TEAM TALK
- Patriots formally announce the signing of eight veteran free agents.
- Angelique Fiske helps us get to know new Patriots receiver Marqise Lee.
- Paul Perillo profiles third-round tight end Devin Asiasi.
LOCAL LINKS
- Mike Reiss breaks down the Patriots 90-man roster by position to see where it stands.
- Andy Hart and Ryan Hannable project a very-early Patriots 53-man roster projection, including the usual UDFA.
- .Chris Mason’s Patriots roster projection: How New England’s positional depth chart looks after the draft.
- Michael Holley writes how Bill Belichick’s decisions in this year’s draft prove, once again, that he values defense and special teams above all. “if any coach in the league was going to ignore a historic draft class of receivers, it was going to be this one.”
- Ricky Doyle notes Peter King was “mystified” at the Patriots decision not to draft a single wide receiver.
- Adam London highlights ESPN Insider Seth Walder on how the Patriots made the second-best trade during the 2020 draft, dealing their first-round pick to the Chargers. Pats won that trade handily.
- CBS Boston relays a report suggesting it was necessary for the Patriots to make their move with the 37th pick to select Kyle Dugger. /We need an outside report to verify?
- Zack Cox notes college coach Drew Cronic expected Kyle Dugger to be a second-round draft pick. But he didn’t expect the safety to hear his called quite as early as he did.
- Ryan Hananble hears from a teammate to explain just how good Kyle Dugger was at Lenoir-Rhyne and not just defensively.
- Zack Cox mentions Kyle Dugger’s legendary punt-return ability.
- Jacob Camenker tells us about how Kyle Dugger once sparked Lenoir-Rhyne with two big punt returns.
- Evan Lazar lays out how the Patriots got draftable talents in undrafted QBs Ja’Mar Smith and Brian Lewerke
- Doug Kyed’s Friday Patriots Mailbag: How high are Pats on Jarrett Stidham at quarterback?
- Andy Hart’s Fast Friday 5: Andy Dalton a no-win option for Patriots
- Darren Hartwell ranks all 16 Patriots matchups on the 2020 schedule by difficulty and intrigue.
- Darren Hartwell looks at the pros and cons of voting Bill Parcells into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
- Christopher Smith passes along a report that the NFL is discussing some Saturday games if the 2020 college football season is postponed.
- Jacob Camenker points out stats show Andy Dalton is among the league’s best in this area: engineering close wins in the fourth quarter. /you mean, when he’s not throwing INTs?
- Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and Steve Balestrieri talk Patriots undrafted free agents and the Andy Dalton rumors. (38 min.) /Mike & Steve are a couple of anti-Daltite bastards.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The nine NFL teams with the biggest roster holes left to fill. Patriots: QB.
- Ben Glicksman (The Ringer) The Bengals cut Andy Dalton. Is he bound for the Patriots?
- Conor Orr (SI) Seven NFL rookies who are under pressure to perform quickly.
- RJ White (CBS Sports) Ranking all 29 trades, from Saints’ questionable moves to affordable Round 1 deals and more.
- Bill Barnwell (ESPN) 2020 NFL draft surprises: Why did the Packers, Eagles draft quarterbacks?
- Josh Edwards (CBS Sports) Each team’s best undrafted free agent signing. Patriots: Arizona RB J.J. Taylor.
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (USA Today) 8 NFL players still in flux after draft.
- Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Rookies face rocky transition with unclear offseason, but don’t lower expectations just yet.
- Gil Brandt (NFL.com) NFL’s top 10 QB-WR pairings for 2020. /No Pats? Outrage!
- Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports) Day 3 picks who can be instant impact rookies. No Pats.
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Kyle Shanahan had a “fun” chat with Jimmy Garoppolo after Tom Brady discussion.
- Sarah Barshop (ESPN) Brandin Cooks: Being traded three times shows ‘I’m wanted’. /Umm...
- Elizabeth Smith with Stephania Bell (ESPN) Alex Smith’s comeback — inside the fight to save the QB’s leg and life.
- Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) NFL changes May league meeting to virtual format.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL’s recent memo regarding pay cuts has unclear impact on employees with contracts. /Bet there’s a loophole in the league’s favor somewhere in there.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Troy Vincent: NFL won’t take coronavirus tests that could be used by the general public.