Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots August 30, 2018 - Gameday Edition

Episode Date: August 30, 2018

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Hello everybody and welcome to a game day edition of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back in the big chair for Thursday, August 30th, 2018. Patriots closing out their 2018 preseason with a tilt on the road at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. Before we dive into what I'm going to be watching for tonight, remind you to follow me on Twitter at Mark Schofield. Check out the work at places like InsideThePylon.com, where I'm one of the head writers. I'm going to be covering the NFL, and ITB is going to be your home for Locked On Patriots this season.

All the podcasts will be posted up over there. I'll have Patriots X's and O's and other Patriots pieces posted over there. So you're going to want to have Inside the Pylon in your list of bookmarks. Also follow my work at places like The Score where I'm a featured NFL writer. Pro Football Weekly where I'm going to be covering

Mitchell Trubisky and Matt Nagy. Year one of their player-coach relationship. As well as some other scheme stuff for the NFL, Matt Waldman's rookie scouting portfolio, mattwaldmanrsp.com, Big Blue View, part of the SB Nation network of websites. If there's a website writing about football, chances are I'll be doing it for them.

Also, want to give a quick plug too. Today, 1 o'clock Eastern, Sportsnet 650 out in Vancouver, sportsnet6 650.ca. I will be doing my weekly hit with my boys, Sat and John, part of the playbook. Love coming on with them. Definitely check that out. Give them a listen.

Show them some love. Share around the tweets when you see them pop up in the timeline. Those guys have been great to me, so let's show them a little Locked On Patriots listener fan base love. Loaded show for you today. We were going to have Taylor Kyles come on. Show them a little Locked On Patriots listener fan base love. Loaded show for you today. We were going to have Taylor Kyles come on. But here's the thing. School comes first.

Taylor is currently the head intern for the Syracuse football program as well as having his own course load right now. Got some classes that he's got to get ready for. And so Taylor's going to have to take a rain check on today's hit. But we're going to get him on really, really soon. Taylor does such great work covering the Patriots for Pat's pulpit. And as I told him, look, school does come first. You can't let that classwork slip. You don't want to get off kids. I know, like for example, Wesley and my alma mater, it was a rival day yesterday, getting a little dusty on the timeline, scrolling through Instagram, seeing

the kids roll it on into Foss or Hewitt or Clark or any of the dorms. Don't want to fall behind early. Don't want to fall behind early, kids. And so we'll get Taylor on soon. So what we're going to do today, we're going to talk Sonny Michel, expectations set and expectations for him this season. We're going to talk some free agents or potential free agents. Phil Yates, another Wesleyan grad, by the way, another proud alum of the Wesleyan football program, he identified some potential free agents. So I'm going to walk through some of those guys

and whether, as Mike Reese indicated, New England Patriots make a move come cut-down day, whether some of these guys might fit. A little bit later in the show, we're going to talk some big news yesterday. Aaron Rodgers signs an extension. Teddy Bridgewater traded to the Saints, meaning Sam Darnold is your week one starter. He will be the youngest week one starter in NFL history, younger than even Matthew Stafford and yes,

Drew Bledsoe when they started as rookies. But let's tee up tonight. Final preseason game, just the last chance to see some guys fighting for roster spots so in rough particular order offense then to defense the things I'm going to be watching for tonight one Danny Etlin Danny Etlin not so much in terms of

earning himself a roster spot because although I spent yesterday talking about Brian Hoyer and whether he was going to be the potential long term answer if the unthinkable happens and Tom Brady goes down, I don't think that they're going to look to Danny Etlin to be that answer. And so it's not so much can Danny Etlin lock down a roster spot. It's does Danny Etlin show them enough that they're going to want him

to bring him back on a practice squad type basis. And that's what I'm watching for tonight. He's probably going to take most, if not all, of the snaps against the Giants. I want to see something. I want to see that reason to believe. Can he be quick with his decisions? Can he be accurate with his throws? Can he spread the ball around to all levels?

