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BREAKING – Patriots trade Shaq Mason to Tampa Bay

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Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Wow. In a stunning move, the Patriots are reportedly trading starting Guard Shaq Mason to Tampa Bay, in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.

I am stunned by this, and I’m really not happy about it. The move itself brings in a fifth-rounder, which let’s face it, is basically nothing. It frees up just shy of $7M cap space, but my question is why was it not possible to work out a new deal with Mason to lower his cap number this year?

This move not only should have the Bucs front office in handcuffs for committing a robbery on the Patriots organization, but, it also leaves the Patriots in flux at another key position.

The cap space created is the only real benefit here, but it could have been created in other ways. Mason was a key, consistent player, who is now reunited with Tom Brady, and has a chance to win another ring, just not in New England.

Free Agency: The Tight Endage Report – and MUCH more! from Clazzy Clare

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Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Whilst the legal tampering period was opening up, and Patriots Nation’s vision was on where will JC Jackson go (LA Chargers for 5 years at $82.5 million, with around $40 million guaranteed) not forgetting the whole, will the Patriots take a top wide receiver, part of my gaze was focused on what was happening in the tight end rooms. 

And, I was rather interested to find many of the top free agent tight ends were re-signed or tagged by their original team. Now, I appreciate you might not be quite as interested as I in this, however, with the depth at the draft this year it may be quite significant that so many teams have stayed with their existing tight ends, even the rather cap strapped Dallas Cowboys tagged Dalton Schultz, but to be fair he is quite good, but I digress. 

We all know that the tight end position is one of the tougher ones in the NFL to play, and to develop within. It is utilised in pretty much all the range of offensive plays, meaning the plate of those big 6 foot 4-5-6 guys can get rather full. 

So, a quick league wide recap of who has gone and where in the tight end market:

Arizona maintained Zach Ertz for a further 3 years at $31.65 million. The Browns franchise tagged David Njoku, as did the Dolphins with Mike Gesicki. The Colts lost their long time tight end to retirement, and so the maintaining of Mo Alie-Cox on a 3 year $18 million deal wasn’t too surprising. They may have traded away their top quarterback, but the Seahawks kept Will Dissly on a 3 year $24 million deal. There was some tight endage shuffle as the aforementioned Seahawks obtained Noah Fant in one of the biggest trades the NFL has seen for a while. Evan Engram hopped over from New York (Giants) to Jacksonville on a 1 year $9 million deal and the other New York team, the Jets, pulled C.J Uzomah from Cincinnati on a 3 year $24 million deal. 

Okay, so now I have done my public service in making sure you lovely Patriots fans are aware what has gone on in the world of tight endage, I am here to update you on the rest! Just call me Miss Unliiiiiiimited…

Moving swiftly on! 

Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that I write Steady Teddy, Ted Karras, has gotten paid and is on route to Cincinnati on a 3 year $18 million deal. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am happy when a great player gets paid, but when it’s at the possible sacrifice of the offensive line, I’m sorry I can’t really be THAT happy. 

The possibly, most obvious move, and perhaps the most hated by many Patriots fans so far this season, is the jetting off of cornerback JC Jackson to sunnier climates. The LA Chargers scooped him up on a long deal of 5 years at $82.5 million. 

The Patriots did some quiet maintaining whilst big name wide receivers were moving around, some were having money practically thrown at them, in particular Jacksonville giving Christian Kirk a $72 million, possibly up to $84 million, 4 year deal, but as of yet the Patriots only receiver action was a second round restricted free agent tender on Jakobi Meyers.

The Patriots quarterback room maintains some stability with Brian Hoyer on a 2 year $4 million deal, as New England retains three fan favourites, and some grounding the team needs (in my humble opinion) during this rebuild, of Devin McCourty for 1 year at $9 million, Matthew Slater on a 1 year $2.6 million deal, and (thank goodness!) Nick Folk for 2 years at $5 million. James Ferentz has reportedly signed a contract with the Patriots but the terms have not yet been announced. 

So there you have it you lovely lot, free agency frenzy so far… and it’s only Tuesday morning! 

