I attempted to write a special teams preview for the Patriots, but what do we know?
There are dramatic new kickoff rules that could make the play worth watching again. However, teams may choose to kick the ball out of the end zone to eliminate that potentially explosive play. Most teams, including the Pats, still don't know precisely how they'll handle it. This summer will be used to experiment, and that experimentation will carry over into the regular season.
The Pats also have a new coordinator, Jeremy Springer. He is energetic, like his predecessor in the role, Cam Achord, and oversaw a unit that, like Achord's, wasn't very good last year. In fact, try dead last in DVOA (NE was 28th).
Then there are all the personnel changes. Matthew Slater has retired. He still had his moments last year, and his leadership and reliability will not easily be replaced. But it's not just Slater who's gone. Eight of the team's top 11 in special teams snaps are no longer with the Pats, including the highly-paid Chris Board (name a play he made. I double-dog-dare you).
As for the specialists, all three — kicker Chad Ryland, punter Bryce Baringer, and long snapper Joe Cardona — return. I'm not concerned with the latter duo. Cardona had an erratic year early but settled into his usual, consistent self. He's under contract through 2026. Baringer dropped 38 punts inside the 20-yard line, tops in the NFL. Not bad for a rookie.
Meanwhile, Barringer's first-year counterpart, Ryland, was bad. Very bad. He was a colossal disappointment last season and arguably one of the team's worst players (that's a fun list). He hit just 64% of his field goal attempts, the lowest mark for qualifying kickers in the league, and was a mere 50% from 40 yards and beyond. In this day and age, when every team, even in college, has a guy who can make 'em from 50+, that the Pats suffered through Ryland's rookie was nonsensical. He missed kicks in eight of the 17 games. Almost anyone else would have been cut. But the fourth-rounder was not.
The Pats brought in competition for Ryland this spring, signing veteran Joey Slye. To his credit, the youngster answered questions about it late in May.
"I'm certainly looking forward to it," he said. "I'm no coward to a challenge."
That said, neither was all that impressive, which is the very definition of not what you're looking for. In a perfect world, Ryland cleans up the mechanical flaws he identified this off-season, and finds consistency in that strong leg. If not, Eliot Wolf may have to troll the waiver wire in late August and early September. For a team with many questions, that's one they'd prefer not to have to address, but until the kid gives them a reason to believe, it seems unlikely that he'll be given the same security (as it should be).
BEARS HAVE BUZZ
How futile have the Chicago Bears been at the quarterback position?
The Bears' QBs have the lowest completion percentage and passer rating of any team in the Super Bowl era. I mean, they haven't even been able to stumble into a competent starter, let alone a star.
Bears Quarterbacks
Super Bowl Era
NFL Rank
Comp Pct 56.4 Last
Pass Yds/Att 6.5 Last
Pass YPG 175.0 Last
TD-INT Ratio 0.9 Last
Passer Rating 71.4 Last
Just in recent history, they've drafted Justin Fields (8th overall), Mitch Trubisky (2nd), traded two firsts, a third, and Kyle Orton for Jay Cutler (has numbers but truly uninspiring), Rex Grossman (22nd), and Cade McNown (12th) in round one and have diddly doo to show for it.
That leads us to Caleb Williams, who finally inked his rookie contract earlier this week. In 2023, Williams became the first FBS player with 30+ passing TDs and 10+ rushing TDs in consecutive seasons since Patrick Mahomes from 2015-16. He has the physical gifts to end this run for the 'Misfits of the Midway,' but will he have the mental stamina required to survive?
Williams and his team had already raised eyebrows during the draft process due to their unwillingness to meet with various teams and work out for them. Then, per Pro Football Talk, they asked the Bears for a no-franchise clause in his rookie deal, something that's never been granted for a draft pick (and still hasn't).
The other interesting aspect of the negotiations was who was conducting them. Williams said he had nothing to do with it, but the Bears told the league it was done directly through the QB. Is it so hard to answer a question honestly? But none of that matters if the former Heisman Trophy winner gives Chicago the star it's been begging for. Williams certainly impressed this spring.
