Good morning. I’m going to try to carry the torch this morning while Steve recovers from a recent medical procedure, but here’s this week’s edition of our Sunday Patriots news.
This is certainly a big week coming up, with the NFL Scouting Combine set to begin on February 27th, allowing for a first glimpse of some of the candidates that will be available in this year’s upcoming NFL Draft.
We’ll get to hear from new head coach Mike Vrabel this week, with Andrew Callahan posting on X that Vrabel will be meeting with the media on Tuesday at 10:15 am. This will be the first time we’ve really heard from him since the various interviews he did the day he was introduced, and it should be interesting to hear his thoughts ahead of free agency.
Meanwhile Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, Eliot Wolf, will meet with reporters on Wednesday at 1:00 pm. That interview will be worth noting because he didn’t speak at all last season, with the state of the roster ending up as the biggest story throughout 2024.
As we know, the offensive line turned out to be a disaster, with plenty of additional questions also becoming topics of discussion for essentially that entire 4-13 campaign.
Now, the hope is that we don’t see a repeat of that this year. Most reports have indicated Vrabel will have final roster decisions, while Ryan Cowden will also reportedly be involved with Wolf in personnel decisions.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:
Drake Maye: Maye appeared on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast this week, with the rookie quarterback talking about his first year in the league but some other great stuff came up in the interview.
Maye noted that the big hit he took from Danielle Hunter in his first start against the Texans in Week 6 turned out to be his “Welcome to the NFL Moment,” and was definitely one of the biggest shots he took last season. Maye said he met Hunter down at the Pro Bowl and gave him credit for the hit, but looking back, Maye said that the defensive line and edge players are at a different level in the NFL.
He added that he obviously got strip-sacked on that play and Hunter looked like a “created player in Madden,” but that it was a hit he shouldn’t have taken.
“I just threw a touchdown in the first half. We’re down 14-7,” said Maye. “Get the ball in the second half. We got a chance to get back in the game. That first drive, I get strip-sacked by Danielle Hunter. He looks like a created player in Madden coming off the edge.”
“I didn’t see him coming. And I should have got the ball out. Bad sack I took.”
Brown, Jacobs Re-signed: The Patriots re-signed two exclusive rights free agents this week, with both center Ben Brown and right tackle Demontrey Jacobs getting re-upped with one-year deals.
Injuries made their additions necessary last season, and New England’s front office had to get creative in finding both players. Brown was snatched off Las Vegas’ practice squad in October, and started a few days later in Maye’s first NFL start, while the Patriots snagged Jacobs in a waiver claim away from Denver at the end of training camp.
Brown ended up being the better of the two, finishing with an admirable year for a backup player. Meanwhile, Jacobs didn’t fare quite as well, allowing quite a few hits on Maye, as well as finishing the season tied with Vedrian Lowe as the Patriots leaders in penalties in 2024 with 11.
Still, Jacobs was among the last ones standing after their already thin group of tackles was decimated by injuries, with Chukwuma Okorafor also informing the team the day before the club’s overtime loss against the Seahawks in Week 2 that he was leaving.
The hope now is that by the end of the offseason, both will be back where they belong – sitting behind far more capable players, but available for a start or two only if necessary.
Toughest Defense For Maye: Maye was asked which defense was the “most ferocious” he faced last season. “I think the Texans, they’re hard not to say them,” said Maye. “I think played some other… I thought the Chargers, I think Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, they still got some kick in their stride, and they played well. Other than that, I thought actually the Jets were good. I think they were good. I think they had some guys kind of banged up throughout the year, but they had some good players.”
He’s a Fan of the Red Throwbacks: Like many fans in New England, the old red Patriots uniforms are ones that people always enjoy seeing, and Maye also feels that the team should wear them more. “Those reds are sweet, aren’t they?” said Maye on Long’s podcast. “They’re sweet. We’re 0-2 in them, but I thought we played pretty good in them.” Maye also hinted blue throwbacks could be coming. “I think they’re maybe coming out with a – maybe is what kind of the fans are wanting – some blue, some throwback blues.”
Takitaki released: Linebacker Sione Takitaki, who was signed last offseason, was released this week. The Patriots are seemingly heading in a different direction on defense, and the former Browns linebacker appears to be the first domino to fall as they start revamping things. His departure likely means that Vrabel didn’t feel he was a fit, and Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston said in a recent Next Pats Podcast that having been one of Wolf’s players (he drafted him in Cleveland), it was an interesting move.
“It is interesting in that, to me, the first thing that I think of is that Sione Takitaki was somebody that Eliot Wolf went out of his way to bring in year one of this new Patriots regime in 2024 with Jerod Mayo,” said Perry. “Eliot Wolf, they needed a little bit of linebacker depth. They wanted somebody that had experience, somebody that Eliot Wolf clearly has respected going back to his time in college, when Eliot Wolf was a huge proponent of drafting Sione Takitaki to the Cleveland Browns, that was Eliot Wolf.”