He's good in that under center, play action, drop back, vertical game. That's his game. I want to see him beyond that. I want to see him be more of a potential fit for this New England Patriots offense for two reasons. One, it gives you hope that maybe down the road he can grow into something more for this team. And number two, you're going to want somebody to simulate the Deshaun Watsons, the Patrick Mahomes, the Aaron Rodgers, if you're going to have them on the practice squad. That defense needs to get good looks week in and week out from that practice squad QB. Can Danny Etlin give you that?

So that's one thing I'm looking for. Next thing I'm looking for, Riley McCarron. I've got him in right now. I think he's in, particularly because of the suspension to Julian Edelman to start the season does he show that tonight do they give him an extended look or do they even just not even play him at all knowing that he's solidified his spot I'm curious to see how much playing time he gets with Danny Etlin with this offense or if they shut him down with the expectation being he's made this team he's shown us enough to this point.

Offensive line, Ted Karras, Matt Tobin, Orek John, some of these guys on perhaps that roster bubble, Cole Crossan. How are these guys used tonight? Do we see them early and often? Are they trying to get these guys some run? Do we see them shut down earlier? You know, if we see a guy like Matt Tobin out there in the fourth quarter, you know, you might start to wonder about whether he's made himself a permanent member of this New England Patriots roster or not. So I'm very curious to see who gets some playing time, what combinations they use up front tonight. Do they give Tobin another extended look on the outside? You know, that might tell us also, you know, how they're viewing him right now.

So I'm curious about that stuff up front. Defensively, obviously, there are some guys around the edges as well. I want to see how they play, how they're used tonight. Up front, if it's Valentine, Keontae Davis, a lot of people have Valentine out. A lot of people have Valentine on the outside looking in. So I'm curious about that. Keontae Davis, do we see him?

Has he made this team? Has he shown enough? Do they give him an extended look early in the game to get one last view of him on game tape? Because given his performance to date, I'd be surprised if they were able to sneak him back onto a practice squad. We've seen him now come back into form. He was a player that was getting late day two, early day three type grades

from different scouts and evaluators out there. So there were probably some teams that were really interested to see what the Patriots do with them. And so I'd be surprised if they were able to get him back onto the practice squad. You know, I believe, and our boy Pat's captain, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Vince Valentine might have some practice squad eligibility left alone. There are teams out there that are hurting up front, like the Chicago Bears. They might not be able to get one or both of those guys back

on the practice squad. And so that's something to watch. At the second level, I think Juwan Bentley has made this team. I think that's a lock. Christian Sam and Marquise Flowers. Those are the two guys around the edges that I'm wondering about. I think I'm starting to lean more in the direction of Nicholas Grigsby having earned a spot. So, Sam, Desmond Kane, Marquise Flowers. Those are the guys that I'm wondering about. I think I'm starting to lean more in the direction of Nicholas Grigsby having earned a spot.

So Sam, Desmond Cain, Marquise Flowers, those are the guys that I'm wondering about. I think Flowers gets in, and there's a couple of reasons for that. I've touched a lot on it here on this show, but I think when you sort of look at how the schedule sets up for New England, number one, and you look at how the schedule sets up for New England, number one, and you look at how they've handled some quarterbacks, some athletic quarterbacks in the past, I think there's a reason to keep Marquise Flowers on this team. I was lucky enough, Chris Blackie and Steve over at Boston Sports.

Chris and Steve had me on their podcast which you can check out. You can follow Chris, for example, on Twitter at Chris, C-H-R-A-S underscore B-L-A-C-K-E-Y part of Full Press Radio. They had me on their podcast the other night and

I talked a lot about Marquise Flowers and how the Patriots have used him to spy on athletic quarterbacks before. And so I think if you're Brian Flores, Bill Belichick, putting together a game plan to perhaps defend more mobile quarterbacks, remember you're seeing Deshaun Watson week one, Blake Bortles week two. You're seeing guys like Patrick Mahomes. Now you're going to see Sam Donald, a fairly athletic quarterback.

