Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Alarming Update: Harold Landry Latest Should Force the Patriots to Act!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The latest report on Harrow Landry should have the Pats scrambling to add more talent at defensive end. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots. Your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's show, the latest on Jalen reads, addition to the defensive backfield.

Starting point is 00:00:33 In our second segment for the first time this summer, Christian Gonzalez. Dallas visibly and verbally changes his tune. But first, the latest on Harold Landry does not sound good at all. Today's episode is brought to by Kalshi for a limited time. Download the Kalshi app and use code locked on to get $10 when you trade $10. Mostly crickets surrounding Harold Landry this summer. He's been on Pup, not practicing. Mike Jardy did have an update last week at Boston Sports Journal.

Starting point is 00:01:02 And I would say it was somewhat of an optimistic update. When Giardy wrote, Landry is seemingly ramping up his on field his on field, spotted on the lower field, the injured field, if you will, running and also doing hills. So again, somewhat optimistic feel to Giardy's writing. But last night, Tuesday night, a much less optimistic report from Kevin Stone of New England Football Journal. Kevin Stone posted sources have told me while Landry continues to try and work his way back,

Starting point is 00:01:32 there's a growing lack of optimism around the progress being made so far. Week one seems like a long shot and there isn't much of a timetable as of now. I remind those who are asking who was Kevin Stone. Again, he is co-founder of the New England Football Journal and he also covers Boston College, which means a lot in this type of situation. So Harold Landry, according to Kevin Stone, he's working hard. he's trying to get back, but there is a growing lack of optimism around the progress that he has made. And week one seems like a quote unquote long shot.

Starting point is 00:02:12 What's the injury? What's the injury? We don't know what the injury is. We know that it's a knee injury, that that could be a million different things. What's the injury? What was the surgery? When was the surgery done? Most likely it was done in February following the Super Bowl.

Starting point is 00:02:29 If that's the case, we are now inching towards seven months later, seven months post-surgery, and we're getting word that there's a lack of optimism, a growing lack of optimism around the progress that is being made or not made by Harold Landry this summer. And when I saw this, I had to ask the question, does this surprise the Patriots? Were the Patriots confident that they believe that Landry? Landry would be back by now. Did they believe that Landry would be fully ready to go by week one? Is this surprising news to the staff?

Starting point is 00:03:10 Because if it is, my next question is, well, would that have made the Patriots approach the defensive end position differently than they did this offseason? They signed Ramon Jones. We've gone through that signing. They moved up and drafted Gabacus, but would they have been more aggressive in a pretty deep defensive end free agency class, would they have maybe swung at a higher priced free agent, somebody who could maybe make more of a difference with the pass rush than Draymond Jones if they knew Landry was not going to be ready the way it looks for week one.

Starting point is 00:03:48 And the way that report reads from Kevin Stone, it doesn't sound like Harold Landry is relatively close to getting on the field. And he's going to have to ramp up. I mean, let's not forget. He already has a history of knee injuries. So if the Patriots were confident he was going to be ready, they were wrong. And did them being wrong on that lead them to making certain decisions in the offseason that they now regret. And they might look at this and say, man, we should have gone harder after this guy or that

Starting point is 00:04:26 guy or maybe we should have tried to give up a pick around draft time for Kvon-Tibodeau when the Giants were at least having conversations. You have to imagine they would have handled business differently if they knew Landry was unlikely going to start this season. And it just feels, judging by what Kevin Stone writes, it feels like Harold Landry is destined for the Pupplist that he's going to be done the first four games of this season. and if Landry misses the first four games, he's missing at Seattle, Pittsburgh, at Jacksonville, at Buffalo,

Starting point is 00:05:03 an incredibly difficult start to this schedule this year. And you're not going to have your best edge player for those games if he ends up on pop. I want to remind people because I think people think of Landry when he was a broken down mess last year post injury. Sports Illustrated wrote recently that if he, you look back at Landry's 2025, before his injury, Landry had 25 pressures in five sacks through six weeks. That is gigantic impact. Landry was terrific before the injury. And when you look

Starting point is 00:05:43 at the context of this defensive line in the context of the pass rush, or maybe lack thereof, to have somebody like Landry who was creating 25 pressures and five sacks in the first, let's say, five plus weeks. When you have that type of productivity at that position, when there are questions from your other guys at the same position, I mean, it's just so critical to the operation. And now you look at the edge group in total. You know, Draymont Jones, I would not say he's had a great camp.

