Friday Patriots Notebook 5/31: News and Notes
A proposed Patriots trade for Tee Higgins is in the spotlight, along with some other news and notes.
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
It’s been a while since the New England Patriots stumbled across a talented young wide receiver who has shown the potential to be a long-term contributor to its offense.
However, a recent trade proposal would see them part ways with him, which certainly creates an interesting discussion.
The trade in question was a proposal from Bleacher Report writer Maurice Moton, who took a look at five trade packages the Bengals would have to consider for Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins.
In the proposed deal to acquire the veteran wideout, the bargaining chip the Patriots would have to possibly part with would be second-year receiver, Demario Douglas.
According to Moton, the deal would involve sending Douglas, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick to Cincinnati in exchange for bringing Higgins to Foxboro.
Since the article is about trades the Bengals “would have to consider,” it’s safe to say that if the opportunity truly was there, Cincinnati would indeed be crazy not to acquire Douglas if financial decisions left them with no other choice but to move Higgins.
Moton argues that the addition of both Javon Baker and Ja’Lynn Polk, along with the return of Kendrick Bourne, will likely eat into the production of Douglas, who caught 49 passes for 561 yards during his rookie season.
He argues that the addition of Higgins would “bring clarity to a receiver room full of uncertainties.”
There’s no arguing that Higgins would be an instant upgrade to the receiving room, providing the club with someone opponents would absolutely need to be wary of. Still, it’s tough to see it come at the expense of one of the more talented young players to emerge here in quite some time.
With the club needing to surround Drake Maye with young players he can grow with, adding Higgins would remove one of those players from the equation, especially when they still have Douglas under a rookie contract with multiple years still remaining.
One thing worth mentioning is the former standout from Liberty appears to have had a strong offseason. A couple of reports so far have said Douglas has looked incredibly quick during the team’s recent practices, with some believing he could be poised for a breakout season.
While any deal to land an impact player always involves giving up another talented one, this one feels like a bridge too far. At the same time, 2024 will likely be a barometer for this entire group in terms of how they approach the 2025 offseason as the club continues trying to build a new offense around its quarterback of the future.
The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price and former Patriots receiver Chris Hogan released another episode of The Patriots Report with Price & Hogan yesterday, with the two looking at the team’s recent OTAs.
However, Price mentioned an interesting note on veteran wideout K.J. Osborn, who the club signed this offseason.
The additions of both Polk and Baker have quieted things a bit from his standpoint, especially since the team essentially has a receiving group that at the top would seemingly consist of Kendrick Bourne, Douglas, Polk, and Baker as the top four wideouts. From there, Osborn, Tyquan Thornton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster would be among the final names for a potential fifth – or even also a sixth – player on that depth chart.
The question then becomes where do each of those names fit in? And Price had an interesting thought when it came to Osborn.
“I think basically, K.J. Osborn is Kendrick Bourne insurance,” said Price. “We talked about how many wide receivers they might going to carry and what that’s all going to look like, I think if Kendrick is not ready to go come July, August, I think you’re going to see K.J. Osborn get more of an opportunity.”
Osborn is coming off a season where he caught 48 passes for 540 yards and three touchdowns in 2023, with the former Vikings receiver simply being a solid target in their offense. That performance earned him an opportunity here in New England, albeit things certainly look quite different with that group compared to when he initially arrived.
Price, who was on hand for this week’s open practice, also made an interesting observation and prediction on Douglas for this 2024 season.
“It was fascinating to see yesterday the way the wide receivers looked,” said Price. “Because I really think, Pop Douglas, and here’s my hot take for you right now, I’ve got a hot take for you after seeing yesterday’s OTA session, Pop Douglas is going to lead this team in catches this year.”
“I would tend to agree with you on that,” said Hogan.
“He’s going to get 70+ catches, and in a perfect world, a perfect world, I’m saying the ceiling here, he is basically a Dollar General version of Tyreek Hill,” said Price. “Because he plays so fast. There were times where it looked like yesterday, he was almost out of control, he was so quick. And if he stays healthy, I think it can all come together for him.”
