Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Wednesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
A few things to remember as New England breaks for summer vacation:
--No one got hurt this spring. This seems like a relatively minor thing, but every year around the league, there are always multiple injuries teams have to worry about because of spring work. While we don’t know about the long-term status of guys like Sony Michel, Deatrich Wise and Patrick Chung — three players who weren’t on the field when we had a chance to watch practice this spring — no one was carted off at any point, which is a plus for the Patriots.
--If you’re a Patriots fan, the fact Bill Belichick called off the last two practices is reason to be … encouraged. Belichick has lamented the lack of on-field practice time with players in the past, and so the idea of him forfeiting a pair of practices is noteworthy. It’s debatable to weigh how much might get done at a padless practice in June, but at the same time, it’s a sign from the coach that they were able to get everything accomplished they wanted to get accomplished. In all, the Patriots held a total of eight practices this spring, including five voluntary OTA sessions and three mandatory minicamp practices.
--Don’t think team-building is done. Six years ago this week, the Patriots added a backup quarterback of some note. He didn’t make it to the start of the regular season, but it’s a sign that even though we are about to head into a slow transactional period, the league never stops when it comes to personnel moves. Last year, New England made 10 moves between the start of June and the end of July, including new deals for James Develin and Joe Cardona, as well as the acquisition of wide receiver Paul Turner.
Now, on with the links…
1. In three months, Matt LaCosse has gone from being an under-the-radar free-agent pickup to one of the most compelling guys on the Patriots’ roster. I watched LaCosse all three days at minicamp last week — as well as every snap he took last year with the Broncos — in an attempt to find out more about the guy who is well-positioned to be the starting tight end for the Patriots come Week One.
2. The Texans and Patriots are set to battle for Nick Caserio, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
3. As for Bill O’Brien, he has nothing to say on he matter.
4. Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com ranks all 32 teams by their franchise quarterbacks. The Patriots are sixth, with Dallas, San Francisco, Green Bay, Indy and Denver in the top five.
5. Tom Brady checks in at No. 81 on Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid athletes.
From the looking-ahead-to-2020 NFL calendar:
* 2020 league year will begin March 18. Free-agent negotiating period starts March 16 (12 p.m. ET).
* 2020 NFL Draft, from Las Vegas, will take place April 23-25.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 11, 2019