New England Patriots links 5/06/22 - Room for excitement: Linebackers who can rush AND cover

TEAM TALK

• Transactions: Patriots release LB Terez Hall.
• Erik Scalavino takes a look ahead to the Patriots regular season opponents for 2022.
• Mike Dussault catches up with veteran cornerback Terrance Mitchell, who brings needed outside cornerback experience to the Patriots.
• Alexandra Francisco tells us Mac Jones’ jersey sales cracked the top five in the NFL.
• Press Conference: Terrance Mitchell. (7 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered 5/5: Final takeaways from the draft, New England’s scouting philosophy. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Patriots news and NFL Notes. 1) The more we hear about first-round pick Cole Strange, it’s hard not to get a little excited about the idea of pairing him up with center David Andrews for what should be a nasty offensive line duo in 2022.
• Greg Dudek NFL Rumors: Matt Groh, not Bill Belichick, ran the majority of the Patriots draft.
• Karen Guregian hears from CB Terrance Mitchell, who already sounds like the president of the Patriots Fan Club.
• Chris Mason highlights Terrance Mitchell: Joining the Patriots is like ‘being at the toy store’ and ‘getting a whole bunch of toys.’
• Richie Whitt (Patriots Country) Can undersized Marcus Jones fill big role for Patriots? The kick-returner from Houston fits the mold of several successful NFL stars.
• Hayden Bird finds Jerod Mayo excited for the ‘unknown’ of coaching a younger group of Patriots linebackers: “I think we have some guys that Pats nation, they haven’t even heard of probably.”
• Henry McKenna (Patriots Wire) Jerod Mayo: LB room has chance to ‘really grow and develop’ after departure of veterans.
• Kevin Tame Jr. (Patriots Country) Patriots positional preview: RBs - Why did New England draft two more?
• Phil Perry takes a stab at the Patriots’ depth chart to determine projected starters for 2022.
• Tim Crowley notes Pierre Strong Jr. made a highlight reel play earlier in 2022 with new teammate Matt Judon looking on.
• Zack Cox addresses his Friday Patriots Mailbag: Which young LBs will step up after the draft; Plus: How will the Patriots’ cornerback battle shake out?
• Cole Thompson (Patriots Country) Which rookie is Patriots best “value” pick in 2022?
• Arnav Sharma (Patriots Country) Retro grade: Did Patriots 2019 draft justify hype?
• Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Could Patriots still sign Trey Flowers in NFL free agency? More.
• Tom E. Curran surveys the free agency landscape to see who might be a sneaky post-draft addition for the Pats.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriots Country) How does release of Terez Hall affect LBs?
• Karen Guregian reports former LB Kyle Van Noy, released by the team in March, signed with the L.A. Chargers, and the Patriots released LB Terez Hall with a failed physical designation.
• Evan Lazar posts profiles of the Patriots’ top three picks: Cole Strange - Tyquan Thornton - Marcus Jones.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriots Country) Report: Patriots to hire veteran Buccaneers scout in ‘senior role.’
• CBS Boston relays Brad Stevens describing his relationship with Bill Belichick.
• Patriots Beat podcast: Evan Lazar and Alex Barth talk Patriots draft and take questions. (79 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Seth Walder (ESPN) Ranking the best in-draft trades and why the Eagles should not have traded up to No. 13. /Interesting read.
• Nick Shook (NFL.com) Top 10 games of the 2022 NFL season. No Patriots games included, lolz.
• Lance Zierlein (NFL.com) 2023 NFL Draft: Compensatory pick projections for every team. Patriots: 2 picks (Round 3 for J.C. Jackson and Round 6 for Ted Karras.)
• Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports) Ranking the top 10 instant impact rookies for the 2022 NFL season. No Pats.
• Josh Edwards (CBS Sports) 2022 NFL Draft: Most questionable picks by all 32 teams. Patriots: WR Tyquan Thornton. “Will Mac Jones hit him on Go routes? He is unpolished in other phases of the game, so it was a surprising choice.”
• Jared Dubin (CBS Sports) 2022 NFL Draft: How teams with young QBs helped them, from Jets, Steelers adding talent to Bears adding little. “The Patriots did their typical Patriots thing, taking an offensive lineman they obviously like but who is not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea. ...”
• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) Best fits for Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones & 7 other players still available after the 2022 NFL Draft. No one to the Pats.
• Tim Kelly (Audacy) NFL Power Rankings: Where does each team stand after draft? Patriots 15th.
• Conor Orr (SI) Opinion: With the Browns investigation, the NFL just approved a manual for tanking: Why every player now needs to know exactly what’s in his coach’s contract.
• Jake Trotter (ESPN) Baker Mayfield still in limbo with Cleveland Browns: How did he get here, and what’s next?
• Madison Williams (SI) Those ‘close to’ Baker Mayfield wonder if Browns sabotaged him, per report.