First and 10: No more color rush uniforms? Plus, thoughts on Andrew Luck, Josh McDaniels, Alan Branch and more

Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.

Three thoughts to get you started this morning as the draft clock continues to tick down:



--This had to have something to do with why Josh McDaniels didn't take the Indy job. Whether he was reminded of in his last-ditch series of meetings with Bill Belichick or a vibe he got from the people in Indy, you can't convince me that the uncertainty around Andrew Luck's shoulder didn't play a partial role in his decision to ditch the Colts. And now it's clear Luck's shoulder may not be right for a long, long time. I have to say that it kind of bums me out a bit, because the NFL is a better place when the Patriots and Colts are good at the same time. But that might not to be the case for another few years.

--Brock Holt can walk up to whatever Whitney Houston song he wants. It doesn't matter. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is always going to remind me of The Alan Branch Dance Party. There was also this from our buddy Martellus Bennett.



For what it's worth, the 33-year-old Branch is still a free agent. The last confirmed sighting of the big fella? At Panda Express in The Mall of America the morning of the Super Bowl.

--It sounds like there will be no more Color Rush uniforms. In New England, it never got as bad as this, but this means say goodbye to the all-whites from last year in Tampa and the blue-on-blue the Patriots sported twice (once last season against the Falcons and once in 2016 vs. the Texans). I'm weirdly a little sad about this, but in truth, it clears the way for something the NFL should have been doing all along: Throwback Thursday. Make every team who plays on "Thursday Night Football" wear their old unis. This idea makes way too much sense not to happen.

Now, on with the links:

1. Greg deliver an epic piece, detailing the two moves he believes would take the Patriots' offseason from solid to stunning.

2. I spent some quality time with former Belichick lieutenant Phil Savage, who detailed a bunch of interesting stuff on the Patriots, their draft approach, and two guys who popped who might end up being targets of the New England front office come draft weekend. Some good info in here.

3. I had a marathon Q&A that covered a ton of good stuff. So many great questions in here, some of which are probably going to be turned into either full-length stories or pieces for the weekend notebook. The BSJ commenters really delivered on Tuesday. (I'm also weirdly haunted by the Tom Brady picture we used.)

4. Miguel has a look at the addition of wide receiver Jordan Matthews, and says it has the potential to be a low-risk, high-reward signing.

5. Phil Perry looks at two BSJ favorites, Rashaan Evans and Leighton Vander Esch, and how they might fit in Foxborough as potential Patriots.

6. Missed this from a week or so ago, but Gisele said she's not going to push Brady into retirement. "It’s not my decision to make. It’s his decision, and he knows it. It wouldn’t be fair any other way."

7. Nice story from Mike Reiss here about Derek Rivers and an impressive act of charity from the young man.

8. Good profile here of UCLA's Josh Rosen, who should go in the top 3 of this year's draft. He wants to be nothing less than the best of all-time. "I want to be the winningest QB in NFL history. I want to win the most games and most championships. I'd say six titles, but if Tom Brady gets six, I'll say seven."

9. Robert Kraft visited Meek Mill in prison.

10. It looks like the Patriots aren't going to have to worry about facing Buffalo's Richie Incognito in 2018.