Monday Patriots Notebook 4/22: News and Notes
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Some Patriots news on this Monday:
Speculation will likely continue to swirl over these final few days ahead of Thursday night’s first-round selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, with many wondering what the New England Patriots’ plans are for this week.
Mike Reiss of ESPN reported on Sunday that according to sources, the most likely scenario for New England will be for the club to stand pat and select Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, or J.J. McCarthy with the #3 overall pick.
He points out that behind the scenes, Jerod Mayo and top decision-makers are aware of what’s at stake, knowing that what happens after this draft will likely decide their futures.
Reiss believes that the only way that changes is if the club receives a “blockbuster” trade offer. Otherwise, getting a quarterback will remain the priority.
Still, Adam Schefter believes that the Patriots may, perhaps, make a move, trading out of the #3 spot, only to pull off a potential trade back up to ultimately take a quarterback. Schefter reports that, “many are waiting to see how the Patriots value Maye vs J.J. McCarthy,” which will likely impact things ahead of Thursday night.
The club also recently brought in Michael Penix Jr. for a visit, which might potentially be their backup plan, should another club come forward with a significant offer.
The most likely partner for New England continues to be the Minnesota Vikings, who appear to be coveting Drake Maye. However, it may take making a deal with New England for that to happen since the Patriots are said to also be high on the North Carolina quarterback.
What’s interesting is while the Patriots admitted they are willing to listen to offers, it’s clear they’re digging in their heels. Any team inquiring knows that New England is heading into a pivotal draft that will ultimately decide its future. They need a quarterback, and that position isn’t just a luxury, it’s an absolute necessity.
In other words, as much as they’re willing to entertain trade possibilities, other teams absolutely have to know it’s going to take something truly special for them to move out of #3 and give up a top-rated player at that position.
Wolf has remained measured and patient and has made it clear that if the Vikings are thinking of making a deal, perhaps, meaning they truly want to see Drake Maye land in their building, they’re going to have to pry him away from the Patriots with an offer that’s too good to pass up.
It could also mean Minnesota is finally warming up to the reality that Wolf isn’t joking around. So unless they really sweeten the pot Thursday night with something incredible, in addition to their two first-round picks, they’ll walk away without the guy they really want and possibly be forced to settle for whoever is left.
Maybe, as Mike Reiss mentioned two weeks ago, that might include starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Wolf said last week that if the season started tomorrow, free-agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor would be that player. That’s not ideal, and landing an upgrade would certainly change things.
Adding Darrisaw, who was taken at 23 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, would also eliminate the need for the Patriots to take a tackle, freeing up a pick to jump back up to potentially do something crazy and grab J.J. McCarthy at #4 overall, as Schefter suggested.
But, for the Vikings, something has to give. The idea of not getting Maye has to be frightening everyone in their building, especially since the possibility of being a non-factor in the NFC again is now looming. While Justin Jefferson hinted that the club might finally be close to extending him, that will be a moot point if they don’t get someone who can get him the football.
Needless to say, the thought of Darnold starting 17 games for them in 2024 should be all the motivation the Vikings need to potentially make a deal happen with New England Thursday night.
Former Patriots great Tedy Bruschi spoke to MusketFire’s Sara Marshall in a recent interview late last week, with Marshall asking him about what he was most proud of during his career.
Bruschi said that it was his return in 2005 that was most special to him, with coming back from his stroke being something he hopes inspires other stroke survivors.
“Well, that’s a great question because there’s a lot of championships to talk about, a lot of big games that we won and established a long time of playing great football,” Bruschi told Marshall. “But I think in my career, what I’m most proud of is probably my 2005 season when I came back from my stroke. Of course, I’m a huge advocate for stroke and heart disease awareness, which is a big reason why I’m here today. But coming back to play football after that, I’ve learned that it was much more impactful even now than winning championships because for all of the stroke survivors out there that have had to go through so much for their own little comebacks, for me to come back like that and still play four years was very special to me and the statistics weren’t very important to me, Sarah.”
“But I did track, when I retired, I tracked how many tackles I had after my comeback, and it was 366. So I made 366 tackles as a stroke survivor, and that’s something I’m so, so, proud about and that’s probably my most impactful thing that I’ve ever done in my career, yes.”
Bruschi was promoting an Abbott HeartMates event where he and Buffalo Bills standout Damar Hamlin hosted their own “draft” connecting people who had dealt with similar heart-related challenges. Bruschi pointed out that he has an Abbott device in his own heart, which he’s had since 2005 and it’s made this cause, in addition to his own “Tedy’s Team” charity, one that’s important to him. He also added that doing it heading into the draft just made sense.
“It’s something that I’ve done at my foundation at Tedy’s Team and to now know that HeartMates is now sort of forming, this is special,” said Bruschi. “Because the NFL Draft is coming up, and it’s just so perfect to do it this week, you know, prior to the draft that you’re drafting a team of people that now are going to form a team that’s going to be, basically, it’s a lifelong contract, and it’s super exciting what Abbott is doing.”
You can watch Sara’s full interview via this link at YouTube. She’s an absolutely terrific writer, and you can also view her latest work here.
Reiss also reported this weekend that the Patriots have reportedly given Matthew Slater a full-time role with the team. He’s expected to be Mayo’s “right-hand man” as well taking on the role in assisting with “people development.” If ever there was a solid role model for young players to learn from, Slater certainly fits that bill. … One comment that stood out last week is that Wolf seems to know getting an explosive receiver is necessary. He acknowledged that they need someone who can scare the defense, noting they have a key weakness they need to address. “I think we have players that can line up and play at ‘X’. Do we have players that on a three by one can beat the backside coverage every single time? I’m not sure we have that just yet.” Hopefully, they take care of that this weekend. … Getting back to the mention of Darrisaw, Wolf hinted that a position other than receiver had been discussed when it comes to trade scenarios. “We’ve had conversations with teams about different scenarios, not just at receiver but at other positions,” said Wolf. “So that’s definitely something that we’d be open to.” … Reiss reported that the club has also explored options at tight end, with the Patriots reportedly visiting with Brycen Hopkins, Sean McKeon and Mitchell Wilcox last week. They currently have just Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper at the top of their depth chart, with La’Michael Pettway, who is on their practice squad, rounding out that group.
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