Seth Wickersham, the author of the long-form ESPN story about the Patriots, which was published last Friday, joined Kirk & Callahan Monday morning to further discuss the piece.
In the piece, Wickersham said he spoke to more than a dozen New England staffers, executives, players and league sources with knowledge of the team's inner workings. On with Kirk & Callahan, he said he spoke to "multiple" players.
"I can't get into the numbers, but I appreciate the question," he said when asked about players directly. "It was multiple."
Wickersham added: "I think the reporting process in a story like this has to remain as confidential as possible. I was as transparent as I could be in the story."
When it comes to Bill Belichick meeting with Roger Goodell, Wickersham maintains the meeting occurred last week in Foxboro despite the NFL disputing it.
"They are good friends and that is something I could have been more clear about," he said. "I don't know if it was just a visit last week, but they had long meetings the past couple of years. They talk about different rule discussions. They have been friends. They hugged on the stage during the trophy presentation at the Super Bowl last year. It's a fascinating relationship and I think the context that I wrote that in is — I don't know when Coach Belichick is going to walk away from the NFL. I think there's a sense that he's taking a longer view and looking at impacts across the league as he tries to as shrewdly and competitively as ever to pursue another Super Bowl this year."
