New England Patriots links 3/12/19 - NFL Free agency frenzy begins: Belichick sips tea

TEAM TALK

• Patriots 2019 Free Agent Tracker.
• Patriots 2019 Mock Draft Tracker.
• Andy Hart passes along reports that Trey Flowers is headed for Detroit and Trent Brown will be going to the Raiders, both players leaving for big money.
• Erik Scalavino’s Free Agent Forecast: Linebacker.
• John Rooke’s View from Above: Making sense out of pure nonsense.
• Andy Hart previews the frenzy and money throwing that comes when the new NFL league year, and the opening of free agency that comes with it, hits on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.
• From NFL Network - Mike Giardi explains how Rob Gronkowski’s future will impact who the Patriots will target in free agency. (1.29 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Kevin Duffy says the beginning of free agency is off to a familiar start, with a ton of cash being thrown around, while the Patriots haven’t even touched their wallet.
• Tom E. Curran writes how “players who’ve been through New England get pixie dust sprinkled on their helmets. Flowers isn’t just a productive, young, versatile player who does everything very well, he’s also been coached hard and performed in the biggest games. Amendola isn’t just a smart, tough receiver with ridiculous hands and body control. He’s Danny ‘PLAYOFF’ Amendola.”
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots not unexpectedly bid adieu to Flowers, Brown.
• Karen Guregian believes the solution for losing Trey Flowers will come in a draft loaded with elite pass rushers.
• Phil Perry breaks down what the Pats will be missing with Trey Flowers’ departure: Michael Bennett won’t be able to do everything Flowers did — on or off the field.
• Matt Dolloff doesn’t see a clear replacement for Trey Flowers and says the Patriots will be leaning on Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers and other edge rushers on the roster to improve.
• Michael Hurley notes Trey Flowers joins a long list of players whose value has been absolutely maximized by Bill Belichick and the Patriots coaching staff before that player is set free to make truck loads of money elsewhere.
• Nick O’Malley takes a look at how well the Patriots free agents who left for a big payday, have done after they leave.
• Andrew Callahan talks about the Patriots’ next moves after losing Trey Flowers and Trent Brown.
• Karen Guregian isn’t worried that the Patriots didn’t break the bank to keep Trent Brown.
• Phil Perry reminds us the Patriots have last year’s first-round pick, Isaiah Wynn, already on the roster to fill Trent Brown’s position.
• Mike Reiss calls attention to the ‘Scarnecchia Effect’ that helps Patriots offensive linemen cash in; Even if the humble man himself might disagree, the results are indeed impressive.
• Zack Cox explains what Josh Gordon’s reported RFA tender means for both him and the Patriots.
• Nick Goss notes that in the regular season, opposing quarterbacks had a 61.2 completion percentage against the Patriots, which was the second-lowest mark in the league. New England also surrendered the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt (6.9) in the league.
• Zack Cox notes that even Rob Gronkowski’s agent doesn’t know Gronk’s plans for 2019.
• Phil Perry points out how the compensatory pick equation is a big part of the Patriots offseason wheeling and dealing.
• Nick O’Malley gives us a full list of trades, cuts, and Patriots rumors on Day 2 of legal tampering.
• Nick Goss NFL Rumors: Patriots outbid by Titans for free agent WR Adam Humphries.
• Tony Massarotti implores the Patriots to reward Julian Edelman with a new contract.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) Patriots don’t need to make $66M splash on Trent Brown to show why they dominate transaction game.
• Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Patriots place low restricted tender on Josh Gordon ($2.025M).
• William C. Rhoden (ESPN) DE Bennett calls Belichick the ‘Yoda of football’.
• Danny Kelly (The Ringer) NFL free agency superlatives: The good, the bad, and the ugly from the league’s spending spree.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) 2019 NFL free agency: Biggest takeaways from a wild start.
• Bill Barnwell (ESPN) 2019 NFL free-agency and trade grades: Tracking every big signing and move.
• Conor Orr (SI) NFL free agency grades 2019: Best and worst moves.
• Will Brinson (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL Free Agency Day 1: Breaking down the winners and losers.
• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: Impressive deal for Nick Foles, Landon Collins aids in Tyrann Mathieu’s fortunes; More NFL news.
• Staff (SB Nation) Fixing the biggest offseason needs for all 32 NFL teams. Patriots: Upgrading Tom Brady’s list of targets.
• Robert Mays (The Ringer) The 10 best defensive players in 2019 NFL free agency.
• Robert Klemko (SI) NFL Agents Poll: What are the best and worst landing spots for free agents?
• Adam Teicher (ESPN) It’s ‘a stressful time’ for many first-time NFL free agents.
• Staff (ESPN) Who’s set to spend big? 2019 NFL salary-cap space for all 32 teams.
• Kevin Kaduk (Yahoo! Sports) Read and React: NFL free agency is already almost over.
• Dave Archibald (Inside The Pylon) Ball velocity is bunk: why ball velocity measurements for QBs at the Combine aren’t a helpful predictor of NFL success.