Patriots Off-Season News

[johnnygreen]

Per Adam Schefter:

Sources: After inquiring about Brandon Aiyuk?s availability, the Patriots have decided not to explore any further trade possibilities with the 49ers regarding their standout wide receiver. Patriots are excited about their young receivers and want to focus on them.

[Goldstar88]

I'm not sure Aiyuk is a #1 type receiver. If we're being honest, he was the fourth option for the 49ers offense. Then again, he would certainly be a major upgrade for the Patriots.

On a separate note, why is everyone assuming the Patriots defense will be a strength? How can it not suffer after losing Belichick?

I mean, Aiyuk had 1300+ yards and 7TD?s last season in San Fran. Certainly looks like a #1 WR to me. Doubt the Pats get him, though. Will believe it when I see it.

And once again, the Pats are out on obtaining a top WR. Hopkins, Ridley, Aiyuk. It?s almost like a pattern with them. 

[A Future of Stevens]

I heard the Patriots were willing to offer the most money and everything. Sounds like Aiyuk didn't want to join a 4 win team.

I had hoped he wouldn't put a ton of stock in immediate wins since he is leaving a top 3 team in football, but here we are.

[Neurotic Guy]

I heard the Patriots were willing to offer the most money and everything. Sounds like Aiyuk didn't want to join a 4 win team.

I had hoped he wouldn't put a ton of stock in immediate wins since he is leaving a top 3 team in football, but here we are.

Someone on a talk show opined that N?keal Harry may have told Aiyuk not to go to NE.  They were college teammates. Of course there?s zero actual evidence for this.

[Goldstar88]

I heard the Patriots were willing to offer the most money and everything. Sounds like Aiyuk didn't want to join a 4 win team.

I had hoped he wouldn't put a ton of stock in immediate wins since he is leaving a top 3 team in football, but here we are.

Someone on a talk show opined that N?keal Harry may have told Aiyuk not to go to NE.  They were college teammates. Of course there?s zero actual evidence for this.

Yeah, I?m not buying it. Why aren?t we hearing this from Aiyuk? If he had zero interest in coming to the Pats early on because they won 4 games last year why are they having advanced discussions on a trade. If you are willing to pay the player a premium, they will come. The N?keal Harry thing doesn?t make sense either. Mayo is the coach now, he has all new staff. Why would former players be telling others not to play for him.

[Donoghus]

Pats are much more than a receiver away from doing any serious damage so they probably dodged a bullet here.  Overpaying for a WR wouldn't have necessarily been the answer.  Save the money at the position and see what the kids can do.   Pats still have a lot of needs to address and I'd certainly see the o-line is more pressing.

[A Future of Stevens]

This is just the kind of player you give up assets for if they want to come here. He is going to be 26 for ALL of next season. Elite Production and no age concerns? That is definitely worth a late 1st early 2nd + maybe an asset or two.

It looks like we are back to the draft an elite tackle and just burn shots on receivers in the draft. Maybe see if a Higgins shakes loose next year.

[Roy H.]

Pats are much more than a receiver away from doing any serious damage so they probably dodged a bullet here.  Overpaying for a WR wouldn't have necessarily been the answer.  Save the money at the position and see what the kids can do.   Pats still have a lot of needs to address and I'd certainly see the o-line is more pressing.

I mostly agree with you, but I also saw what a stabilizing presence DJ Moore was when he came to Chicago.  Aiyuk has similar production; does he bring similar leadership?  That's the big question for me.

[johnnygreen]

I'm not too concerned about Aiyuk essentially rejected the Patriots (I mean the Patriots backing out to save face). I am worried about how the front office has handled the rest of the off-season. After drafting Maye, the offensive line should have been the top priority, not "weaponizing" the offense with drafting two wide receivers or going after two high end receiver free agents.

Honestly, am I alone in not wanting Maye to play this season behind that poor offensive line? If the line can't protect the QB, then the QB won't have the time to find any receivers. Plus, I don't want Maye to learn bad habits and getting beat cup behind that line.