Patriots re-sign Devin McCourty to a one-year deal

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Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

As first reported by his children, Devin McCourty is returning to New England for a thirteenth season with the franchise on a reported one-year deal worth $9M.

I can see the ups and downs of this move, so let’s start with the ups.

Positivley speaking, McCourty is one of, if not the top leaders of this team, he’s one of the most tenured players on the roster and certainly checks off that worry I had about if there would be enough locker room leaders to help the team forward. Alongside his duties as a captain, DMac still can still play a role on defense, in a unit which is slated to include him, Kyle Dugger, and Adrian Phillips.

The downside to this is that $9M is a fair bit for a declining veteran who we all saw slow down last season, I think this could be his final season as a pro, let’s hope it’s a good one!

In other news…

Earlier today the Patriots placed a second-round tender on Jakobi Meyers, who is a pending restricted free agent. This means If a team makes an offer for Meyers, the Patriots have a chance to match the offer, or, if they let him leave, they will receive a future second round draft pick. With a team offer for Meyers unlikely, the Patriots will retain the former undrafted pass-catcher for another season for around $3.9M.

Also reported this afternoon was the decision that the team have decided to let Fullback Jakob Johnson test out the open market, not a surprise given how much of a salary increase the lowest tender would have cost. Don’t be surprised to see Johnson back with the team next season though, especially given that the Patriots now have an international market in Germany.

Franchise Tagging: The Tight Endage Report from Clazzy Clare 

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(AP Photo/Stew Milne)

The significant amount of tight end talent that hit free agency was eye-watering and rather bittersweet if you are a tight end enthusiast whose team isn’t going to target tight endage in free agency. But that’s okay, Hunter Henry is special enough for me.

But I digress. With the franchise tag of David Njoku, the Browns are set to put down just over $10 million for him in 2022, so there’s one off the list. 

But the total available tight endage is still significant with some epic strength and ability. Did someone say Rob Gronkowski?

Now, Rob may be utilising the gymnasium equipment at the Tampa Bay facility, but he is still currently set to be a free agent. Not only that, there is a second name belonging to the Bucs on the list in O.J Howard, and the Bucs saved their franchise tag for wide receiver Chris Godwin, whilst a lot are wondering who will be throwing to him… 

Tampa Bay aren’t the only team that may need to double dip when it comes to drafting or signing some nice tight endage. 

The Tennessee Titans let their two tight ends hit free agency in Anthony Frisker and Geoff Swaim, as well as the Miami Dolphins Durham Smythe and for a time their elite guy, Mike Gesicki was atop of the free agency tight end list until he was tagged yesterday. The Colts are two guys down also with Jack Doyle announcing his retirement, and Mo Alie-Cox a free agent as I write this. 

As the list goes on, obviously the teams with available spots do too. Very familiar household tight end names such as Schultz from the Cowboys, Ertz from the Cardinals and Engram from the Giants were all in the mix. Poor Kyle Pitts may end up being THE Atlanta offense, but that’s a different topic entirely. 

Surprising to some, the Cowboys tagged a favourite target of Dak Prescott in Dalton Schultz. With just under an $11 million hit on the cap, I can see why many were surprised, not only that but the Cowboys are presently well over the relevant cap limit for this year. Some renegotiating of current players deals will probably sort all that out, and when you have a decent quarterback to work around, you do the best you can to keep his top talent within reach. 

Most of this is much of a muchness if you’re a Patriots fan of course. With the price tags on Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith last year, you wouldn’t think Coach Bill is interested. However, this list, and available spots, could have a reverse impact on the Patriots. 

I’m one of those people who wasn’t all in on Jonnu Smith, but has no issue with him remaining in New England, and increasing his production in year two. 

Some fans would be happy to trade him away, there’s always the fact that his lacklustre 2021 stats might not make him a great sell, but you never know. 

The possibility of something else intrigues me much more than the slim possibility of Smith not being a Patriot for the 2022 season, and that is Devin Asiasi. 

