Patriots News 6/23: Daily Team Notebook
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Some Patriots News on this Thursday:
– There was some good news on Wednesday as the New England Patriots announced they were bringing back the club’s alternate red throwback jerseys for select dates this season. The team apparently did some work behind the scenes with the NFL to allow for the practice to return, which now sets up the opportunity for the club to don their previous white helmets and Pat Patriot logo, along with the red jerseys worn prior to the uniform change the team made in 1993. No word yet on what dates they’ll be worn, but it sounds like they may wear them at more than one point this season.
– ESPN reporter Mike Reiss posted his preseason roster projection earlier this week, with both rookie cornerbacks Jack Jones and Marcus Jones ending up among the names on his final group of 53 players. One odd man out was Terrance Mitchell, who he believes is a fallback option depending on how things go with the rookies in camp. The former 2014 7th-round pick didn’t seem to make much noise in OTAs and may have his work cut out for him against in what’s strangely become a crowded but seemingly not overly talented secondary.
– Chris Mason of MassLive had a nice bit on former Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount, with Blount saying in a recent appearance of “The Patriots Report” podcast with Christopher Price that Bill Belichick once made him wear #60 instead of his #29 when Blount returned to Foxboro in 2014 after being overweight. “They gave me number 60 my first day of practice,” said Blount. “Bill was like, ‘You’re going to be on the line until you get back to the playing weight. But I started (at running back) that Sunday… I enjoyed it with him. I love Bill to death.”
– Mason’s colleague, Nick O’Malley, also had a good bit from Price’s podcast with a story from former Patriots safety Duron Harmon. Harmon recalled a story of a time in 2016 where Belichick once challenged him and teammates Devin McCourty and Logan Ryan about their toughness prior to a preseason game against Carolina. “He’s a jokester. He’s got his days where he likes to joke,” Harmon said. “I’ll never forget, right before the third preseason game, he brings in a glass container of marshmallows. He sent them into the DB room for me, Dev and Log. It was like, ‘Are you guys gonna be soft or y’all gonna be ready to play this preseason game?’ Because I think we were all coming back from injuries, if I’m not mistaken.” All three players ended up with a first-half interception, which Harmon said quieted the coach. “We go into halftime, and it’s like ‘Well, I guess you (expletive) boys aren’t soft anymore,’” said Harmon.
– According to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM, the Patriots reportedly were in the process of getting first-round pick Cole Strange under contract on Wednesday, which would cross yet another player off their list. Once Strange is signed, that would leave just Tyquan Thornton and Bailey Zappe as the only two players remaining to get deals done with. Cap expert Miguel Benzan has been following things closely and hasn’t seen a change in the cap space, which remains at $142,280. All signs seem to point to the team needing to make one or more moves to make it possible for these to get done, which should make the next few weeks interesting.
– ESPN’s Field Yates looked at a handful of remaining moves he believes teams should make, with his thought on the Patriots being bringing back former linebacker, Trey Flowers. Yates believes it’s a move that just makes sense. “While the Patriots have made some recent draft investments in edge players who could figure in more prominently this season (Josh Uche and Ronnie Perkins among them), Flowers would be the latest in a long line of veterans to depart New England and eventually return,” writes Yates. “He knows the scheme, would bring valuable experience and has enough juice left to be a situational player for the team. He was an extremely well-respected member of its roster when he was previously in New England.” The 28-year-old had his best season as a pro in his final season with the team back in 2018 which saw him finish with a career-high 7.5 sacks along with 2 passes defended.
NFL NOTES:
– While the Carolina Panthers have consistently been the name mentioned for Baker Mayfield, it sounds like the Seahawks could also be back in the mix. According to CBS Sports Josina Anderson, Seattle has “maintained a high level of interest” and they’re “even open to extending Mayfield”. Mayfield’s contract has been the issue in Carolina, which has reportedly been a sticking point in that deal. As a result, if true, this bit of news could certainly change things. With just over a month until camp starts, it’s likely that things could heat up as whoever ultimately lands him will need Mayfield to get to work as quickly as possible in order to start preparing for the upcoming season.
– Reports online have talked about how Trevor Lawrence opted to receive his $24-million signing bonus from the Jaguars in cryptocurrency, which reports had said saw him lose $15 million thanks to the recent crash in the currency. Lawrence disputed that this week, saying that it was a signing bonus he received to endorse the app Blockfolio that was paid exclusively in crypto, not the one from his NFL contract. “Did y’all confuse my @FTX_Official signing bonus with my @NFL one? Carry on…,” tweeted the QB. It’s sort of surprising that even major outlets seem to have also got this wrong, but it sounds like Lawrence’s NFL money was unaffected.
– The loss of Tony Siragusa came as a shock to most people after news broke that the 55-year-old former NFL defensive lineman passed away in his sleep this week. A previous interview with Siragusa on the Howard Stern Show talking about his father’s passing and his own mortality resurfaced, and it was definitely chilling. Stern asked him if his father dying at 48 worried him when it came to his own health, with Siragusa saying he wasn’t concerned. “I was 21 when my dad passed away and every day since then is just like, the best day ever,” said Siragusa at the time. “It doesn’t really matter. If I die tomorrow, I told my wife, just put a smile on my face. Put a little Sinatra on. Let’s go.”
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