Good morning. Here is your Patriots news 3-16 and notes for this week. Be sure to check out the next Mock Draft which should be published tomorrow.
David Andrews was released, and it was a sad moment. Andrews epitomized the Patriot Way; an undrafted, slightly undersized center from Georgia who makes the team and becomes a starter and a cornerstone for his ten years.
He was captain for eight of those years and was always the first to speak to the media after every game last season, which was a tough year. My favorite moment with him was waving bye-bye to the crowd at Arrowhead after the Patriots won the AFC Championship in OT.
He was a great player who will wear a Red Jacket in the team’s HOF someday. He was always a great guy and will be successful at whatever he chooses next. I’m sure he wasn’t prepared for his career to be over at 33.
Don’t underestimate what an injury like the one he suffered does to your psyche. One minute you are working at your life’s dream, and then you’re in the hospital, and poof, it is all over. Mine ended at 37 with an injury. I ended up at Walter Reed Hospital for surgery, tried rehabbing, and by 38, was out the door. Bye, Bye.
All the best David, and thanks for your decade representing the Patriots. This leaves only Joe Cardona and Ja’Whaun Bentley as the last two members from the last Super Bowl team.
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Well, if you were waiting for the Patriots to make some moves in free agency, they certainly did that. The team got the #1 defensive free agent on the market and overall bolstered the defense significantly.
It is still early in the process, and as everyone on sports talk radio has reminded us, the Patriots haven’t addressed LT and WR (they did, but not the shiny hood ornament). However, they still have more to do with both of those positions.
Depending on how the board plays out, I want them to draft an LT in the first or second round of the NFL Draft. But that still wouldn’t stop me from signing left tackle Tyron Smith, the future Hall of Famer. Smith is 34 and declining due to a myriad of injuries he’s had. But as a hired gun, stop-gap left tackle? I’d take him in an instant.
Smith isn’t a long-term answer. Heck, he may not even last the entire 2025 season. But his technique and physical tools are still there. He can still provide some outstanding games when he’s feeling good. It will give the rookie time to acclimate to the speed of the NFL. Everyone is talking about Smith’s Week 9 matchup with the Texans. And for good reason.
In that game, Smith put two of the best pass rushers in the league, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, on a milk carton that week.
As for wide receiver, we all saw the report that they weren’t in at all on Cooper Kupp. They did, however, make a concerted play for Chris Godwin, offering a lot more than the Bucs did (reports were $20 million more), but he wanted to stay in Tampa. I’m sure his family, the weather, taxes, and the fact that the Bucs were a playoff team last year were factors.
But like Cupp, Godwin has had injury issues. That’s why it was interesting that they were in on one but not the other. But the injury aspect may not have played a factor in their decision.
Wide Receiver, Running Back, and Tight End will also get addressed in the NFL Draft along with the left tackle.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:
Carlton Davis: “I want to be somebody that is remembered here in Foxborough.” Davis is ready to go. He’s got a Super Bowl under his belt, and he and Gonzo should be an excellent tandem.
Mack Hollins: “Free the Feet, Sign the Sheet.” Hollins, who is about to be a fan favorite in Foxboro, signed his free agent contract…barefoot as always. He also checked in from the top of the lighthouse.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek and I welcomed our good friend Mike D’Abate from “Locked On Patriots to the pod to discuss… what else? Free Agency. Please check us out and listen to us on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position. This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
Free Agency Additions:
EDGE Harold Landry –
The Patriots’ first free-agent addition was a no-brainer. Harold Landry played at BC and for head coach Mike Vrabel in Tennesse. Last season, Landry logged nine sacks in his final season in Tennessee. Landry is best known for converting speed to power to push the pocket and dipping under blocks with excellent bend. He’s a good pass rusher and is excellent at setting the edge.
LB Robert Spillane –
Pro Football Focus graded Spillane’s 2024 performance with an overall grade of 82.3, placing him fourth out of 189 linebackers. He logged 10 tackles for loss (TFL) last year. He’ll fit perfectly with Vrabel and Williams’ aggressive downhill style of attacking defensel alongside veteran captain Ja’Whaun Bentley, who missed nearly all of 2024.
CB Carlton Davis –
Davis is an excellent coverage corner who can play any scheme. He’s got a Super Bowl ring and experience. He and Christian Gonzalez should form a fantastic tandem at outside corner. That second boundary corner role has been filled and makes the secondary look much stronger.
RT Morgan Moses –
Although he’s an older player (34) with an 11-year NFL career, Moses has been a model of consistency. He has played in 166 games, starting 158, demonstrating remarkable durability. Besides a talent issue in 2024, the injuries along the offensive line piled up. He’s your Day 1 starting RT. His welcoming press conference was exactly what Vrabel is looking to build. It was incredible. He should be a life coach when his playing days are done.