“And so, if they are now releasing somebody that Eliot Wolf has this connection to, what does that tell us? Well, to me, it tells me what we already knew and what we had already inferred by this point in the offseason, which is Mike Vrabel’s running the show. If everything was up to Eliot Wolf when it came to personnel, then you might see Eliot Wolf give Sione Takitaki another shot here.”
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek and Steve discussed the state of the Patriots roster, along with some potential Free Agents they may target. Please check us out and give us a listen on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you listen to your 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 discussed 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.
Maye Impressed With Bills’ McDermott
Maye admitted that Sean McDermott in Buffalo was someone he was impressed with in terms of the coaches he faced last season. There is a little bias there, as Maye also talked about the fact he’s a huge Panthers fan, specifically Cam Newton.
But McDermott was also a part of that era, with McDermott serving as Carolina’s defensive coordinator from 2011-2016 and was part of the 2015 team that faced the Broncos in a 24-10 Super Bowl loss at the end of that year in San Francisco. Maye said he was at that game, which he added was definitely a tough one. But one thing Maye did mention that was interesting was the fact the Bills don’t do anything exotic. They just line up and make them beat you.
“The biggest thing, I think, what Sean McDermott and them do up in Buffalo, kind of what they’ve done in the history,” said Maye. “He was obviously with the Panthers back when I was growing up, he was the DC there and kind of watched him go to Buffalo and how the defense has been for so long. They kind of do the same stuff. They stay in nickel personnel, and they keep it simple. But kind of what they do is pretty cool. Just stay in four down and make you beat it.”
Against the Bills in his lone full start against them in 2024 (he only played one series in the finale), Maye finished 22-of-36 (61.1%) for 261 yards, along with two touchdowns and one interception. However, he also had a tremendous first half, where he was 14-of-20 (70%) for 159 yards and a touchdown.
Some rookie mistakes got him in the second half, including his turnover that ultimately cost them in that 24-21 loss. The interception he threw was a tough one, with him and Austin Hooper clearly not on the same page. On the play, Hooper seemed like he was going for the back pylon, and Maye threw it short, and it was easily picked off.
Hooper ended up getting his feet caught and fell down, but Maye’s throw was head-scratching at the time. However, his comments after the contest at least made more sense.
“We had a concept, and it kind of felt like it was going to be the same type of throw against the Colts to Hoop [Austin Hooper],” said Maye. “I let it go early, thinking he’d break it off, and just wasn’t on the same page. I’ve got to give him a chance.”
“I think he was thinking back pylon, so I’ve got to give him a better chance to maybe hold the safety a little bit. So, just frustrating we were down there. I got a chance to go up and make it a 21-17 ball game, and just a frustrating kind of heartbreaker.”
Maye didn’t make a lot of “dumb” mistakes last season, which was quietly one of the bright spots during a year where it felt like he seemed to grow up more and more each week. He’s drawn a lot of comparisons to Josh Allen, and the hope is that the Patriots become a bigger problem for both Allen and McDermott’s team in the coming years.
The big question for now will be how much Maye’s learned from all of it. We’ll find out when he eventually steps back out there a little over six months from now, and the hope is that this time around, he’ll also have some better personnel standing alongside him.
Patriots Overpaying in Free Agency May Have Long-Term Repercussions
Phil Perry appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub earlier this week, talking about a variety of topics, including the Patriots’ potential approach in free agency.
At the time, the discussion centered around Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who may not actually hit the market after it was reported this week that the Bengals are planning on placing the franchise tag on him.
However, one point Perry made still holds up as it pertains to other players they may ultimately end up signing. As we know, New England will likely be competing for some players against teams who are in contention, making them a less appealing landing spot. That will likely mean we’ll need to see them potentially overpay in order to get one or more of those players, which could have a ripple effect for future players.
One of those players could be someone like Christian Gonzalez, who is already heading into the third season of his four-year rookie contract. As a result, even with a fifth-year option, when the time comes to try and potentially extend him, whatever deal is signed will likely be measured against it.
“So there’s issues right there,” said Perry when talking about the deal it might have taken to get Higgins, along with the fact the Bengals wideout had missed time with injuries. “Christian Gonzalez is looking at him saying, ‘Well, I better make at least that much when my contract comes up.’ And Drake Maye’s saying, ‘I got to make 50% more than that when my contract comes up. I’m way more important than he is.’”
