New England Patriots links 6/15/18 - Fullback, long-snapper positions big deals to Belichick

TEAM TALK

• Don Banks ranks how the league stacks up from 2010-2017, based on regular-season winning percentage. “The 17-game gap that separates No. 1 New England and No. 2 Pittsburgh in term of regular-season wins is by far the largest gap between any two consecutive clubs in the rankings.”
• Angelique Fiske reports the Patriots donated tablets to a Boston after-school program and Jordan Matthews, Malcolm Mitchell, Nicholas Grigsby and Jason King spent Wednesday afternoon testing new apps with the kids.
• Fishing with Ted Karras: Tagging along with OL Ted Karras and his dad Ted on a fishing trip in Falmouth as part of a recent New England Patriots Alumni Club fundraiser. (2.20 min. video)
• From NFL Network - Ian Rapoport breaks down who has the edge in the Patriots’ running back competition. (1.20 min. video)
• PFW in Progress 6/14: Post OTA talk. (2 hour program)
• Cover 2 Podcast: Don Banks and Nick Stevens recap each AFC East team’s offseason from the perspective of those that cover them. (1 hour)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss lets us know the Patriots and Pro Bowl FB James Develin are close to finalizing a two-year contract extension, a source confirmed Thursday.
• Mark Daniels passes along reports that the Patriots were nearing extensions with FB James Develin and LS Joe Cardona. Both players were set to become unrestricted free agents next offseason.
• Alex Reimer says, “Hey! Look at the Steelers!”
• Doug Kyed addresses his Patriots Mailbag: Question marks abound ahead of training camp.
• Karen Guregian says Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Tom Brady will air Sunday morning.
• Lucy Burdge posts a clip of Tom Brady talking to Oprah about ‘taking a knee’ and how it affected the locker room.
• Joshua Schrock notes James Harrison on why some players have issues with Bill Belichick. “Discipline. That’s the big thing.”
• Mark Daniels writes about the lighter moments of this year’s offseason program, where players were caught having fun.
• Ryan Hannable is afraid Bill Belichick was trying to awkwardly force fun onto his team in response to offseason criticism. /Thought about bringing back the dumpster for this one.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Joe Cardona gets four-year extension with Patriots.
• Christian D’Andrea and Alex Rubenstein (SB Nation) The universe keeps robbing us of Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers in the Super Bowl. /Brady’s been doing his part.
• Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) All-Under-25 Team. /I peeked, no Pats.
• Sean Wagner-McGough (CBS Sports) Top 30 NFL players 30 and over: Tom Brady leads the list, Geno Atkins best non-QB.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Coaches, General Managers may worry less during summer break.
• Conor Orr (SI) $100 on the Browns to win the Super Bowl: Legal NFL gambling opens in New Jersey.