If you’re interested in my work, you will have seen/heard/read my pondering over this tight end for, well, two years now. Multiple reasons have eaten into why we haven’t seen much out of Asiasi, but at the end of the day, on paper he is a young tight end, would go for quite cheap money, and may still be developing, so easily fittable into the right program… possibly?

Another name of a tight end Patriots fans haven’t heard much of when it comes to games, is Dalton Keene. A bit more of a H-back kind of versatile guy, he may hold a skill set the Patriots could need in a couple of years, but by then he will be working towards the end of his rookie draft deal, and didn’t really play within his first two with the team. August 2021 saw him under go season ending surgery to repair a meniscus injury and so, like Asiasi, 2022 may be show or go time. 

And so, with the franchise tag window closed, the clock ticks down to the legal tampering period, free agency, the draft, and all that jazz. We await the outcome of where these guys may end up. Okay… just me then?

Stay tuned for more tight end reporting as I keep an eye on free agency availability and collate my combine notes!

Patriots to release Kyle Van Noy

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Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

The first major move of the offseason has been reported as the Pats are expected to move on from LB Kyle Van Noy, who was under contract for the 2022 season. Field Yates broke the story, but Mike Reiss also offered some additional context, noting that this move was economically influenced, likely needing some extra room for movement in free agency, and for the upcoming Draft in April.

Van Noy leaves following his second stint with the team, a move which I’m content with as the defense desperately needs to get younger and faster. Others who could follow are the likes of Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, and Ja’Whaun Bentley, who are all pending free agents.

Friend of the blog Mike Dussault covered the linebacker group questions ahead of free agency next week, including some players who may add something to the team from elsewhere.

The move creates just shy of $5M cap space, and as always, you can see the full financial breakdown from Miguel below:

The 28-3 tee and me

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28-3 has become a part of Patriots lore and it’s hard to believe that a big part of it was started right here on this blog and now, here we are, five years later so it’s time for a little retrospective. Of course, the real Patriots did the hard work, coming back from a seemingly impossible deficit to secure their fifth title but it took a bit before it truly sunk in what the team had overcome.

About a month after the victory I was watching the game again and the scoreboard struck me. 28-3. That tells the whole story right there, that scoreboard. We know how it ended. 28-3, just over two minutes left… how the hell did they do it? It wasn’t about trolling the Falcons, it was just an instant reminder how even when it looks like it’s over, no comeback is impossible.

The next day a Twitter follower shared a screenshot of the scoreboard and it all seemed to click. I had been in the football blog t-shirt game for a few years and was even the first person to put Do Your Job on a shirt. But the NFL snuffed me out with a cease and desist, even though I was small-time and wasn’t making enough to even pay the hosting fees. Since then it was all about being creative with the tees, like the Malcolm Go one.

That’s why the scoreboard was perfect as well. It said it all and it was such a simple design that even my meager Adobe skills could reproduce a graphic that worked.

With everything fully integrated, it took all of about a half-hour before the design was completed and the shirts were available in the Prop Shop. Shortly after, another Twitter user suggested putting the final scoreboard on the back of the shirt. 10 minutes later that option was done and available but it didn’t take off initially. A week or so later, my good friend Nick “Fitzy” Stevens shared an Instagram post with him in the shirt and then, then it exploded.

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Raiders to hire Josh McDaniels as their next Head Coach

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Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

As reported by Adam Schefter, the Las Vegas Raiders are finalizing a deal to make Josh McDaniels their next head coach, following on from the news earlier today that they’d hired now-former de facto Patriots GM Dave Ziegler.

This move will end McDaniels’ second stint with the team, having re-joined as the offensive coordinator in 2012. He also leaves his additional role as quarterbacks coach, which he took over following the exit of Jedd Fisch. Josh takes over his second Head Coaching role, with a current record of 11-17, and will inherit a much different Raiders roster than he did whilst in Denver.

It was interesting to see if he would stick around New England and apply for the top role after Bill retires, but, with no clear sight of when that could be, Josh decides to move West in hope of new success.

Who Will Replace Him?

Bill O’Brien remains the favorite in my mind to take over the OC role, but I’m sure we will hear plenty of unknowns from around the NFL and College world in the next week or so.