Patriots Daily Notebook 7/17: McLaurin Trade Rumors Continue, Key Domino Falls For Draft Pick
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Some Patriots and NFL-related news on this Thursday:
1) Rumors continue to swirl when it comes to the Washington Commanders’ Terry McLaurin, with the wide receiver still without a contract heading into training camp.
Many are hoping that the New England Patriots will make a move to bring him to Foxboro. With the club trying to build a talented nucleus around Drake Maye, adding McLaurin would definitely do that.
The Washington receiver is coming off an incredible year. He finished with his fifth-straight 1,000-yard season, catching 82 passes for 1,096 yards (13.4 avg). But in 2024, what was even more impressive was what an unbelievable scoring threat he was for the Commanders.
He scored a career-high 13 touchdowns, which accounted for 44.8% of Washington’s 29 touchdowns through the air in 2024. That was nearly double the amount of the next closest player, which was tight end Zach Ertz (7).
After that, no one else was close. Olamide Zaccheaus was next with 3, followed by Jamison Crowder (2), Noah Brown (1), Dyami Brown (1), Ben Sinnott (1), and a crazy play by offensive lineman, Trent Scott (1).
He’s currently heading into the final year of his contract, and the fact he hasn’t gotten an extension is something he’s definitely frustrated with.
“I’ve been pretty frustrated, I’m not going to lie,” McLaurin told reporters recently. “Everything that has transpired up until this point has just been disappointing and frustrating. I wanted to continue my career here. I’ve created my life here. My wife and I have bought our first home here. So this has been somewhere where I’ve always wanted to be. And just to see how things have played out has been disappointing.”
“Obviously, I understand everything’s a business, but at the same time, I want to put myself in a position where I’m valued and I feel appreciated and things like that. And unfortunately, that hasn’t transpired the way I wanted to.”
Albert Breer of MMQB appeared on NBC Sports Boston Wednesday night and reported that there has been little communication between the two sides, which has contributed to McLaurin’s frustration.
However, he expects Washington to potentially try and take a shot to keep him in the fold over the coming week.
“There’s not a whole lot happening right now between the commanders and McLaurin, which is part of why the frustration is where it is,” said Breer. “And that there hasn’t been much progress because there hasn’t been much talk between the sides. I think that’s why Terry felt compelled to say what he said publicly.”
“And this is a guy who has been a team captain for a long time. I mean, exemplary character, all of that. So my anticipation is that the Commanders are going to take a swing at getting something done with him over the course of the next week, just because it makes too much sense for both sides.”
Still, if something doesn’t get done and the Commanders do opt to make a move to trade him, Breer feels the Patriots would definitely be interested. It would just then come down to the price in terms of what they’d have to give up, in addition to the cost of extending him.
“I think the Patriots would be very interested in this,” said Breer. “Now, there’s a price point for all of it, and what would that mean? And obviously, he’s not going to come here with an unresolved contract situation. So you’d be talking about a draft pick plus a contract. He’s a little older than people realize because he was a five-year college guy, so he’s over 30 now. But certainly, as far as what they’re looking for from a person, from a player, helping Drake [Maye], this guy checks every box.”
At the same time, given how important draft capital is going to be next offseason as the Patriots continue improving their roster, Breer noted that giving up a high first round pick in exchange for McLaurin also wouldn’t make sense.
“I think you have to, in your head, have an idea of how good you’re going to be, because I don’t think I give up a top half of the first-round pick, top half of the first-round pick for him,” said Breer. “You have to be honest with yourself. If it’s the 20th pick in the draft, then yeah, I would give up the 20th pick in the draft for him. Would I give up the 10th pick in the draft for him? Probably not. That’s no affront to Terry McLaurin. It’s just the type of player he is, and his age, and what you’d be getting out of your first-round pick, and some of the needs you have long term.’
“I don’t know that you’re that close that you want to mortgage picks like that, but I think you’d have to look at it.”
2) The Boston Globe’s Khari Thompson caught up with defensive back Marcus Jones for an interview during a music boot camp in Randolph last week, with Jones also providing some insight from a football standpoint.
Jones said that prior to Vrabel’s arrival in New England, the two had crossed paths previously. He said that he initially met Vrabel ahead of being drafted in 2022, and he came away impressed.
“It’s crazy. I met him at the pre-draft process when he was at Tennessee,” Jones told Thompson. “He’s a real-deal player’s coach. He’s been in the league, he knows what it takes, and he’s been a part of great organizations. It’s been great for him, and I’m looking forward to the season.”
“What I remember is that he was just chill. He was just talking. He was asking questions about what I’m looking for when I get to the NFL, things like that. It was a real good personable conversation and stuff. It wasn’t anything crazy. At the end of the day, there wasn’t too much that he could ask us during the pre-draft process, but it was cool, though.”