You can probably bet on seeing Josh Allen at least once, if not twice this year. You're going to see some athletic quarterbacks this year. You need to contain those guys. I think plan A is with the guys up front. Plan B might be with a spy. And that's what Marquise Flowers has done for this team before. And that's why I've got him in. But there's something to watch on the second level.

And finally, into the secondary. Jason McCourty. Do we see more of him at safety? Do we see the young guys, Keon Crossan and JC Jackson early and often so they can get one last look at those guys? I think they're in. I like what we're seeing. I like the fire and the fight in those young guys, but the Patriots might disagree. And so that's what I'm watching for tonight. You know, you're not really looking to game four of the preseason for execution and production.

This is all about filling out that back half of the roster here, that back third of the roster. That's what tonight's all about. Up next, when I was on with Chris and Steve, we also talked about Sonny Michel. I'm going to talk my expectations for Sonny Michel's rookie year. We're also going to talk about that Field Yates tweet, some guys that he's keeping an eye on for cut-down day. I'll talk about whether those guys might fit in with New

England. And then a little bit later, some thoughts from myself and others about the Aaron Rodgers deal, the Teddy Bridgewater deal, and now Sam Darnold, your week one starter in New York. That's all ahead on this loaded edition of Locked On Patriots. But before we dive into that, look, this is for friends. This is for family. This is for family. This is for people who've been reaching out to me. I get it. You're all excited. The NFL season is here. And some of you are excited because with the NFL back, with the new sports betting rules, sports betting laws, sports betting rulings, you're excited to make some plays this year. And I get it. But the truth is, I don't always know who's going to win. Week one, week two, on down the road, I don't always know who's going to win. But that's a

question I get often. But here's the better thing. If you think you know, you got to check out My Bookie, because who you're betting on is important, but just as important, if not more so, is who you're betting with. That's why I always tell people to bet with My Bookie. Trust me, guys. They're your best bet this season. They've been in business for years. They have great reviews online, and their mobile site is so easy to use. So lay down some cash and win big today. And here's the thing. If you've been listening to this show for a long time or if you're brand new, you've got to know I'm all about helping your quarterback,

helping your teammates, and helping one another here in Locked On Patriots fan nation. So I would only recommend a service to my listeners that's been good to me. And that's why I'm urging you to make your way to my bookie. You win, they pay. They have live in-game betting, the most rewarding player perks in the business. And for you fantasy guys and girls out there, you can even bet the over, under, and how many

fantasy points a player will score each game. That's really cool. So join now and MyBookie will match your deposit dollar for dollar, 100% up to $1,000. Use promo code LOCKEDON to activate the offer. Visit MyBookie online today. That's M-Y-B-O-O-K-I-E. And don't forget to use the promo code LOCKEDON when creating your account to claim the bonus. MyBookie, you play, you win, you get paid. Up next, we're going to talk expectations for Sonny Michel and a little later, some big news in the NFL.

That's all ahead with me, Mark Schofield and Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield's back with you now on this Thursday game day edition of Locked On Patriots. And before diving into some of the expectations for Sonny Michel, I want to remind everybody, look, up this morning

is the Locked On Patriots Slack channel. I want to get it up before the final preseason game in case people are chatting about the game. I've got some people that have already expressed an interest in joining up. So I hope to see even more of you signing up for the Locked On Patriots Slack channel. I think that's going to be a fantastic, fantastic way for other fans of the Patriots to chat, to interact, to interact with each other, to talk about games, fantasy, wherever you guys want to take it. I think it'll be a tremendous way to get to know each other. I'm really excited about putting that together and

helping to grow the network of Locked On Patriots fans. Now, I did say that and, oh, before I forget, if you would like to be a part, and I hope you do, reach out to me at Mark Schofield on Twitter. You can email me, mark.schofield at insidethepylon.com is the quickest way to email me. You can even call the Locked On Patriots phone line, 240-670-6016.

