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.
This got me thinking: If the Patriots were going to have a run-off to determine the fastest guy on the roster, who would win?
New England has always prized quickness ahead of straight-line speed, but the Pats have their share of burners. Matthew Slater was a high school track star, ran a 4.44 40 as a collegian, and even though he’s 33, he’s in my Top 5. I’d put Phillip Dorsett (who ran a 4.33 40 at the combine a few years ago), Jonathan Jones (4.33), Josh Gordon (4.30) and Keion Crossen (4.32) up there as well. Also impressed by the speed of Braxton Berrios (4.44) and Damoun Patterson (4.49) during the recently concluded minicamp. (For what it’s worth, Devin McCourty was a 4.41 and Jason McCourty was a 4.3. Meanwhile, Julian Edelman was 4.52 as a collegian, and Sony Michel was a 4.54 at Georgia.)
Now, on with the links…
1. Another terrific Q&A is in the books. Check it out here.
2. The Patriots called off the last two OTA sessions of the spring.
3. The Texans officially requested permission to interview Nick Caserio. In that same vein, this is a really good look from Houston's John McClain on the growing influence of former Patriots' character coach Jack Easterby has had in his short time with the Texans.
4. Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY has comments from a toned-down Chase Winovich, who says he’s not going to be as vocal as he was as a collegian — not as a rookie, anyway. “I don’t know if it’s so much the Patriots,” Winovich told Bell. “I’m a rookie. Being vocal, especially in the media, being a blinking light, is not what I aim to be right now. My goal is to make the 53-man roster and contribute to this team in a positive way.”
5. Bell also has a really nice look at Ben Watson’s return to New England.
#Patriots dipped into the backup QB market six years ago today. Whatever became of that guy? pic.twitter.com/axhT29bYjA
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) June 10, 2019