"You definitely see some things that you don't really expect a rookie to do," LB T.J. Edwards told reporters. "You know, he moved us a couple times with his eyes. The first day, it had me and (linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds) hot about it, but he's impressive for sure."
The Bears have surrounded Williams with some quality skill players, from holdover D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and top-10 pick Rome Odunze at wide receiver to D'Andre Swift joining the backfield and Gerald Everett combining forces with Cole Kmet in the tight end room. It's as good a setup for a number-one overall pick as I can recall. Now, let's see what Williams can do with it.
REUNITED?
On paper, the New York Jets have one of the very best rosters in the NFL. But how will they handle being on the back page of every daily newspaper in the tri-state area and talk show fodder for every yapping head on the planet? It wasn't as if they had a quiet off-season. Assistant GM Rex Hogan was let go against the backdrop of internal leaks, and QB Aaron Rodgers put everyone in the crosshairs when he admitted that if this year's team doesn't win, many folks will be out of jobs (he's not wrong).
But Rodgers, who was the first to publicly decry the leaks, just can't help himself create more drama. He skipped out on mandatory mini-camp to take a pre-planned yet unexcused trip to Egypt and had his people say that he's "always admired the culture." So the bleep what? You have a job, one that you get paid very handsomely for. Show up and do it.
Then, to add more fuel to the fire, Rodgers decided to court former Green Bay teammate Davante Adams, this time from a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
"I love Davante. Can't wait to play with him -- again."
Excuse me?
That led former Jets quarterback and current WFAN host Boomer Esiason to say he was "hearing" that the Jets and Raiders, Adam's current team, might have a deal cooking for the wide receiver this summer. Davante's agents denounced the "report" as baseless and unfounded, and the future Hall of Fame pass-catcher tried to quell the rumors, but he couldn't help himself either.
"I'm actively on the Raiders. What do I look like sitting here talking to other people about being on another team? And that's how I still feel about it right now," he said. " I'm locked in with the Raiders, and I really feel good about this team, and as far as I know, they feel good about me.
"If that ever changes, if that got to a point where they weren't feeling the same way, I ain't done playing, so obviously we would figure out whatever we needed to figure out."
Pushed further, Adams admitted that if Vegas no longer wanted him, then "If I'm going to be reunited with anybody, it would be Aaron."
Well, okay then.
I'm sure the Raiders love hearing that after giving Adams a five-year deal worth up to $140 million in 2022, especially after making a late-season push last year, which coincided with the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels and handing the reins over to Antonio Pierce, a move that Adams wanted. Pierce is in his first full year in charge, but despite that strong finish, it's possible that Vegas could be in the running for a top-5 pick (their roster stinks). The Jets, on the other hand, have all their chips on the table and, with an extra third-round selection in the 2025 draft, have enough capital to pry the vet loose if that's the route owner Mark Davis decides to go. I don't believe this is just the rumor mill churning in mid-July.
"The thought of playing with Aaron is obviously amazing," said Adams.
I'll double down on that. The thought of Adams alongside Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, and Breece Hall is equally exciting, though not for the folks in Foxborough or the rest of the AFC East, assuming the Jets don't Jet it up.
BIG GUARD GETS BIG MONEY
The Denver Broncos became the latest team to back up the Brinks truck for a guard, extending Quinn Meinerz to a four-year deal worth up to $80 million, including $45 million guaranteed. Based on AAV, Meinerz is now tied for the third highest-paid guard in football.
A third-round pick out of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 2021 draft, Meinerz was a Pro Bowl alternate last season and one of a few bright spots on a Sean Payton offense that never completely took off. He allowed just two sacks and was one of the highest-graded run blockers per PFF.
This all ties back to the Mike Onwenu question raised since the end of the mandatory mini-camp. Did the Patriots err with his contract if, in fact, he has to remain inside as a guard and not as a tackle for the next few years? The answer is not only no, but hell no. Onwenu's one of their better players, and with the going rate for guards over the last few months - Meinerz, Robert Hunt ($20 mil per), Kevin Dotson ($16 mil per), Damien Lewis ($13.25 mil per) - I can live with it and you should too.