Wednesday Patriots Notebook 5/29: News and Notes
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
During a segment on Tuesday on Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Scott Zolak talked about the upcoming season as the two pondered how many games the club might win.
Zolak believes seven is possible, while Marc Bertrand put his ceiling at six games. But the more interesting part of the discussion came as the former Patriots quarterback hinted that not everything is 100% perfect as Jerod Mayo continues trying to prepare his young team for this season.
“I’m some unlevel about it,” said Zolk on where he believed the team was at. “I hear things are going really good, and I hear some things aren’t going so great.”
When asked about the latter comment, Zolak said, “I can’t get into detail with that.”
However, he did say that there is quite a bit positive to take away from how things have gone so far.
“You don’t hit,” said Zolak of the practices. “I think the tempo is good. The feeling in the building is good. Guys like to go to work. They’re putting in the work.”
“You’re depending on a lot of young players on offense. These two receivers need to step up. Kendrick Bourne, he’s not playing until the season. So it’s not like you can sit there and rep Bourne all day. The thought process is there, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be a big part of what we want to do or where we think we can potentially go.’ But I still think, you’ve got a limited offensive line, man. There’s a lot of question marks.”
“I think they like Drake Maye and the progress he’s making. I think that’s why you’re hearing guys like [NBC Sports Boston’s] Phil Perry say things that, ‘Maybe we wouldn’t be that shocked if he’s earlier than later.’ That’s kind of what I thought from day one. Coach the hell out of him, get him up and running.”
One interesting point Zolak mentioned is that the fundamental work that Maye’s been putting in seems to be going well, and now it’s just going to be how much progress he makes. Zolak also believes that working against the defense when things ramp up should also push him and the rest of the offense into getting better.
“They like what they’re seeing from Maye. He’s responding well to the footwork stuff,” said Zolak. “Defense is just there, they’re waiting. It’s hard to do anything until you get games, get into camp. And that’s going to be tough for the offense to have to practice against them every day. ”
“These young receivers are going to be going up against [Christian] Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones. Say they pick up another corner, what if they even get a guy like [Stephon] Gilmore? Now they’re having to go battle those guys at camp, which will make them better.”
There’s been some talk over the last couple of days following a recent report from Boston Sports Journal reporter Greg Bedard, who talked to an NFL league executive to get a sense of New England’s draft picks.
The point of the piece was essentially a revelation that the Patriots raised their level of risk in a few areas, with the selection of rookie receiver Javon Baker being the one that seems to have the majority of red flags.
The executive cited an incident in 2021, which was a little concerning. “There was a deal where there was a car that pulled up next to him,” he told Bedard. “That was with four white males who made racist comments towards him. He flashed a gun. The police showed up. He was honest with them.”
There were apparently other incidents that included multiple fights and reckless driving, which saw Baker get suspended while at Alabama before it apparently reached a point where “Alabama didn’t want him back.” Kentucky was expected to be his next landing spot but Bedard reported the school essentially said, “Thanks, but no thanks” after Baker appeared for an initial workout.
However, UCF was where he ended up, although there were some issues there as well, one of which, according to Bedard, may still be pending.
“UCF worked out with [Head Coach] Gus Malzahn, who has publicly said really nice things about Javon Baker,” said Bedard in a podcast this week. “But in NFL circles, they know because these UCF coaches talk to them and give them an honest assessment, Baker was supposed to go back to UCF for this year and agreed to a big NIL deal and including, got a decent chunk of coin upfront. He got the upfront money, next day he declared for the draft. There’s expected to be litigation in all that coming up. We’ll have to see if that goes away.”
Bedard then mentioned that Baker reported to the team with a staff, which he felt was a little strange.
“I don’t know if it happened, but Baker was supposed to show up for OTAs with an entourage,” said Bedard. “Publicist. Bodyguard. Other stuff. He’s a fourth-round pick.”