Starting point is 00:06:16 Gabacus, more down than up. It might take Gabe Acus a month or two until he starts making some impact if the Patriots are fortunate. Braden Swinson had a good game against Indianapolis in the second half of that first preseason game, but he was bad against Philly last weekend. Jesse Luchetta had a pretty good game against Indy, and for all intents and purposes, was practically invisible against the Eagles last week. I mean, you're looking at Quintavius Hutchins.

Starting point is 00:06:45 Is that a guy that you can say, oh, he'll replace Landry's production? Of course not. So, I mean, when you look at this entire group, it doesn't make you feel great. It does not make you feel great. The good side of it is Elijah Ponder. Elijah Ponder has popped the last two to three weeks. But with Ponder, the question is, can he be good against the run? And this is something that Mike Giardy wrote about recently.

Starting point is 00:07:14 Giardy noted that of Ponder's 215 regular season snaps last year, only 70 were against the run. He's a third down guy. And no one would confuse him with say Anthony Jennings, Garty wrote in that regard, or even Landry, because Landry, yes, is good against the run. Garty finishes writing rather Ponder was more on par with Caleban Chase on, your pure pass rushing end. And you already have questions about this run defense after you lost Kyrie's Tonga. So, you know, you've got an end who might be out the first month. if not longer. Dremont Jones, not a great camp. Gabe Accus learning on the job more down than up this camp. Swinton Bad. Luketa, not much of a difference maker. Quatavius Hutchins made a couple of

Starting point is 00:08:07 plays against the Eagles, so maybe you hang your hat on that. I'm not going to. And the one guy who has been showing some pop, you don't know if he can consistently play the run. When your run defense has not been good this camp and this preseason. To me, it would be roster malpractice. Roster malpractice if the Pats do not add an edge before week one against Seattle. Hassan Redick is out there. Some other veterans are out there. Kyle Van Nuoy is still out there. It would be borderline malpractice. And if Landry's not going to be ready by week one, it would be malpractice. You've got to get a veteran body into New England that can play defensive end. You don't have enough at that position. You just don't. Not right now. No way,

Starting point is 00:09:00 no how. I'm not banking on Draymond Jones and Elijah Ponder setting the world on fire. Gabe Accus figuring it out quickly and Harold Landry coming back with some kind of miraculous physical turnaround to not only return, but make an impact immediately. The Patriots need help at end. We thought Edge was a position that had a lot of questions heading into camp. We're leaving camp now in about a week and a half to two weeks. And I think there are even more questions at Edge. You got to bring somebody in. Coming up, the vibes surrounding Christian Gonzalez have started to change.

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Starting point is 00:12:12 Give us that thumbs up. The likes, help us with the algorithm. Don't forget to comment as well. Don't forget to subscribe. And yes, thank you for being a friend. and thank you for supporting this channel. Like, comment, and subscribe. Christian Gonzalez returned to practice on Monday.

Starting point is 00:12:29 Tuesday afternoon, I thought, brought a different Christian Gonzalez in front of the media. Up to Tuesday, up until then, not much in regards to being annoyed, angered, frustrated, but that changed on Tuesday. When Gonzalez met with the media, a little bit of a change of vibe there. Mark Daniels posted, is it frustrating that a deal isn't done? Gonzalez, quote, it's frustrating. I'm focused on the season. I'm focused on here now and doing what I got to do.

Starting point is 00:13:01 And I'm out here to compete and get better. You've seen this everywhere since Gonzalez said it. This is the first time that Gonzalez has admitted to being frustrated. It's not a revelation that he would be frustrated. He wants to get a contract extension. and he has not been able to get this extension done with the team. They have been talking all offseason. He sees Devin Witherspoon get his deal done.