Just leave a message with an email address. I will get you that Slack invite, get you in, get you loaded up for the final preseason game. But before the season starts, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to talk a little bit about Sonny Michel. We're hearing, for example, over on MassLive.com, Andrew Callahan has a piece up about Sonny Michel and how the Patriots are very pleased with him after his injury absence. It's got some great quotes from running backs coach Ivan Fiers,

who basically kept it short the other day when he was asked if Sonny Michel will have trouble adjusting. Excuse me. Trouble adjusting. Adjusting. There we go. Struggled with that one. Trouble adjusting to New England. His response, I don't think it'll be tough for him.

He's a runner. Fiers went on to say he's a very hardworking kid. He's very conscious of what has to get done, and he's been great. And even though he hasn't been on the field, Fears indicated that Michelle has been doing everything else he can to get ready. Meetings, walkthroughs, all the stuff that everybody else is going through to learn and try to keep up with what's going on, he's been doing it too.

He just couldn't practice. And I mentioned earlier, I was on with Chris and Steve over at Boston Sports, part of the full press radio lineup. I was on a show with them earlier this week talking about Sonny Michel and trying to sort of temper expectations for him because while I get the excitement about him, I do think he is, for the next three, five, seven years, a full-down back in the National Football League.

I think we might see a bit of a delayed start to that because of the preseason injury. If you read Patriots playbooks, and I'm an uber football nerd, I get it. People make fun of me for it. It's fine. It's who I am. It's why you all love me, or you kind of like me. It's why you guys tolerate me, okay? But if you read playbooks like I do, you see, particularly in New England, they put a ton on every position on the offensive side of the football. They put a ton on every position on both sides of the ball. But it's certainly true with the offensive line, certainly true with the wide receivers, it's certainly true with the quarterback, and it's true with the running backs. The running backs have so much responsibility in pass protection. They have

so much responsibility in the pass game as receivers with routes that get converted. We talk a lot about how it's tough for wide receivers to pick up the Patriots' playbook. It's similarly difficult, I'd say, for running backs just going through the things that they're responsible for down to the footwork on running plays. So it's a lot to pick up. And so I think because of that,

New England might be a little reluctant, at least out of the gate, to really sort of give Sonny Michel the full playbook experience, to put everything on his plate that I think they were hoping to do. Now, I think the hope was they would use him very much as a three-down running back out of the gate. But I think because of the injury and things like that, New England might be a little bit wary to do that because it's so critical and it's so important to make sure you do the right thing and say pass protection.

If you've got a 38 situation and Sonny Michel is on the field and you've got a guy like Miles Jack across the ball and he's potentially coming, you want to make sure that Sonny Michel knows exactly what his responsibilities are. And so that's sort of the reason why I think they're going to delay him coming along because they want to make sure that, as we've said before, as I and others have said before, protecting Tom Brady is job one. And so you're going to make sure everybody there is able to execute, to read and to execute on an as-needed basis.

And so you might not see Michel in there on plays or designs where he's going to be tasked with pass protection, blitz pickup, and things like that, which might limit him out of the gate. But they're going to get him in. They're going to work him in as soon as they can. It's just the three-down-back type scenario that I was envisioning for him and others were. That might be a year away. That might be a half season away.

We might not see that until a little bit later this year. That might have to come along slowly. But they're certainly going to use him. He's an extremely, extremely talented kid. So just wanted to set some expectations there. The other thing I do want to touch on briefly, and it's just briefly because the more and more I look at this list, the more and more I realize these names are on here for a reason. There was a tweet put out by fellow Wesleyan Cardinal, fellow Wesleyan football alum

Field Yates over at ESPN. Some notable names that appear to be on the bubble as we near roster cutdowns. Amir Abdullah, Paxton Lynch, Mike Gillisley, Rico Gathers, Cardale Jones, Regino Smith, Stephon Anthony, Brashard, Perryman. And when I initially saw that Twitter, I thought, hey, there's some interesting names on there. That'd be fun to talk about. But the more and more I've sat here and looked at this list of names, I'd be hard-pressed to see New England, Britain, and then one of these guys. You know, in a pure vacuum, a guy like Amir Abdullah would be

interesting. I think he's got some talent, some burst, some athleticism. He's had some issues with fumbles. So that's probably not going to fly in New England. Paxton Lynch, that's a need-to-tweet scenario. If the Patriots somehow sign Paxton Lynch, I'll eat the tweet.

