New England Patriots links 4/02/19 - Gronk won’t be ‘pulling a Favre’ in retirement

TEAM TALK

• Patriots sign OT Cedrick Lang.
• Rob Rang’s Draft Position Profiles: Running Back.
• John Rooke’s View from Above: New rules, but are we April fools?
• NFL offseason workout program dates announced for Phases One, Two and Three.
• The NFL reports Stephen Gostkowski will be among four NFL players taking part in the NFL-USO tour to South Korea to visit U.S. troops and their families at military bases.
• Angelique Fiske shares a second grader’s letter to Tom Brady that says it all.
• Patriots Unfiltered’s Draft prospect review: Running backs (16.20 min.) - Wide receivers (23.33 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Zack Cox reports the Patriots offseason schedule was announced: Key dates for OTAs, minicamp.
• Matt Dolloff passes along a report that the Patriots will give Michael Bennett a raise while freeing up $700K in cap space with a restructured contract.
• Kevin Duffy reports the Patriots signed free agent OT Cedrick Lang, continuing the low-key offseason for New England.
• Matt Vautour tells us why New England shouldn’t draft or trade for a quarterback this offseason.
• Ryan Hannable shares 3 Patriots thoughts with just under a month left until NFL draft. 1. Add a bunch of wide receivers.
• Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) How will Belichick rebuild defensive coaching staff?
• Evan Lazar’s best Patriots draft fits: Interior defensive line.
• Phil Perry gives us some tight end names to know in the NFL Draft in a post-Gronk world.
• Mike Reiss highlights longtime personnel execs Gil Brandt and Ernie Accorsi on Rob Gronkowski’s complete game and clutch plays when comparing him to other NFL greats.
• Tom E. Curran shares his ‘strange but true Gronk encounter’ on a rainy Sunday in Southie. /Hint: Gronk will not be un-retiring.
• Sean T. McGuire touches on some of the ways Rob Gronkowski impacted the community where he lived.
• NFL Throwback (YouTube) Rob Gronkowski’s powerful career highlights! (10.07 min. video)
• Zack Cox NFL Rumors: Patriots hosting potential Patrick Chung successor for pre-draft visit, Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram.
• Darren Hartwell updates his Patriots draft prospects tracker: Notable players to meet with New England.
• 98.5 the Sports Hub looks at the best free agents left for the Patriots as we hit the 2019 league year.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Patriots should hop into trade market for Browns DE Emmanuel Ogbah.
• Ryan Hannable highlights Bill Belichick’s appearance on Mike Krzyzewski’s show, acknowledging he heard negativity towards the Patriots last season.
• Adam London recaps the great Twitter exchange between Tom Brady and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
• Steve Burton reports the first-ever TB12 Team gears up for the Boston Marathon, with everyone training like Tom Brady.
• Darren Hartwell reiterates how Bill Belichick was “especially vocal” at the NFL owners meetings about giving coaches more time with players.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Patriots give Michael Bennett the new contract he wanted.
• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: Nick Bosa’s pre-draft tour continues, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry are teammates once again.
• Andrew Brandt (SI) Business of Football: The value of NFL veterans falls, replay expansion is good and why does Gronk get a pass?
• Brent Sobleski (Bleacher Report) Biggest NFL offseason questions that will be answered in the draft: What piece(s) will the Patriots add to offset Rob Gronkowski’s loss?
• Michael Renner (Pro Football Focus) Best 2019 NFL Draft player fits for each team in the AFC East.
• Jim Trotter (NFL.com) Veteran NFL head coaches offer advice for rookie counterparts.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Regrading the 2016 NFL Draft: Patriots drop from B- to D.
• Experts (ESPN) 2019 NFL Power Rankings: Post-free agency status reports for all 32 teams. Patriots No. 3.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL needs to pay its referees more money.
• Danny Kelly (The Ringer) NFL Mock Draft 4.0. Pats pick Iowa TE Noah Fant.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Meg O’Connor (The Appeal) Florida woman faced 10 years for ‘Meth’ that was ‘just a rock’: A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case. /This is troubling.