Starting point is 00:13:28 So yeah, I'm not shocked that Gonzalez is frustrated. However, saying this publicly is a complete 180 from Gonzalez. In the tone, it feels like the tone is shifting as we head into week one. That's not all that Gonzalez said. on Tuesday. Ethan Hurwitz posted on Gonzalez. Gonzalez takes a long pause before saying, quote, I don't know, unquote,

Starting point is 00:13:58 when asked if he thinks the Patriots are holding up their end of the bargain by speaking about his negotiations to the media. I mentioned this the other day. You know, Elliot Wolf's out there and he's saying, yeah, still the best deal on the table. Highest paid cornerback. Kraft said that. You know, Robert Kraft said that going back a month or two ago.

Starting point is 00:14:17 Gonzalez did not sound pleased that craft said that. So Wolf sang it to the media on Tuesday. I would have to imagine did not necessarily make Gonzalez a happy man. But Gonzalez handled and said, you know, I don't know. I don't know if the Patriots are holding up their end of the bargain by talking about this negotiation publicly. Back to Mark Daniels who posted the question, will you play in week one if a deal isn't reached. Gonzalez said, quote, I'm focused on this day, this practice. We'll see where we go from here, unquote.

Starting point is 00:14:55 Mike Garifolo on the NFL network said you would think at this point it's pretty easy to get done. I can't believe we don't have anything done at this point because it should be right around that Devin Witherspoon number. To think all of a sudden you're going to take another jump off of that, that's not how the Patriots are approaching this. Gonzalez wants to have something done before week one before setting foot on the field. The money in the first two years. I've been harping on this since Robert Kraft said what he said. There are particulars to every NFL deal. Contract structure, guaranteed money, guaranteed money in the first year,

Starting point is 00:15:31 guaranteed money in the second year, guaranteed money in the first three years. What's the structure? I have to imagine that Christian Gonzalez is not getting enough money in his head right now. This could change five minutes from now. But right now, Gonzalez doesn't feel like he's getting taken care of the way he feels like he should. And if it's the money in the first two years, we're talking $61, $62, $63 million if you look at the Witherspoon deal. And I'm not concerned about this impacting this season. I'm just not.

Starting point is 00:16:06 Because frankly, Gonzalez has to be available for a minimum of six games to accrue an NFL season towards his free agency, eventually. And, you know, him not playing, I think obviously hurts the idea of getting an extension done. Him not playing could hurt his reputation around the league, could. And, you know, if it's a situation where the Patriots are unhappy, they still have his rights. They have his rights this year. They have his rights next year with the 50-year option. They have his rights the following year if they want to franchise tag him. So I'm not necessarily worried about this year.

Starting point is 00:16:46 or Gonzalez tapping out because he has shown himself to be a really good teammate. He has talked about being a leader. Even on Monday when he came back to practice, looked like his normal self, very competitive, making plays. He wants to get paid. If he wants to get paid, if he doesn't get paid before the season kicks off,

Starting point is 00:17:07 he knows the more great football he plays, the more money he's going to make. So I'm not worried about this year. but I am starting to get somewhat concerned about the future of Gonzalez in New England because I just don't want this to become acrimonious. And it does feel, it does feel with, you know, what Gonzalez said to the media on Tuesday, it does feel like, you know, it could start becoming acrimonious

Starting point is 00:17:38 if it's not there already. And you don't want that to happen. Because once the bad feelings start getting spewed, once you think the team is not playing ball with you, once the frustrations kick in, they turn into anger, they turn into, you're disrespecting me. And once a pro athlete feels like a franchise is disrespecting him or her, you could have some problems. You could have some big problems. it's not unprecedented for Gonzalez to play this year without getting an extension. As a matter of fact, Trent McDuffie did it with the Chiefs. So it's not unprecedented.

