Patriots News 4-21, Kraft-Belichick, A.J. Brown Trade?
(PHOTO: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
(PHOTO: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports) Good morning. Here are your Patriots news and notes for April 21. The draft begins on Thursday and is not a moment too soon.
Other than the Bears’ first overall pick, which they are expected to take QB Caleb Williams, the rest of the first round, and the rest of the draft, for that matter, is a complete mystery.
It should prove to be a very intriguing weekend. With a new regime at the helm, the Patriots will be watched closely to see how well (or poorly) they conduct the draft. The first without Bill Belichick running the show since 2000.
A.J. Brown: The very talented Eagles wide receiver has requested a trade by the Eagles, and he had some very intriguing moves on his social media page last week. First, he changed his profile picture to that of Tom Brady.
Then Brown started following Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett and WR K.J. Osborn, which may not mean much but certainly raised some eyebrows in New England. Several teams enquired about Brown to the Eagles’ front office, but Philly has shut that down, stating that Brown is not available.
According to SI’s Albert Breer, the Patriots were among the teams making inquiries to Philadelphia. While the Patriots were doing their due diligence in trying to gauge the cost of bringing Brown to New England, the Eagles were correct in shutting down talks…for now.
Brown, who turns 27 on June 30, had 88 catches for 1496 yards with 11 TDs in 2022. He followed that up with 106 catches for 1456 yards and 7 TDs in 2023. He’s been incredibly productive and would instantly upgrade any wide receiver room that he would enter.
Philadelphia has him under contract until 2026, but if the price is right, they may change their tune later. Meanwhile, Brown posted an explanation of why he changed his profile picture to Brady.
“TB12 is my favorite player ever,” Brown posted on X on Thursday. “I watch the dynasty, and it brought back some memories from my childhood. Go look up what he did in 2015 when he was doubted/disrespected. Yeah, I see the disrespect. Motivated … yes. That’s it.
“I did not think changing my pfp [profile picture] to the greatest ever would cause controversy. Take Care.”
Brown said in an interview that when the Patriots passed on him in 2019 to draft N’Keal Harry, he went into a closet and cried his eyes out.
Bill Belichick: Belichick appeared on the Pat McAfee show and confirmed that most of the rumors that pop up at this time of year are the work of agents trying to drum up added interest in their respective clients or get them a bigger payday. Does it mean that it is all BS (horse hockey)? No, but …
As Belichick added, the real information from teams normally comes out the day before or the day of the draft. This is still “disinformation season.”
Belichick will be joining McAfee on his draft show, which promises to be a “must-watch” program.
“Open For Business?” or Drafting a QB? Eliot Wolf’s comments this week certainly left room for discussion as he said that the Patriots are “open for business” to trade the # 3 pick in next week’s 2024 NFL draft but would also be comfortable staying put and selecting a quarterback from what he characterized as a “unique” class.
Wolf added that the Patriots have many holes to fill, and trading back would allow them to add more picks for that rebuild. Currently, the Patriots have a single pick at the top of Rounds 1-3. Single picks in Rounds 4-5, two in Round 6, and a single in Round 7.
Of course, if they do trade back, they risk missing out on a quarterback they may covet later. But as Wolf stated, this quarterback class is “unique” and has several good prospects at the position. Unless someone wants to overpay for the #3 pick, they’ll stand pat and draft a QB.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: This past week, we discussed the latest news from Foxboro in our PatsFans.com podcast.
Derek Havens and I discussed some of our favorite players in Day 1-3 of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t in is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed the game with how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
It was surprising when the Atlanta Falcons passed on hiring Bill Belichick, considering Atlanta brought Bill down twice to interview with the team. But now, the story may have another twist to it.
This week, ESPN’s writers released another bombshell on One Patriot Place that stated that Robert Kraft called Falcons owner Arthur Blank and tried to convince him not to hire Bill Belichick.
In the article, Robert Kraft reportedly told Blank that he’d “never have a warm conversation” with Belichick, adding that he “felt betrayed” by the coach in the final years of his tenure with the Patriots. Kraft supposedly told Blank “not to trust Bill,” and he was “very arrogant, kind of arrogant, and very difficult to work with.”