DT Milton Williams –
The Patriots got the #1 defensive free agent this year. Sure, they overpaid for him, but now the defensive line is stacked. If Christian Barmore is healthy from his blood clot issue this year, he and Williams will make a terrific tandem in the attacking style of Tyrell Williams’ defense. Williams is a penetrating wrecking ball just entering his prime, providing both pass-rushing prowess and run-stopping capability. Williams’ addition fills a critical need and brings championship experience to a defense aiming to reestablish itself among the league’s elite.
QB Josh Dobbs –
The veteran quarterback provides some leadership and experience behind the Patriots’ pair of second-year quarterbacks. His presence doesn’t effect whether or not the Patriots do or don’t trade Joe Milton
DT Khyiris Tonga –
A 338-pound defensive tackle who spent last season with the Cardinals is a massive run-stuffing defensive lineman. He can be a situational interior run stopper, a good complementary piece to Christian Barmore and reported free agent signing Milton Williams. He’ll be a short-yardage, goal-line specialist on defense and offense. I want to see him as a fullback on the goal line.
WR Mack Hollins –
Hollins is a sneaky good route runner who can beat man coverage. He has good size (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) to provide a big outside target for his quarterback. He had his best year (57 catches, 690 yards) under Josh McDaniels in 2022 with the Raiders, and is coming off the second-best year after that with Buffalo (31 catches, 378 yards), including a career-high in touchdowns with five. Guaranteed to be a fan favorite.
DE K’Lavon Chaisson –
A former first-round pick coming off the most productive season of his five-year career (five sacks), with Las Vegas, he came on strong at the end of the season and the Patriots are wanting more of that.
Chaisson provides needed depth and experience along the edge. Landry, Keion White, and Anfernee Jennings will need a break. He’s still just 25 years old and has impressive physical gifts. He should get some meaningful snaps.
OL Wes Schweitzer –
Schweitzer is an interior depth guy with a lot of experience (62 starts) and can play either guard position. He should be the swing interior line guy or even compete for a left guard spot.
S Marcus Epps –
Epps suffered a torn ACL that ended his 2024 season after just three games, but reports indicate that the 29-year-old will be ready for training camp. In the last couple of years, Epps played mostly free safety for the the Raiders, and with Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers playing in the box or at nickel linebacker, he’d be a fit there.
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“I just want to be known as doing it all, versatile, Swiss Army knife, like I said, line up anywhere and be productive from any spot, run, pass. If I’ve got to drop in coverage, I feel like I can do that. Wherever they need me to be, whatever they need me to do, I’m ready for the challenge.
“What goes into that is just, like I said, hard work, obviously with great coaches. He played this game a long time, now he’s coaching, so I’m going to be picking his brain a lot. Coach T, and then the players here.
“Find the vets, pick their brain. I did a lot of that in Philadelphia with Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Derek Barnett. These guys, they took me under their wing, taught me how to take care of my body, and just going to practice and getting better every single day, and that leads to winning games and winning playoff games and Super Bowls. That’s all I know.”
Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams on being a well-rounded player.
“Yeah, I want the Patriot Nation to know I’m going to pour my heart into this city, into this community, into this team. I care deeply about what I do. I bring passion and heart everywhere I go.
“’m just so excited to get my feet in the building, get started, get to know the guys. Before guys want to hear what you have to say, you’ve got to make sure they feel like you care for them. So I want to make sure that my teammates know that I’m not here trying to get them, I just want what’s best for them at the end of the day. So I’m going to pour my heart into my teammates.”
LB Robert Spillane on what fans can expect from him.
“You know, you don’t need a miracle to win football games. You just need the right people in the building. Obviously with Coach Vrabel here, we’ve got the right people. Our owner is an amazing owner, and then obviously we’ve got the right people here. CD won a Super Bowl; Milton just won a Super Bowl. They’re going to bring knowledge of the game on how to bring longevity through those weeks of week 18, 19, 20 when it hurts, when people want to tap out, how to keep going.
“It’s important for us to be able to learn from one another, and everybody has different qualities. Robert, he told — eight years in the league as a free agent without a tryout, and he comes in here and now he’s 140 tackles two years in a row. That doesn’t happen overnight. That’s preparation. That’s dawg. That’s brotherhood. That’s mentality. That’s somebody that comes in the building every day to learn.
“So guys are going to get around these guys and we’re going to talk football, we’re going to talk IQ, we’re going to talk brotherhood, we’re going to learn about each other on the field and off the field, so when we get on the field, nothing that comes at us — no adversity that touches us on the field is going to be able to break us, because we’re going to have an unbelievable bond.
“So when we run out of that tunnel on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, you’re going to see something different. You’re going to feel something different because we’re going to go out there as one unit and we’re going to play football together.”
RT Morgan Moses on building a culture on the team.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