Starting point is 00:18:25 Other corners and other players have played their fourth year, former first round picks. They've played their fourth year after their fifth year option has been picked up. Sometimes they play their fourth year without that 50 year option being picked up. So it would not be unprecedented if Gonzalez doesn't get the extension. It's just best for business because the issues that could pop up from not getting an extension could end up leading to a trade. And I don't want Gonzalez traded. I want Gonzalez as a Patriot. Christian Gonzalez as a New England Patriot for the next six or seven years is what is best for the Patriots. It is what's best for Gonzalez if he gets his money.

Starting point is 00:19:09 And so I don't want these possible feelings creeping into the season. And then by next off season, the relationship is a nightmare. I don't want to see that. And if you're going to try to trade Gonzalez, if the thought is, well, you know, things just didn't work out, we're going to trade him, we're going to move on. trading him without an extension being done hurts the value that you get back. Look at Sauce Gardner, who got his contract extension done with the Jets. The Jets traded him months later, but they got a great return for Sauce.

Starting point is 00:19:45 Part of that is because Sauce had the extension. So Gonzalez without an extension is a much different asset than Gonzalez with an extension. But don't get it twisted. I don't want him traded in the first place. get the deal done. Meet in the middle. Cooler heads should prevail. And you should walk out of this camp with a Christian Gonzalez extension in hand.

Starting point is 00:20:14 And he should be a Patriot for the next five, six, seven years. Coming up, more on the Jalen Reed edition and some interesting notes from Tuesday's practice. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. There are more live events than ever worth seeing right now. games, concerts, comedy shows. The hard part usually isn't deciding what you want to attend. It's actually getting those tickets between long wait times, confusing checkout processes and surprise fees.

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Starting point is 00:21:34 Thanks for checking out the Lockdown Podcast Net. Now the number one sports podcast network. Some interesting notes from Tuesday's practice. It was not a super competitive practice with a bunch of team drills, et cetera, et cetera. The guys were getting ready to travel on Wednesday to play their final preseason game at Cleveland against the Browns on Thursday night. But a few notes.

Starting point is 00:21:55 Jalen Reed, new addition. Thanks to the Echon booty trade. Reed was at practice. He did not do much of anything, which is not a surprise. He's going to get acclimated here. but I did want to bring Reed back up because he had a solid preseason with Houston. And yes, the preseason is the preseason. I'm not going to sit here and throw a parade or tell you that Jalen Reed is ready to be a starting safety for the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:22:20 And he's going to be an impact player in 2026. But if Jalen Reed was a Patriot and he had this type of preseason that he had in Houston, I think Patriots fans would be excited about him at least being a contributor at some point. Lostok's Pats posted Jalen Reed's PFF numbers from his two preseason games with the Texans, 53 coverage snaps, three targets, two catches allowed, eight yards allowed, one pass breakup, two dropped interceptions, reason why he's not a receiver, two defensive stops. And if you look at Jalen Reed's past coverage grade, according to pro football focus again, which is very polarizing. You know, a lot of people don't like pro football focuses grading system.

Starting point is 00:23:08 I get it. But that's what we're looking at here. An 81 pass coverage grade. Run defense from Jalen Reed. 35 run defense snaps, two run stops. His run defense grade was 76.2. Eight total tackles, one mistackle. His tackle grade was 72.6.

Starting point is 00:23:28 His overall, Jalen Reed's overall defensive grade this preseason was an 88. which was the team high on the Texans. Again, it's all relative. We get the context. It's the preseason. We get it. But when he was given opportunities, the first two preseason games, he played some really good football.

Starting point is 00:23:50 88 total snaps played. As far as his usage, he played 53 snaps at free safety, 29 snaps in the box. And we talked about he's more an in the box type safety than a range. safety, but he did play 53 snaps at free safety, 29 in the box, and he played six snaps in the slot, which is important because we discussed. After that, Kishon Booty Trade was made official, and we discussed it. We talked about this idea of, hey, maybe Jalen Reed is going to be that guy who could play the nickel. And so Houston tried him at least a handful of times in the slot. They put him in the box. They put him at free safety. So the versatility. Now, Taylor Kyle's posted

Starting point is 00:24:32 that Reed has clear potential near the line as a physical run defender who tackles well and takes good angles. Now, I will remind everybody that Jalen Reed has been somewhat according to Phil Perry volatile in coverage from snap to snap. A little erratic. But he's had a good preseason. And he got snaps last year in the postseason for the Texans. They had a very deep secondary. And I have a lot of confidence in this front office and this coaching. staff at that position because you go back to the drafts in Tennessee, the safeties they drafted.

