1 – Sports Illustrated speculated this week that Patriots head coach and all powerful Foxborough football boss Bill Belichick would listen to trade offers for New England quarterback Mac Jones.
The response here? Of course he would. More importantly, of course he should.
The fact is that the Patriots don’t have a single player on the roster right now who can or should be classified as off limits. There was a time when Belichick oversaw a pipeline of GOATs and All-Pros in New England that were probably not worth calling about if you were another team. Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and others were so dominant in their roles for a time that they weren’t going anywhere.
Even back then, though, Trader Bill had no problem shipping guys like Logan Mankins, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel and others out of town. Even Moss and Gronkowski were eventually dealt.
Jones is anything but a GOAT or an All-Pro or even a locked-in starter at this point. He’s heading into his third NFL season with plenty to prove, a make-or-break year after the sophomore debacle that was in part created by Belichick’s doomed-to-fail offensive coaching staff led by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
Beyond Jones, though, the reality is the Patriots need to significantly upgrade the roster across the board. There are few elite talents to point to as cornerstones, beyond maybe running back Rhamondre Stevenson and edge rusher Matt Judon.
Look at the two teams that vied for the NFC Championship just a few weeks ago in Philly. The 49ers and Eagles field two of the best all-around rosters in the NFL. They have also been two of the more aggressive trading teams in recent memory. San Francisco GM John Lynch traded away DeForest Buckner and for Christian McCaffrey, among a litany of other moves with various degrees of success. Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman masterfully moved around the draft in recent years, and has dealt for key cogs like A.J. Brown, Darius Slay and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson while trading away longtime tight end Zach Ertz and one-time franchise QB Carson Wentz.
Is Belichick likely to trade Jones at this point? Maybe not. But he absolutely should listen to any opportunities that come his way this offseason to alter his New England roster in a palatable, productive fashion.
It’s his duty. It’s in the best interests of the football team.
2 – Patriot Nation got some unexpected but very much welcomed news this week that Pro Bowl special teamer and team captain Matthew Slater would be returning to New England for a 16th NFL season. That Slater is pushing off retirement for at least one more year is a huge positive for the Patriots, both on the field in special teams action and equally as importantly in the locker room in terms of leadership. There is no one in New England more respected than Slater. His voice carries great weight with his coaches and teammates as well as the media and fans. But he can also still very much beat a double team, get down the field and cover a punt, as shown by finishing second on the team with 13 special team tackles. Bill Belichick said in a statement that he’s “thrilled” Slater will be back in 2023 and all of New England should feel the same way.
3 – He’s far from a franchise legend, but a report from the Boston Globe that offensive tackle Conor McDermott is signing an extension with the Patriots is relatively big news at this early point in the offseason. McDermott was actually drafted by New England in the sixth round out of UCLA in 2017 but was cut as a rookie. After starting just six games over five-plus seasons with the Bill and Jets, McDermott returned to New England late last season to start the final six games of the year at a problematic right tackle spot. He stabilized the position to the point that in December Belichick said, “Thank God we have him.” McDermott may not be a long-term tackle answer in New England. In an ideal world, he may not even be a starter in 2023. But he did play competitively at the spot late last year and at the very least adds depth to the competition moving forward. He also has collegiate experience playing for new Patriots offensive line coach Adrian Klemm for the Bruins, which can’t hurt.
4 – Tuesday (Feb. 21) marks the first day that NFL teams can designate impending free agents as Franchise or Transition players. While anything is possible, it would seem unlikely that New England has any player worthy of such designations. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is the top player on the Patriots list of soon-to-be free agents, but given that the franchise tag would come with a salary of just less than $20 million (transition would be just less than $18 million) it wouldn’t seem to make sense. Cornerback Jonathan Jones is another Patriots desirable free agent, but the tag numbers (just over $18 million/just under $16 million) are too rich for the veteran who’ll turn 30 this summer.
5 – Little more than a year ago De’Vante Bausby was playing reserve defensive back for the Patriots in New England’s ugly season-ending Wild Card playoff loss to the Bills in Buffalo. This week, the journeyman footballer made his 2023 XFL debut with the Arlington Renegades in dramatic fashion. Bausby’s fourth-quarter pick-6 was the difference in his team’s 22-20 win over the Vegas squad. Bausby is one of a long list of names that New England fans might recognize on XFL rosters as the league embarks on its third attempt at spring football under the leadership of former WWE champion and movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
6 – While celebrating his recent election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past week, former Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas told a story about how he almost joined the Patriots late in his playing career.
After being cut by Bill Parcells in Miami in 2008, Thomas wanted to “shove it in his face” and thought the best way to do so would be by joining an AFC East rival.
“So I go out to Bill Belichick, the genius himself,” Thomas told WQAM via Boston.com. “I wanted to learn from him, whatever, and they had that stacked defense. So I’m sitting across from Bill in a chair, and he said, ‘Zach, we’re going to offer you, but I can’t give you No. 54.’ I’m like, ‘Man, Tedy Bruschi’s a legend, man. I don’t want 54.’ I said, ‘I want 53.’ That’s [Patriots special teams captain] Larry Izzo’s number, my best friend at the time. [That] got a good little smirk out of him.”
Potential jersey number aside, Thomas slept on the New England offer and decided he couldn’t turn his back on faithful Dolphins fans to join the rival Patriots. The Texas native and Texas Tech legend played his final NFL season with the Cowboys in 2008, the five-time All Pro putting in a relatively impressive encore starting 14 of 16 games and finishing with 94 tackles.
7 – As the NFL Scouting Combine, new league year and free agency approach it’s the time of fun speculation and rumors. One of those rumors in New England last week involved the idea that the Patriots had called the 49ers about a possible trade for All-Pro receiver Deebo Samuel. Obviously New England could use a true No. 1 playmaker and Samuel, who the Patriots passed over to take N’Keal Harry in the 2019 draft, would certainly fill that bill. There’s one problem with the fun rumor, it’s apparently just a rumor and nothing more. Sports Illustrated/NBC Sports Boston subsequently reported, via a source that would “absolutely know” that San Francisco isn’t trading Samuel and that the Patriots hadn’t called about the possibility. Welp, on to the next fun offseason NFL rumor! Tee Higgins?