PatsPropaganda

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Archives for July 27, 2020

Two Patriots opt-out of upcoming NFL season

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As reported first by Jarrett Bell for USA Today, newly acquired FB Danny Vitale is opting out of the upcoming season over Coronavirus safety fears. Guard Najee Toran has also taken the option to sit out the year.

To be honest, it’s hardly a surprise that Patriots players have exercised this option, but now the concern for coaching staff will be if more players follow. I hate to speculate, but rumors are also circulating that Marcus Cannon is considering his options regarding an opt-out.

Under the agreement, players who decide to opt-out of the season will be paid a stipend salary of $150,000.

The first NFL player to opt-out was Chiefs starting RG Duvernay-Tardif who has given up around $2.6 million to sit out the season and help the fight against COVID-19 in his local community.

By no means can you blame any player that decides to sit out the season, it’s a crazy world right now and football certainly isn’t the most important thing.

But as a football fan, it will be worth keeping an eye out for any further movement on this leading up to the opt-out deadline on August 3.

Hello from (Old) England!

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Growing up in the UK, you’d need to go out of your way to find the NFL.

I first discovered the Patriots during the 2012 season, It was the first time I’d followed a team for more than one regular-season game. The first game, a win over the Jets in OT thanks to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. The second, a 45-7 thrashing over the St Louis Rams when they played at Wembley Stadium. Oh, and do you remember Gronk’s changing of the guard TD spike before 84,000 British fans in London? I do, I was hooked.

Gronk spike at Wembley in 2012
Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

You know those awkward icebreaker introductions at the start of a job interview? Yep, here it comes.

I’m Tom Shaw-Mellors or ‘TSM’. I’m from Nottingham UK, home of the mighty Notts County FC (soccer fans if you look them up, yes, I’m aware they’re not very good). I’ve been away from writing since I finished my degree in Sports Journalism back in 2018. University was a great time for me to follow and understand the sport in greater depth, I also played 3 years for my college football team as an offensive tackle.

Due to the current situation going on in the world, I’ll be working from home until 2021. Luckily enough, I’ve been given this great opportunity to offer you all new Patriots content as we head into the 2020 training camp!

I’ll be providing content on current/future international players on the team, as well as offering an alternate viewpoint on the organization as a whole. We’ll also be covering breaking team news as it happens, because, as you all know, there’s never a dull moment following the Patriots.

You can follow me on Twitter @ShawMellors, and make sure you follow @patspropaganda for all of our content as soon as it’s posted!

2020 Season – L F G

The Patriots trim their roster putting their UDFA streak in question

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NFL Rumors: 'Nick Caserio Rule' among changes approved by owners ...
Image: Boston Globe 2018

Over the weekend, Bill Belichick and the Patriots released 10 players, trimming their roster to 80 players. Typically, Belichick would bring in 90 players into training camp, but this training camp will look a little different, for obvious reasons.

On July 24th, the NFL and the NFLPA came to an agreement in which teams had to reduce their rosters to 80 players by August, 16th. However, with training camp rapidly approaching, Bill Belichick wasted no time in reaching that 80 player mark. This might not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to evaluating talent, and finding those hidden gems it makes all the difference in the world. Especially with this current Patriots roster, with a lot of competition and unknowns with the front-7.

For the past 16 years, at least one undrafted rookie free agent has made the Patriots week 1 roster. For nearly two decades, it’s been one of the safest bets in sports, and has become one of Bill Belichick’s biggest strengths. He identifies talent like nobody else, and that is why he has been able to have success for nearly 20 years. Guys like Brian Hoyer, Brandon Bolden, Malcolm Butler, David Andrews, Jonathan Jones, Adam Butler, and J.C. Jackson all came from the undrafted ranks. Belichick has really thrived in finding the forgotten talent, but he may struggle to keep the streak alive this season.

On Saturday, the Patriots released veteran cornerback Lenzy Pipkins, and on Sunday they released an additional 9 players, including seven undrafted free agents. Quarterbacks Brian Lewerke and J’Mar Smith, wide receivers Isaiah Zuber, Sean Riley and Will Hastings, defensive tackle Courtney Wallace, linebacker Kyahva Tezino, and safeties Adarius Pickett and Malik Grant were all let go by the Patriots.

After these cuts the Patriots only have eight UDFA’s on their roster. Running back JJ Taylor, tight ends Jake Burt and Rashod Berry, wide receiver Jeff Thomas, defensive end Nick Coe, defensive tackle Bill Murray, linebacker De’Jon Harris, and cornerback Myles Bryant are the last remaining UDFA’s on the Patriots’ roster.

With training camp around the corner, will any of these eight players stick on the week 1 roster? Well, with the competition at the running back and wide receiver positions it seem like too much of an uphill battle for JJ Taylor and Jeff Thomas. The Patriots drafted two tight ends in the draft, and still have Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo, so I’m not in love with Burt or Berry’s chances to make the roster. The depth at cornerback is probably the biggest strength of this Patriots team, so Myles Bryant won’s sniff the roster.

So, that leaves defensive end Nick Coe, defensive tackle Bill Murray, and linebacker De’Jon Harris.

Defensive end Nick Coe played his collegiate career at Auburn, and finished his career with 71 tackles, nine sacks, and two forced fumbles. Coe was scouted and projected to be a 3-4 defensive end, and his long-arms and length really are his best traits. Coe will be fighting for a roster spot with Nick Thurman and Deatrich Wise Jr. With the Patriots continued support of Deatrich Wise over the last couple of seasons, I would be surprised if Belichick axed him in 2020. Especially in a season with a lot of question marks, Wise provides the Patriots with safety and security.

Defensive tackle Bill Murray played at William & Murray, and was a three-year starter. He recorded 143 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles. On top of that, he had an impact on special teams, as he blocked 10 kicks. His 4.93 40-time was his most notable achievement at the NFL combine. His strength is in run defense, but he has shown the ability to chase down the quarterback. Murray will be in competition with Byron Cowhart and Beau Allen for the right to backup Adam Butler. I like Murray’s chances to make the squad, as I would pin point him as the UDFA that is most likely to keep the streak alive. With Adam Butler being most effective as an interior pass-rusher, Murray could get a serious look when it comes to stopping the run. The Patriots need all the help they can get on the interior part of their defensive line. Losing Danny Shelton was a substantial loss, and Murray could slide into his shoes.

Linebacker De’Jon Harris played at Arkansas, and was mostly used as an off-the-ball linebacker. Harris finished his collegiate career with 371 tackles, seven and a half sacks, and four forced fumbles. His senior season he was named All-SEC second team. The linebacker group for the Patriots is filled with question marks, so who knows how it’ll play out. Harris will duke it out with Cassh Maluia, Derek Rivers, and Shilique Calhoun for a position as an inside linebacker. It’s tough to predict how the linebacker position will unfold, but if Harris has a good camp he can easily skate on this roster. The linebacker position is as open as any position on the roster.

As training camp begins to get underway keep an eye on Coe, Murray, and Harris, as they look to make it onto the week 1 roster.