Let's put it that way. Mike Gilleslie, well, I mean, if Gilleslie finds himself without a job come Saturday afternoon, it's because the Patriots wanted to move on from him. And so that one you might not see. Similar to Paxton Lynch, Cardale Jones, or Geno Smith, as much as I'm still very intrigued

by Cardale Jones, the quarterback prospect, I'm not so sure he'sale Jones, the quarterback prospect, I'm not so sure he's a fit schematically here in New England. He's much more of an Eric Correal, downfield type guy. I was just, that year he came out, I was giving me Bruce Arians and Cardale Jones for a couple of seasons. Let him learn under him. That would have been fantastic. But I don't think either of those guys are coming to New England.

The two names that kind of intrigue me a bit. Rico Gathers in a sense that if they decide to move on from Allen, Gathers has showed some raw type traits at the tight end position. I'm not so sure that he's done enough to

really earn a roster spot in New England. The emergence of Blake Jarwin, Jeff Swaim, Dalton Schultz, you know, it does look like he's probably on the outside looking in. You know, he wasn't really featured. You know, he's an athletic guy, obviously, former basketball player, so he fits that sort of athletic type build.

You know, but apparently the reports are he hasn't had a good training camp on the practice field, hasn't had a good training camp and preseason slate of games on the field itself during the games. And so I'm not so sure. And he's more of a move type tight end too. And so he'd be more redundant with Hollister, for example, than Allen. And so while it enticed me at firstister, for example, and Allen. And so while it enticed me at first, probably doesn't make a ton of sense. Stephon Anthony,

I liked him coming out, but I don't think with the emergence of a Juwan Bentley and some of the other linebackers, New England's probably not bringing him in. And Brashad Perryman, look, if he could catch, maybe, but probably not.

One last thing, brand new tweet in to me from my good friend at Captain Huggy Face, at CAPN, H-U-G-G-Y-F-A-C-E, my boy from Montgomery County. Pat's kicking themselves for not getting Bridgewater. We're going to talk a little bit about Bridgewater here on the other side. I mean, I don't know if kicking themselves is quite the way I'd go with it, especially, look, Saints giving up a three, you know, I need to pull up the details of the trade itself, but I know a three was part of it. You know, I'm not so sure that the Patriots are going to give up a third for Teddy Bridgewater. It does seem like

they're okay with Brian Hoyer right now and they're going to kick the Brady decision, Brady replacement decision to another year down the road. Yeah, the Jets trade in Bridgewater and a sixth to the Saints for a third. Good move by the Saints.

I'll talk about this a little more on the other side. But the Jets pay $1 million for Bridgewater, half a million roster bonus and a $500,000 workout bonus. The rest of the salary goes to the Saints

and the Jets get a third round pick in return. That's a fantastic move for the Jets. As for the Patri goes to the Saints, and the Jets get a third-round pick in return. That's a fantastic move for the Jets. As for the Patriots, I mean, in a vacuum, sort of on paper, maybe they would have loved to have had a Teddy Bridgewater on the roster for beyond. But I'll just say this. The Patriots' handle on the quarterback position continues to be one of the head scratchers for me. And it's a question I get asked all the time. What is their plan after Brady now?

Why'd they trade Garoppolo? Why'd they trade Jacoby Brissett? Why did they do it? Why didn't they draft a quarterback? I don't know. I wish I did. But I don't. I feel like a failure.