“We already saw it this past offseason where Christian Barmore gets this massive deal, and he’s your most valuable player from a dollar-figure standpoint. Then what happens immediately thereafter is you get guys that are pissed about their contracts, whether it’s Josh Uche or Davon Godchaux, who ultimately did get another contract. But guys look at this stuff from afar and say, ‘Hey, if he’s making that much, how much am I worth? Let’s get back to the table here.’ I think you have to be careful in terms of what you’re willing to spend on because it does send a message.”
“When you are in this very precarious position that Vrabel’s in, where you are at the nascent stages of your program and what you want your culture to be, everything you do sends a message, and you do have to take heed when it comes to doing that.”
Speculation Sparks Stevenson Trade Rumors
Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston spent a fair amount of time this week talking about the possible future of Rhamondre Stevenson, and whether or not the Patriots might be better served looking for a trade partner for him this offseason to try and add some additional draft currency.
Curran cited Stevenson’s seven fumbles this past season as the primary reason, noting that the running back also currently falls among one of the fifth highest paid players at his position, yet hasn’t played as well as the guys behind him even here in New England.
“I would think that there’s virtually nobody that’s nailed to the floor in that organization right now, aside from Christian Gonzalez and Drake Maye,” said Curran last week. “And I think they really have to scrutinize where the money is going and what production they’re getting from those spots. In each of the last two years, Rhamondre Stevenson has been outperformed by his backup. Ezekiel Elliott was a better back than he was in 2023, and in 2024, I think Antonio Gibson, although his production was a smidge lower, was more productive on a per-play basis.”
“So if you look at that, and you realize that while Stevenson isn’t being paid exorbinate money, because running backs generally don’t, he’s paying pretty well. He’s running behind a crap offensive line. That offensive line might not get better. So you’re pouring money into a position, Phil [Perry], who has done a lot of research on the numbers too, you look at that and say, ‘Couldn’t we get that from a third or fourth round pick?’ I’m not saying he stinks, but the fumbles were crippling for this team.”
Perry also believes that what Stevenson put on tape is going to be interesting when it comes to Vrabel’s evaluation of him.
“I just wonder how Mike Vrabel looks at him,” said Perry. “Because Mike Vrabel didn’t draft him. Mike Vrabel didn’t sign him, and Mike Vrabel is watching the tape and he’s watching a guy put the ball on the ground. And even though he had a fine year, I like to look what backs can do on their own. So yards after contact, I think, is a great stat for backs because even with a bad offensive line, you can get a gauge for what he’s able to do in a vacuum. Rhamondre Stevenson was pretty good. He was 15th in the league among qualified rushers last year in yards after contact per attempt. Antonio Gibson was somehow first at 4.5 yards per carry after contact which is kind of mind-blowing to me, but it speaks to Tom’s point that he hasn’t been the best back, clearly, bar none, for the New England Patriots in each of the last two years.”
“Does Vrabel come in here and look at somebody like that and say, ‘He’s making a lot of money, there’s another team that’s probably much closer to Super Bowl contention that might like him and give us something for him, and appreciate him more than we do, should we do it?’ I would leave it open and certainly say it’s within the realm of possibility as well.”
Some might believe that the teams might not have an interest, but what Philadelphia did in 2024 after signing Saquan Barkley last offseason might make Stevenson more attractive now than compared to past offseasons.
Stevenson’s not necessarily at Barkley’s level, but he’s the type of player that when he’s been in an offense that is stable, especially up front, he’s been incredibly productive.
In 2021, when New England’s offensive line wasn’t in complete disarray, Stevenson rushed for 633 yards while splitting time with Damien Harris, and then broke out in 2022 with a 1000+ yard rushing season while also adding another 400+ through the air.
But in 2023, his production dropped off and he finished with 619 yards rushing behind Elliott, who rushed for 642 yards. He ran for 801 yards last season, but as Perry highlighted, Stevenson’s per rush average was just 3.9 compared to 4.5 for Gibson.
The knock on Stevenson was the fact that he seemed to dismiss his issues early on with ball security, especially after he got a little lucky early on when his team was the one recovering them. But it wasn’t long until that luck disappeared, exposing a problem that didn’t go away and remained a problem at various points last season.
Curran also pointed out that a trade would likely be the only option for New England to part with him, with Stevenson accounting for a $12 million hit in dead money if he was cut, which as Curran said, makes Stevenson “un-releasable.” A trade would make it a dead cap hit of just $1.6 million.
For a team with so many key needs, including offensive line, if another team comes forward and shows interest, it would be tough not to consider it, especially if it fell into the range of a 3rd or 4th round selection.
Either way, we’ll likely see things get interesting in the coming weeks, with the Patriots hopefully making some moves that will finally begin a turnaround for this football team heading into this season.
In the meantime, thanks for taking the time here this week. Hopefully, Steve will be better soon and you’ll see him step back in next weekend.