Patriots VP of Media Relations Stacey James vehemently denied the allegations that Kraft said anything to Blank during the Falcons hiring process but did leave the possibility that Kraft may have said something to Blank when Belichick was still the head coach.
“Robert steadfastly denies saying anything negative to Arthur Blank about Bill Belichick after Robert and Bill mutually agreed to part ways,” James said. “In fact, Robert advocated for Bill to get the job.”
“It would not surprise me to learn that owners sometimes lament to those close to them when their teams are struggling,” James added, “but Robert Kraft never questioned Bill’s character or trust when talking with Arthur Blank. Trust is important to Robert. He wouldn’t have employed Coach Belichick for the past 24 years if he ever questioned his trust.”
In the past several years, I have looked at many ESPN reports (with the exception of Mike Reiss and Field Yates) with a jaundiced eye. But after watching the docuseries The Dynasty and listening to Robert Kraft’s comments about Belichick both during the series and since being let go, I now have to admit that there may possibly be some truth to this.
I’m not saying that it is accurate or false, but looking at it in a vacuum can make sense. How? Well, Kraft took a beating in the court of public opinion from the fan base when Tom Brady left and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs.
If Belichick had left, broken Don Shula’s record, and won a Super Bowl with the Falcons, the fans’ outcry against the ownership would have reached unfathomable heights. And if Belichick had left and been successful, who would then be left to blame?
We do know that CEO Rich McKay and GM Terry Fontenot didn’t want to work with Belichick. But that had more to do with them holding onto their jobs rather than anything else.
Like other things, we may never know the “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey used to say. But it does set one to wonder. The intriguing thing is that in the court of public opinion, once again, Bill Belichick is winning despite not saying a word. Meanwhile, the Krafts have been taking shots at Belichick pretty much non-stop since their “amicable” divorce.
Sad news just prior to the draft, as NFL prospect A.J. Simon from the University of Albany Great Danes has died, according to local media press reports. The cause of death was not released.
Simon visited the Patriots this spring and posted a heartfelt message to his school on “X,” as it was previously called, Twitter.
“I am thrilled to represent the University of Albany as I take this next step in my football career,” he wrote. “Sad that it’s over, but grateful that it happened. With that being said, I will be entering my name in the 2024 NFL Draft.”
Simon had 12.5 sacks last season for the Great Danes.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, entering the final year of his contract, sounds like he’s resigned to playing elsewhere in 2025. Appearing at a fundraising gala in Dallas, Prescott’s earlier optimism this offseason about the subject of his contract has taken on a different tone.
“I’m not going to say I fear being here or not. I don’t fear either situation, to be candid with you,” Prescott said via The Athletic.
“I love this game, love to play, and love to better myself as a player and my teammates around me. Right now, it’s with the Dallas Cowboys; it’s where I want to be, and that’s where I am, and that’s the focus. And after the season, we’ll see where we’re at and if the future holds that. And if not, we’ll go from there.”
“Honestly, I’m focused on the moment, on the now,” Prescott added. “If the talks begin and real talks get to happen, sure, we can talk about getting that done, but in this case right now I’m worried about getting better, being better than I am at this moment. So leaving that up to my agent and Jerry at this point.”
Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula is reportedly offering a 25 percent stake in the team for sale, according to the Buffalo News. Pegula purchased the Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion, but the franchise’s worth today is in the neighborhood of $3.7 billion. So, theoretically, a 25 percent stake in the team should cost $900 million or more.
With spiraling costs of the new stadium expected to be near $2 billion, the Pegulas could use the influx of cash.
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“They’ve made seven playoff appearances in his (McKay’s) entire time there. 21 years. The guy they’re interviewing went to [nine] Super Bowls — they’re judging this,” Lombardi said. “They lost a Super Bowl to the gentleman, and they had six seasons of under eight wins. They’re the standard for evaluation?”
Michael Lombardi on Falcons CEO Rich McKay, GM Terry Fontenot, and senior Personnel Director Ryan Pace, were clearly not wanting to work with Bill Belichick because they were all afraid of losing their jobs.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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