Five Patriots/NFL Things to Know 3/23

Some news and notes for this morning:

1) Last night’s video of Jarrett Stidham working out with New England’s group of receivers was certainly cool to see, with the workout filmed by EBA_Sports and posted on YouTube.

The video has since been removed, but it was up last night and featured tight ends Matt LaCosse, Hunter Henry and Devin Asiasi, along with receivers Jakobi Meyers, Kristian Wilkerson and Kendrick Bourne.

The workout began with the receivers going through a regimented group of stretching and agility work, with Bourne standing out with his quick feet, while Henry also showed a quick change of direction during one of the other drills.

Stidham looked like he was all business, telling the guys, “Let’s get the newness out of the way this week,” with the intention being that the players will already be somewhat comfortable and familiar heading into training camp.

It then shows the group going through receiving routes, with Stidham looking fairly sharp firing them the football. Bourne’s route-running was probably one of the things that stood out, as he’s incredibly quick and looks to be a terrific addition.

According to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, Cam Newton and N’Keal Harry are expected to join the rest of the group in Southern California on Tuesday.

If you missed the video, there’s an account on Instagram that captured it and has it posted which can be found on our forum via this link.

2) As for Bourne, he admitted that he had a complete misconception about the team and the environment. He was concerned it might be a little too serious, but after coming in, he realized that there’s a happy medium as long as you’re willing to put in the work.

“First came into the building, (head coach) Bill (Belichick) was super cool. (Owner) Robert Kraft was super nice. I just had a whole different view of the Patriots in my head,” Bourne said via NESN.com. “It was a happy medium. You can be a jokester, be cool, but we work hard here. This outweighs the silliness, the hard work. I kind of got the happy medium. Turn it off a little bit, I can relax. I know when to turn it on. ‘OK, it’s time to be serious, time to work. We gotta win this game or we gotta knock out this workout or this weight room workout or whatever it may be.’ I know how to flip that switch. Football is meant to be fun, and that’s the main thing. If you stray away from that completely, what are we playing for? What are we doing this for? That’s my thing about it. I was happy when I got in the building and saw people being relaxed, laughing. Bill, he’s just a cool guy. Misconception by me. I’m excited to be here.”

Belichick reportedly recalled a story about Randy Moss, letting Bourne know that Moss simply focused on the playbook and everything else took care of itself.

After seeing Bourne in action, it should be interesting to see how he looks in this offense in the coming months.

3) It looks like the Dolphins might not yet be done poaching defensive players from New England.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, free agent Lawrence Guy is reportedly visiting with the Dolphins, which could potentially see Miami add another key Patriots defensive player this offseason.

The Dolphins already signed defensive lineman Adam Butler this offseason, with the former Patriot reuniting with former coach, Brian Flores.

Guy has been one of the better interior defensive players for New England and most people seem to feel that he could garner too high of a price tag in free agency for the Patriots to retain him. His addition would shore up an impressive group for Miami, improving a defense that finished tied with Denver for 20th in the league in 2020.

It’s still possible he could ultimately return, but given how aggressive the Dolphins have been this offseason, it’s a little tough to not be concerned that they might make him an offer he can’t refuse.

4) Mel Kiper Jr. posted his latest mock draft and he still has the Patriots taking Alabama quarterback, Mac Jones, with the 15th overall selection.

Jones appears to remain the player most believe New England will target, with ProFootballFocus even posting a recent mock that has New England trading up to the #9 spot with Denver to take him.

Ryan Wilson posted an interesting Mock yesterday that has the Panthers trading up with the Jets to take Justin Fields at #2 overall, with the Jets taking Mac Jones with the #8th overall selection. He also has the 49ers taking Zach Wilson at #6 overall.

From there, the Bears took Trey Lance off the board at #13, with the Patriots ultimately selecting USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker at 15 overall.

Bucky Brooks posted one this morning that has New England taking Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons at the 15th spot, with Zach Wilson going at #4 to Atlanta, Justin Fields going at #6 to the Eagles, Trey Lance going at #8 to Carolina, and Mac Jones lasting all the way to #32 and being taken by the Buccaneers.

Given some of the comparisons between Jones and Tom Brady, that would certainly be an ironic scenario to say the least.

5) Out in Buffalo, they appear to be high on the signing of Mitch Trubisky, who will now back up starter Josh Allen after the Bills recently signed the free-agent quarterback.

With Buffalo set to potentially make another run, given Allen’s athletic style of play and the potential exposure of getting injured, the feeling is that if Allen is out, Trubisky is more than capable of guiding them forward and keeping them in contention.

That was something they didn’t feel comfortable about with Matt Barkley, but Trubisky solves that issue.

For now, they seem to believe another Super Bowl run is a realistic goal after coming up just short in 2020. Whether or not the Patriots can challenge them for the Division is obviously something we’re all wondering about, but it’s safe to say that after seeing some of the new players in action for the first time, Bills fans may find out that things may end up being a bit more competitive this season.

About Ian Logue

Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.

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