry Jacoby Brissett! -- especially for a top draft pick such as Drake Maye, who could certainly use the time behind the scenes to get himself NFL ready. No one would be clamoring for Maye, even as the No. 3 overall pick, if TB12 were under center in New England. No one. Not even if the record and the results aren’t up to snuff.
And Brady, in a different spot than he was a decade ago when his mentorship of Jimmy Garoppolo was not ideal, could put his imprint on the next generation of great QB play in New England. He could show Maye the way while fulfilling one last urge to prove his health and ageless ability at Gillette Stadium.
Are we putting too much stock into a few podcast words? Absolutely.
But if Brady wants to say it, we’ll play along.
And if Brady wants to actually play, he’d be the perfect one-year fit in Foxborough while Maye develops.
Why not?
4 – So realistically it is really unlikely Brady returns to the Patriots. But the new New England front office collaborative led by Eliot Wolf has shown this season that keeping home grown, drafted and developed talent is a key part of the new Patriots way of doing business.
Top free agents Mike Onwenu and Kyle Dugger returned on big contracts. Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings are back on lesser deals.
So it’s probably not too early to think ahead to next year’s free agent class as potential options for contract extensions or re-signings in the coming months, given that the team still has plenty of money to play with.
The top of that list would be former second-round pick Christian Barmore. Obviously New England would love to keep the big, versatile, athletic defensive lineman as the centerpiece of the defensive front moving forward.
But two issues make a potential Barmore extension challenging – money and health. While those are always considerations at all positions in all sports, they are magnified in this case. The market for top defensive linemen continues to explode, to or even past the $100 million plateau driven by current and former mainstays like Aaron Donald, Chris Jones. Quinnen Williams and Justin Madubuike. While Barmore may not yet be in the same conversation as those players, he’s not far off in the next tier and a rising tide lifts all boats.
Then there is the durability question. Barmore has dealt with a knee injury during his New England career that would have to be a concern or at least a consideration for his long term health and value.
Would the Patriots love to keep Barmore in the middle of the defense? Sure.
Will that be easy to do over the next year? Probably not.
5 – The other high-end option potentially in consideration for an extension in New England is lead back Rhamondre Stevenson. The former 2021 fourth-round pick is the top dog on the running back depth chart. And with first-year offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt talking up the running game Stevenson may be the centerpiece of the entire offense. It’s a role Stevenson is more than capable of fulfilling, as he did two years ago when he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and led the team with 69 receptions.
The running back market is always an interesting one. Two years ago the players felt phased out and devalued. This offseason star backs changed teams and collected relatively big deals across free agency.
Stevenson is a huge part of the present and in an ideal world the future for Van Pelt’s offense. But as is always the question, at what price point?
6 – Wolf doesn’t have to wait until April 25 to feel all the heat of the Patriots draft spotlight. The man who is making the final decision on what New England will do with the No. 3 overall pick will meet with reporters for the team’s annual pre-draft press conference this Thursday. The variety and volume of speculation around what Wolf could do has reached a peak in recent days. Trade? Stick and pick? Stun with the selection? Smokescreens and red herrings? Wolf might clarify things or might just add more mud to the pre-draft waters by design. Regardless, Wolf’s presser at Gillette at 10 a.m.
is finally some new fodder for fans and media alike in this interminable lead up to the 2024 NFL Draft.
7 – Bill Belichick doesn’t seem to be lacking for things to do in his first spring out of work from the NFL. There have been coaching clinics and stops along the college football landscape at Nebraska and Washington. Most recently he donned Northwestern women’s lacrosse gear alongside the team’s head coach and longtime connection in the coaching ranks Kelly Amonte Hiller. Belichick’s affinity for lacrosse is well documented. His daughter, Amanda, is the current women’s coach at Holy Cross. Belichick also apparently spent time with another old coaching pal, Tony La Russa, at a White Sox game alongside former Chicago shortstop and manager Ozzie Guillen.