Good morning, happy Sunday, and welcome back into another edition of ‘Patriots notes, quotes, & anecdotes’. After a week off for the 4th of July, we’re back with our column hitting on all of the happenings surrounding the New England Patriots.
Here we go:
— I think Bill Belichick’s time coaching football is complete.
This is strictly an opinion — but to me, everything that Bill Belichick has done since parting ways with the Patriots indicates that he’s done wearing a cutoff sweatshirt and hoodie on the sidelines.
Between Pat McAfee’s NFL Draft Spectacular, The Roast of Tom Brady, the Manning Passing Academy, and speaking at several different coaching clinics, the GOAT coach has kept himself busy — and seems to be content in what he’s doing.
Belichick also has several media gigs lined up for himself throughout this coming NFL season. He’s slated to be a regular guest on “The Pat McAfee Show” and an analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football “ManningCast”. Additionally, it was announced on Thursday that he’ll join Ryan Clark, Chris Long, and Chad Ochocinco on the CW’s weekly “Inside the NFL” program.
Former #Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is joining @insidetheNFL this season alongside Ryan Clark, Chris Long, and Chad Ochocinco: pic.twitter.com/AmfzOJFRw7
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) July 11, 2024
In the latest Page Six rumor mill surrounding Belichick’s love life, it was reported that his new girlfriend Jennifer Hudson has helped him realize “there’s more in life than just football“. That, mixed with his various media obligations, tells me that he’s closer to winning another Emmy than he is to breaking Don Shula’s wins record.
— Patriots make Hard Knocks cameo as Drake Maye makes a solid impression.
Over the last year, HBO’s Hard Knocks has expanded its coverage beyond just spotlighting training camp for NFL teams. In the latest edition, the all-access crew followed general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, and the New York Giants’ journey from the end of the 2023 season throughout the 2024 offseason.
During their NFL Draft prep, it became clear that despite confidence in quarterback Daniel Jones, Schoen was keeping his options open at signal caller. Not only did New York do their due diligence on the top QB prospects, but Schoen even spoke with Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf about a potential trade-up to pick No. 3.
“You wanna talk about something?” you can see Wolf ask Schoen as he approached New England’s suite at Indy’s Combine.
“Yeah, you got two seconds,” Schoen replied.
“Do this for me,” he asked. “If you guys are gonna do anything at [pick No.] 3, like move out at all… if you have any inkling, just call me…. Just keep me in the back of your mind.”
The Pats, of course, didn’t move the pick and opted to select Drake Maye. Maye also made a cameo in Ep. 2 of Hard Knocks, and seemed to impress Brian Daboll:
#Patriots QB Drake Maye makes a cameo on Hard Knocks: pic.twitter.com/DbQMey91Jl
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) July 10, 2024
For a guy who was deemed to be a “project” player who could have some difficulty picking up an NFL playbook, Maye looks pretty impressive in this, albeit small, clip.
— Roster moves:
While the Patriots haven’t made any official roster moves since our last column, they did agree to a contract extension with linebacker Jahlani Tavai.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, New England and the Hawaii alum agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract that’s worth up to $21 million with incentives. Tavai has emerged as one of the Pats’ top defenders over the last several seasons, and in 2023 notched career highs in tackles (110), tackles for loss (5), and interceptions (2).
— What’s up with Matthew Judon?
As we outlined this week in our linebackers version of Patriots Depth Projection, New England may have a problem on their hands with Matthew Judon.
After restructuring his contract last offseason, it’s been reported that the Patriots and Judon have returned to the negotiating table ahead of 2024. Most recently, FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna indicated that while New England has made an offer, the two sides “aren’t close” in negotiations, and Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard said on his podcast on Saturday that Judon is “not going to play under his current contract.” When asked about a potential extension via Twitter, Judon wrote that he “[doesn’t] think that’s about to happen.”
Ion think that’s about to happen
— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) July 3, 2024
Here’s my take on the Judon situation, regurgitated from Wednesday’s linebacker piece: If the 31-year-old is in New England’s plans for 2025 and beyond, then they should do everything they can to extend him — not just give him a raise. As I’ve said before, this isn’t a 2024 team, so just a raise for this coming season and having him walk away eventually for nothing is a waste of assets.
The Patriots are a 2025 team. If you don’t think Judon is a part of that future, then they should try to trade him and get something for him while they can.
Thanks for reading! We’ll talk to ya next week.
Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
