Some Patriots news and notes on this Thursday:
New Faces, Big Changes Likely Ahead
It’s going to be interesting to see how things unfold later this summer when the New England Patriots offense hits the field.
New England currently has five quarterbacks on their roster, with Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe, Nathan Rourke, and Joe Milton rounding out the current list of names. One of those will likely be gone by the time training camp opens, with Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network hinting last weekend during the draft that Zappe is potentially the one he expects to be on the trading block.
Zappe’s been pretty quiet this offseason, with various videos seeing him working out and throwing with Kendrick Bourne, and Tyquan Thornton, along with last year’s rookie, Demario Douglas.
Thornton feels like he’s the player Zappe may have developed a close relationship with, with Zappe including a photo of Thornton – who has bulked up significantly this offseason – in a recent Instagram story.
However, it remains to be seen if he’ll be on the field two months from now to see things through.
With the club adding both Maye and Milton last weekend, someone will likely be the odd man out by the time the dust settles in New England’s revamped QB room.
Depending on how things go in training camp, Brissett is expected to begin the season, with the only question potentially being when Maye might be able to step in. From there, if Zappe is out, it’s down to possibly Rourke and Milton. Rourke has also quietly been working hard all offseason, but his name hasn’t been mentioned at all whenever the quarterbacks have been discussed locally, which certainly leaves his role with the team as a big mystery.
Mayo did talk about Milton during an appearance on WEEI on Monday, saying that Milton is also a player who, like Cunnigham, will likely play a role in the club’s preparation during the season.
“Joe has a lot of physical tools. I mean, this guy is big, has a cannon for an arm, and we just want to see what it looks like and honestly, you can never have too many good players on the roster,” said Mayo. “And another thing that was under consideration is, look, he’ll give us a good look defensively. We start going offense versus defense, having a guy that size, but we’re going to play some of those guys as well. So we’ll see what he can do. We’ll see if he can develop, and just excited to get him out there on the field.”
Meanwhile, the team also drafted receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, bringing their total to 11 wideouts ahead of minicamp. Barring any changes, it would see the Patriots featuring Bourne, Douglas, K.J. Osborn, Polk, and Baker rounding out a group of five wideouts that you would think would be the favorites. That leaves Thornton competing for a spot, with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor, and Kayshon Boutte also trying to be factors.
Overall, it feels like QB is going to be the one that is going to be critical for this regime to handle properly. Should Maye struggle out of the gate and if Milton goes out and has a good preseason, it may create some unwanted noise that Mayo will have to try and do a better job than Belichick did of quieting. The Jones vs Zappe controversy is well-documented, with last preseason phenom Malik Cunningham also creating a fair amount of discussion as both Jones and Zappe struggled.
Given the investment in Maye, Mayo will need to ensure he maintains a vote of confidence in the rookie during his development. While he’s preached “competition,” he also needs to avoid any mixed messages.
After all, he’s seen first hand the last two seasons how things might play out, so hopefully he avoids going down that road at the most important position in football moving forward.
New Message From Mayo
NFL Media reporter Cameron Wolfe took a look at the Patriots ushering in a new era after the selection of Drake Maye over the weekend, noting that there have been some interesting changes in the building as Jerod Mayo and his staff begins preparing for the upcoming 2024 season.
One notable change is the message “Do Your Job,” an infamous philosophy of former head coach Bill Belichick, has been replaced with several other statements. “We not me,” is one, along with another like “Hard work works,” each appear within Gillette Stadium. Mayo noted during his first press conference that the latter statement was something he took from Belichick, and he believes that absolutely still holds true.
“What I will say is, the more I think about the lessons that I’ve taken from Bill, hard work works,” said Mayo back in January. “Hard work works, and that’s what we’re all about.”
Wolfe also noted that “Process, Progress, Payoff,” appeared on another wall, which he said is the theme that Mayo has set for everyone as he begins his first year as head coach.
“When we win we win together,” also appeared on another wall, which, with 17 coaches, is something that Mayo claimed came from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and certainly fits their situation.
However, one of the most notable designs stemmed from Executive Vice President of Football Business Robyn Glaser, who is also an advisor to Mayo and helped execute these changes. She reportedly worked with a local artist named Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs, who helped design a beautiful mural that prominently features a young Black child in a football uniform, looking at Mayo and other Patriots legends in uniform, envisioning he could be like them one day.
That’s the philosophy Mayo is trying to take with him moving forward. He believes, especially as a former player, that relationships are what move the needle and bring the best out of today’s NFL players.
“You gotta show these guys that you care about them,” Mayo told Wolfe. “It’s different than it was back in the day where you expect them to just do what you say. You gotta show them you care about them as a man, as a father, before you even start talking X and Os. Once you build that relationship with players then you can be tough on them. But not before. I coach out of love and my staff will too.”
Given his own experience, Mayo is certainly more in tune with these young players, and it will be interesting to see if that translates into wins when they finally hit the field in the coming months.
Odds and Ends
Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman put together a piece for TheAthletic, looking at potential undrafted free agents to keep an eye on for various teams. They selected LUS’s Charles Turner III for the Patriots, who they believe could push for a role at center as the club tries to establish depth behind David Andrews. “Turner started a combined 25 games at center the last two seasons and was a powerful blocker for LSU,” they wrote. “He’s gained 60 pounds since his redshirt freshman season and now has the requisite size (6-3 1/2, 303) to compete at center for the Patriots, who desperately need a backup at the position.” … Running back Rhamondre Stevenson is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, but he told reporters he hopes the two sides can get something done to keep him here beyond 2024. “I love Boston,” said Stevenson via NESN’s Sean McGuire. “I love the Patriots. I love the organization. I would love to be here for a countless amount of years.” … Jacoby Brissett said on Wednesday that he’s looking forward to the quarterback competition that’s ahead now that Drake Maye is in the building. “That’s all out of my control, so I don’t really worry about that. I’m excited to have him on the team, and the other guys as well that we drafted and picked up. I think it’s going to be good,” said Brissett via Mike Reiss. “Competition brings out the best in all of us, so I’m excited about that part.” … The Patriots added a kicker on Thursday, with Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reporting the club has signed veteran Joey Slye. Slye has spent the last three seasons in Washington, hitting 19/24 (79.2%) of his field goals in 2023, including 7/9 from 40-49 yards and 3/5 from 50+. He was also 32/35 on extra points last season. … If last year is any indication, it feels like it won’t be long before we find out how the 2024 Patriots Schedule will play out. The league announced it last year on May 11th, which was the second Thursday of the month. That should mean this year’s will be announced next Thursday night, May 9th. The league has turned that into a televised event, but it’s always fun when that comes out and the speculation on how the season might play out begins. Let’s hope the Patriots, who are expected to have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this season, end up with a favorable start.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