He went on to note that both Baker and Thorton had solid showings, setting up what will likely be an interesting training camp a couple of months from now as Thornton tries to make a push to finally break into this offense.
“But Baker looked good. Tyquan Thornton looked good,” said Price. “And I think Tyquan Thornton now understands the level of urgency that he has to show at this time of year if he wants to guarantee a roster spot.”
Price asked Hogan an interesting question in terms of what the feeling was initially within the Patriots’ locker room when it came to seeing Belichick’s sons, Steve and Brian, joining the coaching staff.
Hogan was honest, with his answer giving a glimpse into how that was viewed initially before the two developed into two respected members of the staff.
“That they got the job because their dad was the coach,” said Hogan about how the players felt. “When Steve was there, he was appointed the safeties coach. Now you’re in a room with Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty – Jason McCourty was in there at some point – you have Stephon Gilmore in the DB room, I mean, you had guys, man, that were All-Pro type guys that were now learning from someone who played college lacrosse. Yes, is he from a football family, and was Bill probably teaching him the right things? 100%. But that was tough, I think, for a lot of those guys initially to stomach.”
“It’s just like, ‘How is this guy going to help me get better?’ Now listen, to Steve’s credit, he frickin studied and learned and I think at the end of his time at New England, the dude could coach. He knew what he was doing. I give him all the credit in the world. He knew it. He knew that he didn’t necessarily belong in that position, probably, at that point in his career. But he didn’t step back from that. He was there, every single day, teaching, whether he was regurgitating whatever coach Belichick was saying, or Matty P when he was there, whatever they needed to do, he did. I think Brian probably falls into that category right now where, does he deserve to be coaching some of these guys? Probably, no, right? But that’s not to say that he’s not going to do what he needs to do and better himself as a coach. He’s there for a reason.”
“Yes, did being Bill’s son help a little bit to keep him there and keep him around? Sure, I’m sure it did. This is a league is a ferris wheel. If you’re in the league and you get in with certain people, you’re going to last, wherever they go. But, Brian’s a smart kid. I’ve been around him. He kind of knows it. He just has to build his own confidence and do his own thing and kind of trust that he knows what he’s talking about.”
Following up on Price’s thought on Douglas, he talked about a previous conversation he had with Hogan where the former wideout talked about how important chemistry with the quarterback is. “I thought of you when I saw Pop Douglas trailing around after Jacoby Brissett during Wednesday’s practice where you want to do whatever you can do to endear yourself to the quarterback and not in a demonstrative ‘Look at me’ kind of way,” said Price. “And there is a nice chemistry that is starting to build. We’re in late May, but it’s starting to build – in my mind – between Jacoby Brissett and Pop Douglas, and that’s one of the reasons why I went back and said that before.” Brissett’s connection with Douglas will certainly be key out of the gate, and it will be interesting to eventually see that dynamic in action. … One other thing that Price mentioned, which is an interesting take, is the fact Thornton could be a practice squad candidate, with the belief that his injury history might deter teams from claiming him. “I think you can also probably get Thornton to the practice squad, given his level of performance the last couple of years, even if he does have a good spring and a good summer,” said Price. “So you have some options there with him.” … Another note lost in all this is Jalen Reagor, who appears to be having a good spring and is also someone who adds value on special teams, having finished last season with a kickoff return for a touchdown against Buffalo. Whether or not they’ll have room for him is another story. … Price pointed out that Maye appears to be in Danny Amendola’s old locker, based on what the club has posted on social media. Price also added that Bourne has Hogan’s old locker, and Hogan – who seems to like what he’s seen from Bourne – appeared pleased with that news. “Nothing makes me happier,” he said. … While Price believes JuJu Smith-Schuster might be in contention for a roster spot, Hogan doesn’t think he makes the team. However, he feels like Smith-Schuster’s presence would be good in the locker room. “I don’t think he’s on the team. That’s my hot take,” said Hogan. “He’s a veteran, he could be a leader in that room. I would love for him to take a step forward.”
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