New England patriots
By: Ian Logue
April 26, 2022
The New England Patriots made a surprising move on Monday after making a trade with the Texans to acquire some additional draft picks heading into this weekend’s NFL Draft.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the club sent a 5th-round pick to Houston in exchange for a 6th (#183) and 7th-round (#245) selection, allowing New England some additional currency as they continue working on upgrading their roster.
Those selections will likely accomplish one or two scenarios. They’ll give the Patriots the ability to potentially trade up in the middle rounds if they have someone they’re targeting, as well as give them an opportunity to use later round selections on guys they may have felt could have been undrafted free agents, while preventing them from having to compete with other clubs.
UPDATED After the Trade: Round 1: Pick #21 Round 2: Pick #54 Round 3: Pick #85 Round 4: Pick #127 Round 5: Pick #158 Round 6: Pick #183 Round 6: Pick #200 Round 6: Pick #210 Round 7: Pick #245
Julian Edelman posted a photo on Monday that saw him and Tom Brady in team uniform pants, along with Rob Gronkowski. The trio was apparently on a movie set and Brady is reportedly co-producing a film called “Eighty for Brady”, which according to The Hollywood Reporter, is a football-themed road trip movie about four Patriots fans who travel to watch Super Bowl LI to see Brady play.
The film is reportedly based on a true story and will include actresses Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno. The film is listed on IMDB.com with a summary that reads, “The movie is inspired by the true story of 4 best friends and New England Patriots fans who take a life-changing trip to Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play, and the chaos that ensues as they navigate the wilds of the biggest sporting event in the country.”
Former Patriots running back Laurence Maroney had some promising moments early in his career here in New England, although it sounds like he’d love to have the opportunity to change some things.
The former first-round pick was selected at the same spot in 2006 that the Patriots are currently slated, 21st overall. The former standout from the University of Minnesota seemed like a great pick, with one of his key traits being his ability to break through contact and get extra yards.
He averaged 4.3 yards per carry during his rookie season, before having a stronger year the following season when he averaged 4.5, gaining a career-high 835 yards on 185 carries in an offense that didn’t run the ball that often, predominantly featuring Brady throwing the football to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
But Maroney’s love of contact hurt him in 2008 when he suffered what was apparently a significant shoulder injury and he was never the same player. New England would go on to trade him after the following season to Denver, which ended his time with the Patriots after four seasons.
Maroney admitted he didn’t have the best career and felt he definitely had more to give. “It definitely was cut short,” said Maroney. “I really wish it was better. I’m not saying I had the worst. But I felt like there were things that I still wanted to deliver to the game, to the NFL, to showcase what I really had. But it’s water under bridge. You can’t go back and change it. It wasn’t the best, it wasn’t the worst. I know I could have done better.”
The 37-year-old retired at the age of 28 and has taken a similar route to former Patriots receiver Aaron Dobson by working in real estate, with Maroney reportedly being involved in rentals and rehabbing homes. He reportedly now lives in St. Louis with his girlfriend Briante, and they are raising three young children.
The 49ers are continuing to make it clear that any team looking to acquire Deebo Samuel is going to have to pay dearly, which likely increases the difficulty in getting a deal done to move the receiver. General Manager John Lynch went so far to say that the disgruntled receiver is too much of a talent for them to just give up on, and they have no intention of just letting him go.
“He’s just too good of a player,” Lynch said via ProFootballTalk.com. “You think of 2019, the 36th pick, to come up with someone like Deebo who, to me, has just been a game-changing player for our franchise. I’ve told Deebo this, I think he’s the perfect illustration. Herm Edwards used to talk about when will meets skill, you’ve got the opportunity to be special. And I think Deebo probably embodies that as much as anyone, he’s got tremendous will, he’s a very talented player.”
“I think by virtue of the way he plays, it’s inspiring and so, to me, that entails leadership. Do you make people around you better? He checks that box. He’s a great teammate. And I think of things like prior to games, I get out there and he’s always throwing the ball with the fans. I think he’s been a great member of our community, so we’ve got nothing but love for him and nothing but appreciation for what he’s bought, but you just don’t let guys like that walk. I can’t envision a scenario where we would.”
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