Known as arguably the most meticulous, controlling, prepared coach in the NFL, Bill Belichick opened his morning Zoom call with a somewhat curious comment to reporters regarding some “weather” issues that affected “travel” for players in regards to New England’s mandatory mini-camp that kicks off Monday morning on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Those issues left Belichick uncertain as to the attendance for mini-camp practice, even though he’d already addressed his squad in a team meeting before answering questions from the media.
“We had a little weather here, we’re working through some travel arrangements so we’ll see what the full level of participation is here today and for this week,” Belichick said in his opening comments. “But that’s really…I’m sure we’ll have a pretty full roster. It’s good to see a couple new faces here.”
The first question posed to Belichick after his opening remarks was in regards to veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore. The former Defensive Player of the Year is in the final season of his contract and set to earn a salary of just $7 million in 2021. He’s reportedly been seeking a new deal, while the Patriots have had trade discussions regarding Gilmore dating back to last offseason.
Is Gilmore in town for the mandatory mini-camp?
“Like I said, we’re kind of scrambling to get things going this morning,” Belichick said. “So I didn’t really get a chance to see everybody myself. So we’ll see where we are at.”
Asked to clarify his “weather” comment and whether any absences would be excused by the team, Belichick remained a bit vague.
“Yeah, just the travel arrangements over the weekend. So not sure exactly how all of it worked out. We’re close on a couple guys this morning, but we’ll catch up on that after we get done here and see where we are at,” Belichick responded.
So, it’s not a big deal?
“No, I’m saying today is the first day,” Belichick added.
“They just got in here a little while ago. I’m not sure if everybody is here.
We didn’t take attendance at the meeting. But we’ll find out who is here and who isn’t soon enough. That includes the players that were here last week (for voluntary OTAs) and the players that weren’t here last week and everything else.”
The final question regarding mini-camp attendance was another attempt to clarify if the Patriots had given any players an excused absence for the practices.
“Yeah, all the communication between me and the players I’ll keep between me and the players,” Belichick concluded.
The media will be on the field in Foxborough at 10:45 this morning, able to see with their own eyes which players are indeed participating in the mandatory mini-camp and which are not.