Jones is coming off a season where he dealt with several injuries in 2024. He dealt with a knee injury in Week 2 that saw him limited the next week in practice, followed by a groin injury two weeks later against Miami. He then dealt with an illness in both Weeks 7 and 15, followed by a hip injury that ultimately kept him off the field for the remainder of the season.
He’s dealt with injuries since being drafted, with Jones also having suffered a torn labrum in Week 2 of his second year in 2023, which also ended his season. As a result, one of the key things he’s focused on heading into 2025 is trying to stay healthy.
“My main thing is making it through the season healthy,” said Jones. “That’s what I want to do. I didn’t play the last [three] games. I just want to end up finishing the whole season and go from there. That would be a great season for me.”
He also added that he’s fully healthy ahead of next week’s training camp, adding, “I’m ready to go, for sure.”
3) Meanwhile, the Patriots are still heading into next week’s start of training camp without second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson under contract.
However, there was some good news on that front after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday night that San Francisco has gotten their second-round pick, defensive lineman Alfred Collins, under contract.
Schefter reports that the deal is a four-year, $10.3 million contract that includes over $9 million in guaranteed money. Collins becomes the first player out of that round to sign without a fully guaranteed deal, which ends what had been a troubling streak up to that point.
Houston started things off by setting a tough precedent after they gave receiver Jayden Higgins, who was the second pick taken in round two, a guaranteed deal.
That resulted in the Browns also giving linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who was the first selection of that round, a fully guaranteed deal.
Coming into this week, 30-of-32 players were still not under contract, and the hope now is that the 49ers getting a deal done with Collins will get the ball rolling on the remaining picks.
Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan believes that Collins’ deal has set the bar, which should help New England when it comes to getting Henderson’s deal done.
“What does the Alfred Collins signing mean for TreVeyon Henderson and the Patriots? It sets the floor,” Benzan posted on BlueSky. “Henderson’s representatives will probably look to match the 10% increase in fully guaranteed amount, going from 82.98% (2024 number) to at least 93%.”
Henderson remains one of the most intriguing players in training camp, with the Ohio State standout showing off his explosive speed and quickness earlier in minicamp. He’s expected to be a big part of the offense this season, with the hope that he can potentially be a similar change of pace type of back in Josh McDaniels’ offense as Patriots great, James White.
4) Seth Walder of ESPN recently gave out grades for all 32 teams based on their offseason moves, and apparently he wasn’t impressed with the Patriots.
He gave New England a C+ for their moves this offseason. However, Walder appeared to like the moves they made, but not necessarily the cost it took to get each player.
“There’s no question that the Patriots significantly improved their roster, spending big in free agency to bring in Williams, Stefon Diggs, Harold Landry III, Robert Spillane, Carlton Davis III, and Morgan Moses,” writes Walder. “The Patriots needed this upgrade — there’s no sense in waiting when you have a good QB under a rookie contract. At the same time, I disliked the value on almost every deal.”
“Williams earned a contract that, after adjusting for cap inflation, is comparable in fully guaranteed money ($51 million) to what Chris Jones received in 2020, Jonathan Allen in 2021, and Javon Hargrave in 2023. Although he’s a nice player, Williams also played only 47% of Philadelphia’s snaps in 2024 while playing next to other stout defensive linemen.”
He really isn’t a fan of the addition of Davis, who at $18 million per season, he believes, “is a worse player” than D.J. Reed. Reed is the player expected to replace Davis with his former team, the Lions, in Detroit.
As for the teams that graded out the best, Los Angeles (A), San Francisco (A-), Arizona (A-), and the Broncos, each took the top spots.
The team that finished with the worst grade was the Saints, with New Orleans receiving a “D.”
His issue is based on the fact he felt too many of the Saints’ signings were short-term fixes but don’t necessarily fill long-term needs, with the Chase Young deal being one that came to mind. He feels the $17 million per year deal was too much, with the deal tight end Juwan Johnson got ($10 million per year and more than $21 million guaranteed) also being too costly.
The Saints definitely have their work cut out for them. They’re coming off a 5-12 season and finished in the bottom half in point differential in the NFL in 2024.
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Terry McLaurin would certainly upgrade the WR unit, but you can only take on a few big contracts without starting to be hamstrung with keeping solid depth spanning the 53 man roster. Accordingly, the Pats have the $60M now, but you have to consider year 2,3,4 in terms of carrying a big contract for McLauren. That assumes you trade and sign him. McLauren will want a 4 year deal and likely big $$. He earned it. If Drake Maye looks like a top 10 guy he’ll command $55M in a few years. Gonzalez may be another big contracts. Will Campbell… Read more »