Kadlick and Lyons: breaking down episodes 5 & 6 of ‘the dynasty’
The latest rumor out of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine suggests that the Patriots may not take a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick.
"Can we talk fun rumors?" insider Daniel Jeremiah asked co-host Rich Eisen during the NFL's Network's draft coverage on Saturday. "I mean look, you run into people, you talk to people, you hear you know theories and rumors and, 'Hey look out for this, look out for that.'"
"I mean we've all assumed that Baker [Mayfield] just goes right back to Tampa," he continued. "I had somebody say... 'Don't sleep on the New England Patriots.' And if the New England Patriots are in the Baker business, then the No. 3 pick is up for sale. And then the dominoes start to fall."
After shining in 2023-24 to the tune of 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, Mayfield led the Buccaneers to not only the playoffs, but a playoff win. He’s now a free agent for a second consecutive offseason.
All signs do point to Mayfield returning to Tampa Bay. However if he doesn’t, the Patriots would make a lot of sense.
Not only were New England executives Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith a part of the brain trust that drafted Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in Cleveland in 2018, but now-Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was the Browns' OC for two seasons while Mayfield was at the helm.
In 2020, arguably the quarterback’s best NFL season to date, Cleveland went 11-5 and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2002. Mayfield threw for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns on the year, and his eight interceptions mark the only time in his NFL career that he’s thrown for under double-digit (10) interceptions while serving as a team’s full-time starter.
According to Spotrac, Mayfield's contract extension with Tampa Bay this offseason projects to be in the range of four years, $120 million. Would the Patriots outbid that? Who's to say. However, with the Boston Herald reporting that Mayfield "has supporters in the building", the relationships between the quarterbacks and New England's front office/coaching staff, and the Jeremiah rumor above, there are certainly enough dots to connect the 29-year-old signal caller to Foxborough.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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