First and 10: Mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday morning; Happy Birthday, Kevin Faulk

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

A couple of things to start your day...



--Mandatory minicamp is slated to start Tuesday morning. There will be three practices -- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday -- and media will have access to all three. The schedule is as follows.

11 a.m. — Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick media availability (practice field)
11:25 a.m. — Practice
1:30 p.m. — Approximate end of practice and start of player availability

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are both expected to be in attendance. Not sure if this means the Patriots will have their full roster -- there are apparently still players working through health issues on both sides of the ball -- but this week will likely be as complete a look at the roster as we're going to get this offseason. Team BSJ will be in attendance with plenty of updates, as well as video.

--It's Kevin Faulk's birthday. You guys are probably aware of the fact that I'm a Kevin Faulk apologist -- he was a terrific player for the franchise for such a long time, and a tremendous leader. You guys know the numbers and the big-time performances in the big games. But since I started covering the team in 2001, there have been few players who have commanded respect among his teammates like he did -- most of the time, the offensive guys stick with the offense, while the defensive guys do the same. But Faulk crossed over -- everyone listened to him when he spoke. (For what it's worth, he was also great with us in the media.) Anyway, enjoy this highlight video of his work.

--In addition, offensive lineman James Ferentz turns 29 on Tuesday. Expect him to be in the mix this year for a backup offensive line spot. And fellow offensive lineman Matt Tobin turns 28 -- another guy who will be part of the offensive line conversation.

Now, on with the links...

1. Greg has a dynamite breakdown of a suddenly crowded wide receiver field here. I have looked at wide receivers -- at least in the New England offense -- like baseball managers view pitchers, in that you stock up on one or two extras because something will inevitably happen. One will get hurt, one won't click with Brady, and so on. To some extent, that appears to be the Patriots' thought process this year.

2. I had a terrific Q&A. You want to know my barometer for what makes a good weekly chat? When people bring a question that makes me really think, causes me to look up a stat or a fact, or sparks an idea for a potential column/story. (Love the question that compared the Tom House/Tom Martinez history vs. Alex Guerrero in the context of what's happening now in Foxborough.) All three of those marks were hit in Monday's Q&A. Excellent work, BSJ commenters.

3. I talked Patriots with the guys from 92.9 The Ticket in Maine.

4. A host of ESPN writers offer a minicamp primer of what to watch for across the league. When it comes to the Patriots, Mike Reiss offers his take on the biggest storyline of the week: "Welcome back, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The two captains haven't been participating in the Patriots' voluntary offseason program, but owner Robert Kraft said he expected them both to be present at mandatory minicamp."

5. Mike also has a look at Brady's return to the practice field.

6. Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston wonders what sort of workload Brady and Gronkowski will have at minicamp. "No matter how you slice it, though, Brady and Gronkowski's absences have left Belichick in a difficult spot," says Perry. "If at minicamp Brady and Gronkowski hit the field as though they've been around all along, they'll be rewarded with time they've willingly eschewed for weeks. Still, allowing Brady and Gronkowski to practice normally, burying the issue now that they're back, and moving forward . . . that seems to be what's best for both Belichick and his team."

7. Bill Barnwell of ESPN tries to play matchmaker when it comes to the remaining free agents and some teams who still need some tweaking. He writes the Patriots would be the best fit for cornerback Delvin Breaux: "The risk-reward ratio for Breaux is enormous," writes Barnwell. "Given his injury history, it's difficult to imagine Breaux commanding more than a one-year, $2 million deal. His upside, though, is as a legitimate starting cover corner in a league in which those often cost $10 million per season in free agency. The Patriots have a track record of taking shots on similarly talented players, and while they traded for Jason McCourty and drafted Duke Dawson this offseason, Bill Belichick has a way of finding uses for talented cornerbacks."

8. The "Good Morning Football" crew says Gronkowski is in the conversation when you're talking about the most unstoppable player in the league.

9. Justis Mosqueda of Bleacher Report looks at the biggest risk every NFL team is taking in 2018. When it comes to the Patriots, it's inexperience at left tackle.

10. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer revealed some things about Belichick and his coaching methodology over the weekend -- namely, what sort of prospect he looks for. “Bill Belichick will come in, and he’ll ask me two questions: ‘What kind of teammate is he, and how does he perform in the big games?’” Meyer said while speaking at a high school football camp. “He doesn’t ask me how he runs around in shorts and T-shirts and what’s his (40) time and those types of things.”

Extra Point:

Dwight Clark was one of my idols growing up in San Mateo. I was lucky enough to be at the game where my hero Joe Montana perfectly placed the game winning throw/catch to Dwight in the corner of the end zone to beat the cowboys in the 1981 season. I was 4 years old and cried to my parents the entire first half because I couldn’t see the field when the grown ups would stand and scream for the 49ers. I got a chance to meet him when we happened to share the same orthodontist in San Mateo and I sabotaged one of his visits just to meet him and shake his hand. He was incredibly gracious to me that day as a young boy. And I never forgot the impact he made on me as all of our heroes do. I am sad tonight hearing of his passing of ALS but I know he is now resting and at peace finally after many years valiantly fighting such a terrible disease. Thank you for the great memories and RIP! ??

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jun 4, 2018 at 4:34pm PDT