Patriots News 7/8: Daily Team Notebook & NFL Notes
(PHOTO: Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
(PHOTO: Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports) Some Patriots News on this Friday:
– Most New England Patriots fans saw this coming at some point, but according to reports, Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 81-year owner is reportedly among 29 semifinalists for enshrinement in 2023, with the vote set to take place later this month on 7/27. If he’s selected, he would join 15 other team owners currently enshrined in Canton, with Jerry Jones last earning the honor in 2017. Kraft purchased the team in 1994 and saw his team reach the Super Bowl just two seasons later, although they came up just short against the Green Bay Packers in that first appearance. They’ve since gone on to play in 9 more, winning six of them and he made the controversial decision to hire Bill Belichick as head coach in 2000, which has gone on to become one of the key moves he’s made during his tenure.
– Kraft has had just three head coaches over that span, originally inheriting Bill Parcells, who had been hired the previous season in 1993. Parcells famously left after the 1996 season due to a disagreement over the draft selection of the late Terry Glenn, with Kraft shifting player decisions to director of player personnel, Bobby Grier following the team’s 6-10 performance in 1995. That led to the hiring of head coach Pete Carroll, who lasted three seasons before an 8-8 finish after a 6-2 start saw him get fired after the team’s final game that year against the Ravens. Grier was eventually fired after Belichick was hired in 2000, with Belichick having been given full player decisions by Kraft. Scott Pioli went on to assume Grier’s role, which ended up leading to the club building rosters that saw them draft Tom Brady while winning three titles in Belichick’s first five seasons.
– Defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. is busy getting ready for the start of the season, with the veteran recently telling Mike Reiss that he’s been putting in a lot of work preparing for training camp. “I train physically and mentally about six hours per day,” said Wise Jr. via USA TODAY. “Working out. Doing drills. Watching film. Getting the body ready, the mind ready to go.” Reiss spoke to Wise Jr. and his wife, Chanelle, during a “Bridge 2 Trades” program the two are involved in at the Boston Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.
– Yesterday was the anniversary of N’Keal Harry seeing his agent release a statement looking to get his client dealt last offseason. “For the past several months, I have been working in cooperation with the Patriots behind the scenes to put a plan in place to allow N’Keal to thrive in New England,” wrote Tooson via ESPN. “Through two seasons, he has 86 targets, which obviously hasn’t met the expectations the Patriots and N’Keal had when they drafted a dominant downfield threat who was virtually unstoppable at the point of attack in college. Following numerous conversations with the Patriots, I believe it’s time for a fresh start and best for both parties if N’Keal moves on before the start of training camp. That is why I have informed the Patriots today I am formally requesting a trade on behalf of my client. N’Keal understands a key ingredient to production is opportunity. He will continue to work hard to develop and refine his craft after missing a large portion of his rookie year to injury. His draft-day expectations for his NFL career have not changed. We are confident success is just around the corner for him and will aggressively pursue it.”
– The Patriots clearly ignored it, with Harry remaining on the roster last season. Re-reading the statement is still ridiculous, especially when you go back and look at the mistakes and miscues from a player who had to be directed by a rookie quarterback after seeing him line up in the wrong spot , as well as being one of the last guys off the line among his peers. Tom Curran also later chastized Harry for his work ethic, which he said reflected poorly for a player blaming others for his shortcomings. “I watched him in Tennessee when the Patriots had joint practices down there,” said Curran. “After he finished lifting, he walked out on the field, the teams are practicing on three fields, two teams, and I’m watching N’Keal Harry first-round wide receiver barefoot walking around, trying to find someplace to bide his time, tossing a ball up in the air. Meanwhile, the ones are going full bore with Tom Brady throwing to Braxton Berrios and Danny Etling and whatever other scrabini was down there against the ones of the Tennessee Titans. And you have your first-round wide receiver pick, wandering barefoot looking for something to do.” Needless to say, hopefully, this will be Harry’s final training camp with the club and since the cap savings is greater if they are able to trade him for something, let’s hope he’s productive this preseason for the sake of making that happen.
– This week was also the anniversary of Mac Jones agreeing to terms with the team, with Jones agreeing to a four-year, $15.6 million deal that was fully guaranteed and included an $8.7 million signing bonus at this time last offseason. Jones got off to a fast start last spring, showing tremendous accuracy during the team’s OTAs and that set the stage for a training camp competition that ultimately saw Jones ultimately come out on top ahead of Cam Newton. After spending the offseason getting stronger, Jones looks poised to take a step forward, which is going to be fun to watch in the coming months.
NFL NOTES:
– Speaking of training camp competitions, there’s an interesting one now brewing in Carolina. After making a trade last offseason for quarterback Sam Darnold, Carolina has already seemingly turned the page after adding Baker Mayfield this week. They acquired Mayfield after giving up a conditional pick, with the now-former Browns quarterback said to have to earn the starting job in training camp. The Panthers gave up a lot for Darnold, having dealt a 2nd, 4th, and a 6th round pick to the Jets last offseason. But Darnold came apart after a 3-0 start, which later included a 24-6 blowout loss to the Patriots in Week 9 last season. That one saw Darnold get picked off three times by New England, which set up a rough finish for a player who now seems to have an uncertain future.
– Everyone probably remembers the news about former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo, who filed a lawsuit stemming from an interaction last season with head coach Urban Meyer claiming damages and emotional distress. Lambo said that Meyer kicked him during warmups last preseason, but the club is now looking to dismiss the case. According to The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan, the Jaguars say it’s because they had nothing to do with it and they’ve filed a motion to try and put the case to bed. That has to be frustrating for Lambo, who may not have any legal recourse despite the abuse he took from Meyer’s ridiculous antics.
– Kaplan writes, “Club’s legal counsel ‘acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Lambo’s agent,’” the motion reads. “Plaintiff does not allege he or his agent ever responded to the inquiry made by Club’s legal counsel offering to follow up with Plaintiff, with Mr. Meyer and/or with Club management.” The Jaguars also say they can’t be sued for retaliation under the Florida Whistleblower Act because it wasn’t the club that instructed Meyer to “assault” Lambo. “Plaintiff’s case is predicated solely on the alleged criminal acts of Urban Meyer, not any policy, practice or activity of club,” the motion reads. As for Meyer, he originally denied the claim back in December, which happened shortly before he was fired by the team.
– The Herd’s Colin Cowherd apparently believes that a good landing spot for Jimmy Garoppolo would be as a back-up to Brady down in Tampa Bay. Knowing the backstory on this one, the odds are pretty good Cowherd isn’t aware of what a volatile situation that might be, but he feels it’s a good fit. “You could bring him to Tampa behind Brady,” Cowherd said via SI.com. “Just say, ‘Hey, Kyle Trask isn’t ready next year, we are going to bring in Jimmy to back him up.’ I don’t know if the finances work, I haven’t looked at that. But to me, it would work solely because of Jimmy. I don’t know if Tom would like it, but Jimmy would be fine with it.” With Brady fully in control in Tampa Bay, maybe it would work. But if the future Hall of Famer has any aspirations of playing beyond this season, it’s doubtful he’d want to hear the whispers about Jimmy G again after having gone down that road once already.
SITE SEARCH