I need to work this stuff out. I'm going to take a quick break. Up next, I'm going to collect myself, work some stuff out. Up next though, we're going to talk the Bridgewater stuff. We're going to get into that a little bit more. We're going to talk Aaron Rodgers' new deal and your new starting quarterback for the

New York J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets, Sam Darnold. That's all ahead with me, Mark Schofield, and Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you to close out this Thursday game day installment of Locked On Patriots. We touched on the Teddy Bridgewater move briefly at the end of last segment, but I want to dive back into that for a couple of minutes because what I think is interesting about it, it gives us a peek at two different organizations and how they're starting to plan for the future. Obviously, by moving Teddy Bridgewater, the New York Jets have paved the way for Sam Donald, who, as I mentioned, becomes the youngest rookie quarterback to start a game

in the National Football League. He's surpassing Drew Bledsoe. He's surpassing Matthew Stafford. But we now know that that's their quarterback of the future. They're getting him onto the field now. So that's how the Jets are handling the quarterback position. But this also gives us a little bit of insight into how the New Orleans Saints are starting to prepare for their quarterback future because you bring in Teddy Bridgewater with the expectation obviously that he's not going to see the field this year unless something happens to Drew Brees. This also allows Taysom Hill, who I know Sean Payton and company like a lot, but they'll free him up to keep playing on special teams, which he likes to do. But the expectation is obviously that Drew Brees will be the starting quarterback for this year.

It's the beyond part that is the more interesting thing to think about because this is obviously Bridgewater is on a one-year deal. And if both Brees and Bridgewater are back next year, obviously, Brees will command a high salary number. Bridgewater is going to want more than, you know, the current deal that he's on right now, given that he's demonstrated that he can still play in the National Football League and play at a high level.

So the inkling here, at least from where I'm sitting, is this is a window into how the Saints are viewing life after Breeze. They're preparing for the thought that if they make a run, if they get to a Super Bowl, if they win a Super Bowl, that Breeze hands them up. That Breeze might hand them up either way. And so they've got to get ready for a life after Drew Breeze, life after number nine. And what they're thinking is Teddy Bridgewater might be the guy to bring in that new era. And perhaps they like him right now more than the 2019 class. More than Taysom Hill. And so that's the interesting thing to me.

This sort of window into what the Saints are thinking about life after Drew Brees. Another team in the NFC making a decision at the quarterback spot, the Green Bay Packers, who just signed Aaron Rodgers to a new deal. And one of the great things about being part of the Locked On Podcast Network is that you don't need to hear from just me. We've got other people covering team by team by team, including Peter Bukowski, the host of Locked On Packers, who had this to say about the Rodgers decision. This is Peter B the host of Locked on Packers, who had this to say about the Rodgers decision.

This is Peter Bukowski from Locked on Packers, and let's get into Aaron Rodgers' historic contract extension, the biggest contract an NFL player has ever signed. And this was something that we've been waiting for, we've been talking about all offseason. It's something that was always going to be here. And James Jones broke the news just like Aaron promised he would. And so I think it's important that we look at the deal a little bit because it is unique, but not as unique as maybe we thought

it would. There was no inclusion of an early opt-out, which was something that was out there and reported. There was no structure that was set up like the NBA with a percentage of the salary cap. That had been floated out there and had been reported reliably. But what was interesting about this contract is in terms of the guaranteed money and what was reported was $103 million in effective guarantees, in practical guarantees. And what that means is there was a reported signing bonus. And these are all reports right now. The deal is not finished, finished.

It's not signed. But the structure is in place. So the bonus right now is being reported at $57.5 million. I feel like Dr. Evil. I need to have my pinky in my mouth for this. And he's going to get just under $67 million by the end of 2018. And he'll get nearly $80 million by St. Patrick's Day in March. And the Packers will get to prorate that signing bonus over the length of the contract.

