It’s Monday, and here’s a look at today’s top stories as we begin the week:<\/p>\n
Patriots Will Open Against Kansas City –\u00a0<\/strong>When the season kicks off in Foxboro this September, we now know who the Patriots’ first opponent will be and it should bode well given their history against them.<\/p>\n According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, it’s a near certainty that it will be Kansas City<\/strong> <\/a>who will be the visiting team to begin the 2017 campaign, and that’s good news for Tom Brady and the Patriots, who have had their way against them in every meeting at home.<\/p>\n Going back to 2002, the Patriots have won the last three regular season meetings at Gillette Stadium against the Chiefs, as well as a Divisional Round playoff win against Kansas City in 2016.<\/p>\n Away from home, it’s been a different story. \u00a0The Chiefs had success against New England on national TV in 2014, with Kansas City Handing Bill Belichick’s club a 41-14 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium in a Monday night match-up.<\/p>\n That’s an area where the Chiefs have held the edge, having beaten them in two out of their last three meetings away from Gillette Stadium. \u00a0Kansas City has\u00a0won the last two match-ups when they’ve been the home team, including that game.<\/p>\n Overall, Andy Reid is 3-1 in season openers since taking over as head coach for the Chiefs.<\/p>\n The Sunday Night game in Week 1 will reportedly include the Falcons opening up their new stadium on the national stage, which should be good for them and will reportedly include<\/strong><\/a> either the Packers, VIkings, Bills, Dolphins and Cowboys as potential opponents.<\/p>\n Too Early to Pencil In Jason McCourty?<\/strong> – One thing that was interesting reading the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian’s football notes on Sunday was the fact that while many would call a marriage between the Patriots and free agent cornerback Jason McCourty a perfect match, there’s a small asterisk that needs to be placed on that until one big domino falls one way or another.<\/p>\n Adding McCourty to the mix really can’t happen until the future is decided with Malcolm Butler, and she had a quote from his brother, Devin, that stood out given the fact that barring his departure, the cornerback depth chart doesn’t leave room for a player of McCourty’s\u00a0caliber given who is currently on their roster.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d love to play together, but I think first and foremost he has to do what\u2019s right for his family, where he could actually play and be out there playing,\u201d safety Devin McCourty told reporters Friday after Boston University\u2019s Play it Forward summit via the Boston Herald<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s not at the point in his career where he\u2019s going to just sit on the bench, so he wants a chance to get out there and compete. I\u2019m excited for him. It\u2019s a little bit of the unknown. He\u2019s my brother. He should do all right. Just tell people he\u2019s related to me.\u201d<\/p>\n McCourty pointing out that his brother needs to go somewhere where he “could actually play” is telling, since with Butler, incumbent Eric Rowe and newcomer Stephon Gilmore, the Patriots already have a talented trio of starters. \u00a0That would likely make McCourty a role player, which is what his brother was referring to.<\/p>\n We’ll likely see step one of what the future will hold this week. \u00a0From a strategic standpoint, it would make sense for Butler to sign his tender this week given that New Orleans has already made it clear that they won’t be giving Butler an offer sheet, which means that nothing will likely be coming his way by the April 21st deadline when he’s no longer allowed to receive an offer sheet from another team.<\/p>\n That means the only ticket out of town for the veteran is going to require a trade, which can’t happen unless he puts his pen to paper and signs the $3.91 million tender the Patriots have already offered him since the Patriots can’t trade a player who isn’t under contract. \u00a0If Butler\u00a0signs it before April 27th’s draft, that could signal that he’s headed elsewhere. \u00a0If it drags on into June, that’s where it begins to get contentious.<\/p>\n If he hasn’t signed the tender by June 15, the Patriots can reduce his offer to 110 percent of his 2016 salary, which would equal about $660,000. \u00a0Some might think the team wouldn’t do that, but the precedent is there from what happened with Logan Mankins<\/strong><\/a> that the Patriots won’t be the ones to blink in this situation.<\/p>\n It would be surprising for it to get to that point, given the amount of money it would cost him, as well as the fact it would leave him out of options. \u00a0Unlike Mankins, Butler has already admitted he won’t hold out and\u00a0his preference is to ultimately stay here.<\/p>\n All that said, I was given a strong indication Butler prefers to be a "Patriot for life." He wants to make it work in New England.<\/p>\n — Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n