New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Patriots Eliot Wolf addresses the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN on Tuesday, February 27 at 10 AM ET.) Some Patriots news on this Wednesday:
With all the talk of the New England Patriots potentially trading down, and Eliot Wolf admitted he’d gotten calls during his press conference last week, reports on Tuesday revealed nothing serious enough to move the needle had transpired just yet.
According to Mark Daniels of MassLive, despite what interest they’ve received so far for the #3 overall pick, he cited a source who characterized the offers as “laughable,” with the club reportedly still waiting for what it would consider to be a “serious” offer.
It’s not hard to figure out. This is a group of players who most believe will likely be viable NFL starters, which the Patriots would have to potentially walk away from in order to move back. That means for any team looking to move up to this spot, especially knowing New England’s situation, they absolutely have to make it worthwhile.
Still, according to Daniels, another source said they weren’t sure if another team would indeed make an unprecedented enough offer to entice New England to move down.
The landscape could also be changing ahead of tomorrow night. Reports seem to indicate that the Falcons could be on the verge of being penalized for tampering in the Kirk Cousins negotiations. If that were to occur, it sounds like rather than swap picks with Minnesota, the league may instead bump Atlanta from #8 down to #32 overall.
That would change things from a trade standpoint. It would make Minnesota’s picks slightly more valuable, while also removing a player from being selected ahead of what would now be selections at #10 and #22.
The buzz locally is that the Patriots are fond of North Carolina QB Drake Maye, whom the Vikings appear to also be coveting. But whether or not they’re willing to put together a package worthy enough to get the Patriots to make a deal is now the key question ahead of tomorrow night.
One interesting notion from Ben Volin was initially somewhat dismissable, but comments from Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles are enough to make you wonder if it might be a possibility.
In Volin’s Sunday Notes column, Volin wrote that it’s possible that the Bears could get aggressive and be in the mix with New England. He suggested that after taking Caleb Williams at #1 overall, they would then package together a deal on a trade that would see them move to #3, ahead of Arizona, and take Marvin Harrison Jr.
That would essentially see them grab both the best quarterback, and pair him with the best receiver, with the Bears essentially providing a massive injection into an offense that has forever been its Achilles Heel.
In this proposed deal, the Patriots would acquire the #9 and #75 pick (Round 3) this year, along with a 1st and 3rd round pick next year (the Bears don’t have a 2nd round pick this year). The thought would then be New England could take J.J. McCarthy at #9.
Poles was somewhat coy speaking to reporters on Tuesday when asked about who they’re taking tomorrow night. While most believe it will be Williams, his overall reaction during his press conference was interesting.
“Unfortunately, it’s one of those things I think everyone’s got to tune in on Thursday to watch and figure out, but I feel really good about our process and where we are and where we’re headed,” Poles said, smiling. “So we know what we’re going to do, but everyone is going to have to wait until Thursday to go there.”
Poles smiled and shifted in his seat as he answered, almost as if he was trying to contain himself a little bit.
The Bears are in an interesting spot. They absolutely do need to make a splash, especially given what they have going on in the background. A report on Wednesday revealed they’re set to request more than $2 billion in public funding ahead of what will be a $4.6 billion stadium project, with the club planning on an enclosed venue to replace Soldier Field. That money breaks down into $3.2 billion for the stadium itself, with $1.4 billion needed for the infrastructure around it.
The fans also currently pay for a personal seat license, which, if past stadium projects are any indication, will potentially see an increased cost from where they are now. One would believe in order to avoid a massive backlash, their ongoing woes can’t continue.
Grabbing Harrison Jr. would seemingly allow Williams to hit the ground running while also hopefully seeing the Bears turn things around in a big way. It would also instill serious confidence into a fan base that hasn’t had a whole lot to cheer about, and is about to see its tax dollars spent on the club’s massive stadium project.
Whether or not there’s any smoke to Volin’s suggestion remains to be seen. But, in the meantime, it adds another layer to what’s already been an interesting – albeit tiring – storyline ahead of tomorrow night.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on Tuesday that the Patriots worked out veteran linebacker Cam Gill. The 26-year-old former undrafted free agent previously played with the Buccaneers and appeared in 12 games last season, finishing with 12 tackles, including a sack and a forced fumble. … Scott Zolak believes the club is going to make a trade, with Zolak saying his thoughts haven’t changed and won’t ahead of tomorrow night. “Yes,” he said bluntly. “I’m not changing until Thursday night.” However, the more interesting part was the fact Zolak shot down the report by Dianna Russini suggesting that Jonathan Kraft is involved in football decisions. Zolak said he was told otherwise. “I was told he is not involved,” said Zolak. “Jonathan Kraft is not involved in football. Football decisions are made by the football people. Eliot Wolf, Matt Groh, Jerod Mayo, and the football staff. Where I thought they would get involved was that, ‘OK, hey, this team is calling Mr. Kraft – or Jonathan Kraft – and they want our pick at #3.’ This is where I thought, they’re not going to get involved in telling you which quarterback to take or who we’re trading back to get. It would make sense to me, if it’s my organization and my team, and there’s this other team – an organization I know that I’m friends with – they’re offering up all this stuff, I would like to be involved in that. And I thought that’s where this report came from Russini where Jonathan is involved here. If there’s a big trade in the bag, we have to get it approved. We have to get it signed. We do. We have bosses. That would be normal operating procedure to me. I was told that is not the case. This is all Eliot. This is all Jerod, and this is all football people. Jonathan is not running the football part of it. Business, yes. Football, no. Believe what you want.” … Russini also reported on Tuesday that the Commanders have been getting calls at #2, but teams have been told “they are not moving” and that they “feel great about staying at #2 and picking their QB,” who most believe will be LSU’s Jayden Daniels. … Volin pointed out that the Patriots have had success at #34 overall (they’re second round pick), landing Patrick Chung in 2009 and Steve Nelson in 1974. Chung took a bit to ultimately pan out, with Bill Belichick admitting he didn’t use him properly initially before Chung returned after a brief stint in Philadelphia and went on to have a solid career here. Meanwhile, Nelson went on to play for 14 years and had a Hall of Fame career. Let’s hope Wolf can see them hopefully nail it again there this year.
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