Welcome to the Two-Minute Drill, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related offseason news you need to start your week. Grab your mochaccino or whatever, and let's boogie...
___________________
So there was an interesting development this weekend on the Tom Brady front.
And, at least to me, it was very ominous and not great if you're hoping Brady will return to the Patriots.
Field Yates of ESPN posted a text thread on Sunday evening and it doesn't appear it has gained a lot of traction, but it made me sit up.
Here's the thread:
Why did this make me think that Brady could indeed be a longshot to return to the Patriots?
Well, for a couple of reasons, starting with who it came from.
Field Yates was on the Patriots beat for a few seasons before landing at the ESPN Mothership for fantasy sports. He's tremendously talented and was well-respected and well-liked by everyone.
More importantly, he worked for four years with the Patriots in scouting and coaching before that and he's been close to the Belichick family for years from the days on Nantucket. Those are just facts.
Most importantly: regardless of his background, he bats 1.000 on his Patriots information. I can't recall a time when he was wrong on anything, and he breaks a lot of Patriots news, usually of the small-ish variety but that's the Patriots beat.
So when it comes to Field and Patriots news, I believe this: it's right, and it's (at least usually) from the Patriots' coaching/front office staff perspective.
So what does that mean in regards to Brady?
His thread is telling us, if I'm reading this correctly, that the Patriots (in their minds) made Brady a legit multi-year offer last season, something that would be news to me — I haven't heard that. Maybe it was an offer to the Patriots, but I doubt Brady saw it that way and that's why we haven't heard about it — it wasn't legitimate to Brady.
The big thing is, this report is telling us the Patriots (Belichick) don't think they need to call or meet with Brady. They feel they made him their offer last offseason, and they're not modifying it. Basically, they're putting the ball completely in Brady's court, in essence saying, "You know where we stand on all this, go see what your market is and if you feel like calling us back after that, great. If not, best of luck to you."
I can't see the Brady camp reacting well to this and it could push Brady further out the door, if he wasn't there already (Jeff Darlington has basically said he is).
I think the Yates thread was significant and states exactly where things stand with Brady from Belichick's perspective, but it's interesting that it hasn't gotten that much attention.
Anyways...
2. Adding to this feeling that Brady is being pushed out the door by the Patriots, Tom Curran says Robert Kraft won't intercede on Brady's contract. We'll see about that, but this further shifts the blame game to Brady if he walks out the door. Between Yates and Curran, I wouldn't expect the Brady camp to be happy with the Patriots right now. They could view it as a coordinated effort. And, yes, all this stuff matters.
3. Charlie Weis said he's been texting with Brady who told his former coach, "Nobody knows anything."
5a. I had my first full mock draft, and I couldn't pass up an ideal fit for the Patriots on defense, even with the needs on offense.
5b. I had a mammoth chat on Saturday. Some really good questions in there, as usual.
Around the NFL
6. The Bills added CB Josh Norman on a one-year deal. That's a very good signing for them and makes them a bigger threat in the AFC East. Norman slumped with the Redskins, but so does everyone. Now he's going back to the coach and scheme that made him one of the league's best. He should be a perfect No. 2 CB to Tre'Davious White.
7. The Bills are also in on DT D.J. Reader, along with the Broncos and Titans. Good player.
8. If you have your eyes on Chargers TE Hunter Henry, you can just about forget about it: he's the team's top priority by extension or franchise tag.
9. I have no clue why the Chiefs would trade DL Chris Jones (he's not overrated like Dee Ford last offseason), but the Cardinals could be involved.
Extra point
QB Josh Johnson literally calls the coach and tells him to stop arguing and complaining. “Call Plays” he says ?. I love this part of the #XFL #Wildcats pic.twitter.com/CtcCmit7k9
— Jason DiRienzo (@allpurposescout) March 9, 2020