It's another four years added to this deal, which means Rodgers is going to be under contract until he's 40. Any conversation about his leverage, him trying to push his way out of Green Bay, there was some speculation he was unhappy. There was some murmurings in the offseason. He was unhappy with the way the offensive coordinator change was handled. He was unhappy with Jordy Nelson not being brought back. Any of those conversations about him trying to get out must now come to an end because he's going to get paid. And he's going to get paid in a serious way. And the money

on the Packers cap is going to be there until 2022. And almost regardless of what happens, he's going to get paid through 2022. And so that essentially guarantees Aaron Rodgers is a Packer more or less for life. It's hard to see him pulling a Brett Favre and forcing his way out at 40 or threatening retirement. He has said on record in the past that he wanted to retire a Green Bay Packer and it looks like he's going to do that. Now the interesting thing for the short term and the practical matter of the Green Bay Packers salary cap is there was some speculation SpotTrack had put out that a new contract could free up upwards of $15 million in this deal. We haven't seen the exact structure of the deal yet. And so there are some machinations here that could change these factors.

But right now, it appears the Packers salary cap is going to go up in terms of the Rodgers' hit by about $500,000. So less than a million dollars, but that leaves them without enough cap room to, say, slot in a disgruntled pass rusher who may or may not play in the Bay Area. Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't make it work. There are all kinds of ways that they could restructure deals. Remember, the salary cap is an illusion. But this is not going to be some money-saving thing for the Green Bay Packers. And that's okay because their roster as it stands right now is more or less set. And they feel like they're a Super Bowl contender in 2018.

For more on the Aaron Rodgers contract and all of the latest with the Green Bay Packers, you can subscribe to Locked on Packers on iTunes so you can always stay locked on Packers. That's Peter Bukowski there, the host of Locked on Packers. You know, definitely check out Locked on Packers. Peter does fantastic, fantastic work.

And so I think that the thing to keep in mind here, you know, with Rodgers, as Peter basically says, is look, a fantastically huge deal for him, but you do sort of see the, one of the things that people were talking about, you know, all of the speculation that there were talking about you know all of the speculation that there was about what might be in this deal such as percentage of the salary cap or you know other rumored components to it although as peter points out at the beginning there the deal is not

completely completely finalized these are all based on reporting look this makes rogers you know tremendously high paid player no but the the guaranteed money, that's a different story. Looking around other reporting as well as Peter's piece here, the sign-in bonus, a record, $57.5 million. The guaranteed money, though, is the question mark you know but when you're looking at how this deal pans out over a pro football talk they've got it 66.9 million through the end of the 2018 season through march and march 2019 he'll earn 80 million through the end of the 2019 season 81.9 million and then the escalators really sort of kick in because of the 2019 season, he'll earn $81.9 million. And then the escalators

really sort of kick in because through the 2020 season, he'll have earned $103 million. He'll earn $125 through the end of the 2021 season, $150.5 million through the end of the 2022 season, and $176 million through the 2023 season. As Florida points out, the base value of the deal is $176 million over six years, an average of $29.33 million at sign-in. The new money average is $33.5 million. Both are all-time records. The contract also includes $4 million in incentives and escalators, which could push the total value to $180 million, that one making an even $30 million per year on the six full years. So there you go. Huge numbers. The question becomes, does this hamstring, Green Bay, A, and B, does that even matter? Because Aaron Rodgers is, after all, Aaron Rodgers. I saw somebody throw out the Flacco comparison and say,

look, what happened to the Ravens after they signed Flacco to that deal? Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers are obviously two totally different quarterbacks. Is Aaron Rodgers worth this money? Well, in today's NFL, I think he is. That will do it for today's show. I will be back later tonight.

Yes, later tonight with our final recap of the Patriots preseason, last preseason game against the New York Giants. And then don't forget, while we'll have a show Friday, we will have a show Saturday. I will be back after final cuts and roster spots are announced, breaking it all down for you. I don't want you guys waiting until Monday. I'm going to drop it right on Saturday for you.

Don't forget, if you want to be part of the Locked On Patriots Slack channel, hit me up. That Slack channel is going live today. It's probably live by now. Excited to interact with all you men and women out there, you Patriots fans. Really looking forward to hearing from you, interacting with you throughout the season. This is your show.

I'm just taking care of it for you. So looking forward to that. So if you want to be part of it, hit me up at Mark Schofield on Twitter or send me an email. mark.schofield at insidethepylon.com Until later tonight in the postgame show, everybody, keep it locked right

here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Patriots.