BTW, I keep on hearing reports that Maye seems to be behind schedule, especially compared to his peers. Is that a reflection of him, or possibly the coaching staff not putting him in the same position as his peers? In other words, if Belichick and McDaniels were here, is Maye in the same position as he is in now?

[Goldstar88]

I'm not too concerned about Aiyuk essentially rejected the Patriots (I mean the Patriots backing out to save face). I am worried about how the front office has handled the rest of the off-season. After drafting Maye, the offensive line should have been the top priority, not "weaponizing" the offense with drafting two wide receivers or going after two high end receiver free agents.

Honestly, am I alone in not wanting Maye to play this season behind that poor offensive line? If the line can't protect the QB, then the QB won't have the time to find any receivers. Plus, I don't want Maye to learn bad habits and getting beat cup behind that line.

BTW, I keep on hearing reports that Maye seems to be behind schedule, especially compared to his peers. Is that a reflection of him, or possibly the coaching staff not putting him in the same position as his peers? In other words, if Belichick and McDaniels were here, is Maye in the same position as he is in now?

I think he needs to play the second half of the year so the Pats can see what they have to some extent. If Maye doesn?t look good, might have to go QB again in the draft.  3 of the top 10 picks in next years draft are projected to be quarterbacks.

I don?t see how Bill would be any help to Maye, but McDaniels seemed to do well working with young QB?s.

[Goldstar88]

Despite sitting out of practices last week, Judon stressed on Monday that he intends to play through the final year of his contract even though he?s looking for a greater payout moving forward on his next deal.

No, I?ve got to play. Didn?t say nothing about (progress), Judon said. I?ve got to go out there and play, I?ve got to play the game. I?ve got to do what I?m contractually obligated to do so I don?t lose money.

Still, even though Judon has been candid in his official meetings with the media so far during training camp, he has vented his frustrations about his stagnant contract talks on social media as well.

Last week, The Athletic?s Diana Russini posted on X that the Patriots had offered Judon a new deal since the start of training camp. After a fan tagged Judon on the post, he dismissed Russini?s report.

No they haven?t but it makes me look bad again, he posted. Don?t believe the lies.

Judon?s response prompted Russini to delete her initial tweet, replacing it with a follow-up post that said that Judon has received a few Patriots offers before the start of New England?s training camp, but still hadn?t put pen to paper on a new deal.

[PAOBoston]

I'm not too concerned about Aiyuk essentially rejected the Patriots (I mean the Patriots backing out to save face). I am worried about how the front office has handled the rest of the off-season. After drafting Maye, the offensive line should have been the top priority, not "weaponizing" the offense with drafting two wide receivers or going after two high end receiver free agents.

Honestly, am I alone in not wanting Maye to play this season behind that poor offensive line? If the line can't protect the QB, then the QB won't have the time to find any receivers. Plus, I don't want Maye to learn bad habits and getting beat cup behind that line.

BTW, I keep on hearing reports that Maye seems to be behind schedule, especially compared to his peers. Is that a reflection of him, or possibly the coaching staff not putting him in the same position as his peers? In other words, if Belichick and McDaniels were here, is Maye in the same position as he is in now?

I think he needs to play the second half of the year so the Pats can see what they have to some extent. If Maye doesn?t look good, might have to go QB again in the draft.  3 of the top 10 picks in next years draft are projected to be quarterbacks.

I don?t see how Bill would be any help to Maye, but McDaniels seemed to do well working with young QB?s.

They drafted him as a project. No one expected him to be a finished project this year and everyone said he would take time to develop. I do agree with bringing him along slowly and red shirting him for the first 3/4 of the season or so but giving him some run at the end of the year. But, they are not drafting a QB again in the top 5 next year. That would be gross negligence and wasting draft capital.

[Goldstar88]

I'm not too concerned about Aiyuk essentially rejected the Patriots (I mean the Patriots backing out to save face). I am worried about how the front office has handled the rest of the off-season. After drafting Maye, the offensive line should have been the top priority, not "weaponizing" the offense with drafting two wide receivers or going after two high end receiver free agents.