The character conversation is something that’s been discussed when it comes to Baker, and the rookie didn’t waste much time before making a somewhat surprising move. Bedard pointed out that Baker also fired his agent, Joe Linta, just before reporting to the Patriots. Baker instead went with a lesser-known agent in Jason Davis.
Linta, who also played defensive tackle during his time at Yale, is a well-respected long-time agent with a solid client list, including former New England Patriots quarterback, Brian Hoyer. More importantly, Linta is big on character in honesty. He said back in 2014 that, “I’d rather lose [a player] by being honest than being deceptive by giving him false hope.”
He added later in the article that players look to their agents to guide them as they reach that next level.
“One thing that hasn’t really changed,” Linta said. “They’re all looking for guidance.”
He’s also someone who executives respect. “If you get a guy Joe vouches for, you know he’s legitimate,” said former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman back in 2015. “Every year, Joe gives us his list of guys. We make sure we check all of them out.”
Obviously, without knowing the reason behind the split, it’s tough to make much of a judgement. But Linta is someone who asks the question, “Is this a guy that I would be proud to work with?” In his mind, Baker clearly checked that box if the two worked together. The rookie simply seems to have gone in another direction.
One thing worth noting is the fact that Mayo has employed Matthew Slater as an assistant and someone who it appears will spend time around the locker room to hopefully guide some of these new guys, with Baker certainly being among them.
While Bedard’s report mentions Baker’s history, it’s just a snapshot of some misguided troubles that are hopefully behind him. There’s no question there are guys who have done far worse, with Bedard writing that the piece was just to provide some additional perspective during the club’s first post-Belichick draft. Baker just appears to be the one with a little more on his resume in that regard compared to some of his fellow rookies.
Whether Baker’s past translates into anything beyond his previous issues remains to be seen. Moving forward, it’s about his present and what he does in the future that he’ll ultimately be judged on. Like any other rookie, he deserves some benefit of the doubt until he proves otherwise.
For now, fans are hoping we’ll see the former UCF standout deliver some big moments on the field and positive ones away from it. He reportedly signed his rookie deal last week and has been seemingly inseparable from fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, with the two putting in plenty of work since arriving in New England.
The Patriots announced that quarterback Drake Maye officially signed his rookie deal, which makes him the fifth selection out of their eight total draft picks to sign. … According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Maye’s deal is a fully guaranteed four-year, $36.63 million contract that includes a $23.46 million signing bonus. … Mayo is set to meet with the media this morning at 11:25am, with player interviews, including Bryce Baringer, Jacoby Brissett, Jabrill Peppers, Chad Ryland, Sione Takitaki and Bailey Zappe each expected to speak today. … Eliot Wolf was on with Kay Adams on her Up and Adams Show on Tuesday and discussed a variety of topics, including how the process of Maye playing might play out. Wolf said it will be a ‘collaborative process’ that he and Mayo will figure out when the time comes. “I think those will be some important conversations for us to have. Right now, it’s Jacoby Brissett. He’s taking the first reps, and we’re excited about what he’s shown, not only off the field but on the field with his throwing ability,” said Wolf. “Drake Maye, let’s be honest, we’ve had him for three weeks now. There’s a long way to go for all of our rookies and all of our players as we adapt to this new scheme that [Alex] Van Pelt is implementing offensively. So we’ll have those conversations as they arise. I’m sure it’s going to be a collaborative approach as it’s been so far with, with really all the big decisions that we’ve made, and, you know, they’re all four of the quarterbacks we have on the roster right now are working hard and ready to go.” … Wolf added that in the end, it will come down to how Maye looks on the field and the input he gets from the coaching staff. “I think every person and player is different. So I think you have to be true to what you’re seeing and listen to the coaches and really understand who’s ready, who’s not ready,” said Wolf. “And again, like I said, in this particular situation, Drake’s been with us for about three weeks. And so we’ll kind of see how it goes here. You know, maybe he’ll be ready, maybe he won’t.”
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