Thursday's New England Patriots Links 7/28
It's been quite a morning so far on this Thursday, with the start of training camp closing in, as well as the news that the team traded for Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.
Mike Reiss breaks down how Haynesworth will potentially fit into the defense, and believes he'll slide into the right end on the defensive line - which was Richard Seymour's old spot.
Clark Judge of CBS Sports calls Haynesworth another reclamation project, and wonders if the Patriots will get the same production out of him like they did with guys like Corey Dillon and Randy Moss.
Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe looks at the deal and wonders how Bill Belichick will convince Haynesworth to restructure his current contract, which has him with a base salary of $5-million for this season, and it's expected to escalate to $29-million in 2013 - a number that will clearly need to be adjusted.
Eric Wilbur of the Globe also looks at the trade, and provides his thoughts, as well as quite a few highlight videos from YouTube of what Haynesworth has the potential to do here with the Patriots.
Ian Rapoport of the Herald also looks at the trade, calling it a "bombshell" move and also ponders where Haynesworth will fit into the defense.
Michael Hurley of NESN.com writes that Haynesworth is a long-time fan of the Patriots, Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady. He shows a video of a previous hit on Brady during a preseason game, as well as quotes by Haynesworth following the contest.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports writes that the Patriots should be able to "wash the stink away" from Haynesworth, who he calls a 'lazy malcontent'.
With training camp set to start today Ian Rapoport takes a look at some of the position battles set to take place, including how strong Ty Warren comes back from his injury among many others.
Mike Reiss has an entry of what to expect for coverage today on ESPNBoston.com, with Mike Rodak, Chris Forsberg and Greg Payne all expected to join him on letting us know what's going on down at the stadium.
Reiss also notes some areas of intrigue, including how Leigh Bodden performs after coming off of a season that was spent on injured reserve among others.
Rich Garven of the Worcester Telegram wrote - prior to the Haynesworth trade of course - that fans shouldn't expect the team to spend owner Robert Kraft's billions, and notes that previous free agent 'splurges' are rare. He points out previous big moves the team has made, as well as a lot of the unknown guys who ended up making a big contribution.
Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle notes the singings that 'trickled' out of Foxboro yesterday, with the team locking up two rookies. He also notes some of the longshots to make the team.
Greg Bedard has an "On Football" column this morning, and notes that Patriots fans shouldn't be too hard on the team after watching the Jets go to town on the free agent market yesterday. Again, this was written prior to the Haynesworth trade, but still a good read.
Oddly enough, that's it for this morning. Be sure to check back throughout the day for updates, and also follow me on Twitter at @ianlogue.
