This week, Danny shared his thoughts on some early Patriots off season story lines:
Spring is almost here, which means business is about to pick up in the world of sports. March Madness is right around the corner, and then before you know it, the Major League baseball season will officially begin, and we’ll have more playoff hockey and playoff basketball than we know what to do with.
But even with all that going on, the NFL always finds a way to sneak into the news, and sometimes steal the top story.
The Patriots are never a stranger to the NFL’s drama-filled offseason. Even if it’s just a rumor that they’re involved in. And as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady get set to return in 2019 and go after a seventh Super Bowl championship together, all eyes will be on what type of weapons they’ll look to acquire.
There are some big names on the market. Le’Veon Bell is a free agent. Antonio Brown has demanded a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers. And you never know what the New York Giants are going to do with Odell Beckham Jr.
So where do the Patriots come into those discussions? Well, maybe they won’t acquire any of those three superstars. But at the very least, everyone in New England will once again be putting their GM caps on and considering the possibilities.
The common theme to every Patriots offseason, it seems, is that people don’t believe Brady has enough weapons. Nobody in this town has ever really been satisfied with the Pats’ receivers as a whole. So when a big name is available, whether in free agency or a potential trade, there’s always a sense of, “The Patriots should go after him.”
I wouldn’t put my money on Belichick acquiring Bell, Brown, or Beckham Jr. For one, I don’t see the Steelers trading Brown to the Patriots under any circumstances. I also don’t believe that the Giants will be making any attempts to help New England out either. Would the Pats throw the big bucks at Bell? I doubt it. Belichick is all about value. And at the running back position especially, I’d say the Patriots feel they have some pretty good running-back value with Sony Michel and James White.
I don’t usually go too crazy about potential big-name wide receivers in the offseason, but I’ll tell you what, I’d much rather have that discussion than sit here and talk about drafting or trading for Brady’s successor. Because I have a feeling that’s the road everyone in New England is about to go down this offseason.
The latest rumor is that the Patriots could be interested in trading for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen, now that the Cardinals have let it be known they’re interested in Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s Draft.
The Cardinals drafted Rosen last year with the No. 10 overall pick. In his rookie season in 2018, Rosen threw for 2,278 yards with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 14 games. He’s 6-foot-4, 226 pounds, and just turned 22 years old in February. So he’s still a work in progress.
Rosen would obviously benefit from sitting behind Brady for a few years. And he’s under contract for three more seasons, which is probably a good timetable for Brady’s career to be just wrapping up. But I guess you never know, when it comes to Brady.
For what it’s worth, I’m against the idea of trading the No. 32 overall pick in this year’s draft to acquire Rosen. Only because, what happens if Brady plays for three more seasons, and then in two years, the Patriots come across a QB in the draft that they fall in love with? I’d expect they’d draft him. But then you’d have wasted a first-round pick on Rosen, instead of having used that pick to add a player to help Brady win another championship while he was still playing.
I don’t think the Patriots ned to rush into any backup quarterback decisions at this point. As long as they feel Brady has a couple years left, which he does, then they don’t need to worry about his successor just yet. Instead, they need to go all in on the Brady era. So, while the conversations about adding a big-name wide receiver are probably unrealistic, it’s definitely a more necessary move than trading for a future franchise QB right now.
And I’d like to believe that Belichick has a pretty good idea as to what Brady’s timetable is. If Brady has told Belichick this is going to be his last year, then ok, I guess you should consider a Rosen trade. But do we really think this is going to be Brady’s last year? Come on.
The Patriots have some time to think about Brady’s successor. They should spend their time this offseason worrying about Super Bowl ring No. 7.
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