Starting point is 00:25:09 You go back to them drafting Craig Woodson last year. You look at, you know, Del Pettis, who has improved. And if you could take Jalen Reed and you could work with him and you can improve him and he brings you that versatility of maybe playing, you know, a bigger nickel and you can play three safeties with him, which can change the dynamics of your defense, it makes sense. And when you look at the big picture from 30,000 feet, as I love to say, you know, Kevin Byard is 33 years old. And so, you know, Kevin Byard, if he runs out of gas this year, he gets banged up this year, just not the same player this year. When you look at 2027, what's the likelihood that Bayard comes back in 2027?

Starting point is 00:25:54 So you do look at safety and you've got an older Kevin Bayard, you feel great about Woodson, but Pettus, I think Pettus is. on the fringes of this roster. John Saunders Jr. has had a very good camp. I think he's on the fringes of this roster. So when you start to look at the safety position, it's not like you have four guys that are just nailing down that spot. So short term and long term, bringing in Jalen Reed does make sense.

Starting point is 00:26:22 And it does help your defense be more versatile. Other notes from Tuesday's practice, Greg Bedard reported that Greg Van Roughton constantly was switching between the interior offensive line spot. So this kind of follows up what was going on on Monday when Van Rotin was playing all three positions, left guard, right guard, and center that continued to be the case on Tuesday. So the Patriots are throwing Van Roan into the deep end. Now, according to Bedard, Van Rotten had some poor shotgun snaps. We'll see.

Starting point is 00:26:57 Again, he hasn't had a camp. He's just getting in. I'm not going to go crazy. He said this guy can't snap the football. Also, Van Roughton did play with Elijah Verit Tucker and Morgan Moses with the Jets, which should help him acclimate quicker than maybe some other guys. And Taylor Kyle's posted Van Routen said it's huge having former teammates, Moses and Verit Tucker, in the same room because there isn't as much of an acclamation process.

Starting point is 00:27:22 So again, you know, that makes him jump in and he has that chemistry with at least two of the other offensive lineman on this football team so he feels a little bit more comfortable. And I just think Greg Van Routen, again, he's not the difference right now between you winning a Super Bowl and not winning a Super Bowl. But given the circumstances of the interior offensive line, given the circumstances of the offensive line overall, I think Van Routen is a welcome veteran addition to the O line. And I really like the move. It gives you experience.

Starting point is 00:27:52 He played well the last couple of years that are past protected than run blocker. but I think it was a much, much needed move from this organization. Land Larison was the next man up at Tuesday's practice with Trayvion Henderson out. And, you know, maybe this means land Larison is running back three. Maybe not. He is a third down back type. We've talked about that. As I mentioned earlier this week, the pass protection is something we need to keep an eye on.

Starting point is 00:28:25 That's something that Henderson struggles with. And so far, Larison has had some struggles in protecting the quarterback. If you're wondering about Jam Miller, Jam Miller left practice early on Tuesday. So who knows what happened with him. One more note from Tuesday's practice because we crushed this guy for the past couple of podcasts and justifiably so. But James Hudson apparently returned to left tackle during Tuesday's practice. And Greg Bedard said that Hudson looked like a quote unquote beast. and we know that Greg Bedard is not in the business of pumping tires.

Starting point is 00:29:01 So Hudson looking like a beast would be welcome news with Marcus Bryant injured and out right now. According to Bedard, Hudson was 4 and 0 in his one-on-ones. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on YouTube. If you're watching on YouTube, go and check out the Lockdown NFL 24-7 stream, the first of its kind. Otherwise, make sure to check out lockdown fantasy football with Fabz

Starting point is 00:29:30 and Marcus for your daily fantasy football info. Have a great day. We'll see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Alarming Update: Harold Landry Latest Should Force the Patriots to Act!

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