Honestly, am I alone in not wanting Maye to play this season behind that poor offensive line? If the line can't protect the QB, then the QB won't have the time to find any receivers. Plus, I don't want Maye to learn bad habits and getting beat cup behind that line.

BTW, I keep on hearing reports that Maye seems to be behind schedule, especially compared to his peers. Is that a reflection of him, or possibly the coaching staff not putting him in the same position as his peers? In other words, if Belichick and McDaniels were here, is Maye in the same position as he is in now?

I think he needs to play the second half of the year so the Pats can see what they have to some extent. If Maye doesn?t look good, might have to go QB again in the draft.  3 of the top 10 picks in next years draft are projected to be quarterbacks.

I don?t see how Bill would be any help to Maye, but McDaniels seemed to do well working with young QB?s.

They drafted him as a project. No one expected him to be a finished project this year and everyone said he would take time to develop. I do agree with bringing him along slowly and red shirting him for the first 3/4 of the season or so but giving him some run at the end of the year. But, they are not drafting a QB again in the top 5 next year. That would be gross negligence and wasting draft capital.

Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen with the 10th pick in 2018 and then drafted Kyler Murray the next year. It happens.

[Celtics2021]

I'm not too concerned about Aiyuk essentially rejected the Patriots (I mean the Patriots backing out to save face). I am worried about how the front office has handled the rest of the off-season. After drafting Maye, the offensive line should have been the top priority, not "weaponizing" the offense with drafting two wide receivers or going after two high end receiver free agents.

Honestly, am I alone in not wanting Maye to play this season behind that poor offensive line? If the line can't protect the QB, then the QB won't have the time to find any receivers. Plus, I don't want Maye to learn bad habits and getting beat cup behind that line.

BTW, I keep on hearing reports that Maye seems to be behind schedule, especially compared to his peers. Is that a reflection of him, or possibly the coaching staff not putting him in the same position as his peers? In other words, if Belichick and McDaniels were here, is Maye in the same position as he is in now?

I think he needs to play the second half of the year so the Pats can see what they have to some extent. If Maye doesn?t look good, might have to go QB again in the draft.  3 of the top 10 picks in next years draft are projected to be quarterbacks.

I don?t see how Bill would be any help to Maye, but McDaniels seemed to do well working with young QB?s.

They drafted him as a project. No one expected him to be a finished project this year and everyone said he would take time to develop. I do agree with bringing him along slowly and red shirting him for the first 3/4 of the season or so but giving him some run at the end of the year. But, they are not drafting a QB again in the top 5 next year. That would be gross negligence and wasting draft capital.

Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen with the 10th pick in 2018 and then drafted Kyler Murray the next year. It happens.

Yep.  If you drafted a dud, you drafted a dud, and the worst thing you can do is pretend he isn?t a dud when you know he is.  I am not saying that is the case with Maye, even though I was not a fan of him in the draft process, but if he is, the Pats should just move forward.  I don?t really love next year?s QB class, so maybe he should get two years worth regardless, but if there is someone the Pats like and are in position to draft, they should do so if Maye isn?t the guy.

[mobilija]

Despite sitting out of practices last week, Judon stressed on Monday that he intends to play through the final year of his contract even though he?s looking for a greater payout moving forward on his next deal.

No, I?ve got to play. Didn?t say nothing about (progress), Judon said. I?ve got to go out there and play, I?ve got to play the game. I?ve got to do what I?m contractually obligated to do so I don?t lose money.

Still, even though Judon has been candid in his official meetings with the media so far during training camp, he has vented his frustrations about his stagnant contract talks on social media as well.

Last week, The Athletic?s Diana Russini posted on X that the Patriots had offered Judon a new deal since the start of training camp. After a fan tagged Judon on the post, he dismissed Russini?s report.

No they haven?t but it makes me look bad again, he posted. Don?t believe the lies.

Judon?s response prompted Russini to delete her initial tweet, replacing it with a follow-up post that said that Judon has received a few Patriots offers before the start of New England?s training camp, but still hadn?t put pen to paper on a new deal.

Soap opera drama for grown men