Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots - September 2, 2019: Meet the 2019 Pats

Episode Date: September 2, 2019

On this Labor Day edition of Locked On Patriots, host Mike D’Abate breaks down the 2019 roster for your New England Patriots, and provides the latest updates on Brian Hoyer and Demaryius Thomas.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all you Foxborough faithful, and welcome to your Monday edition and your Labor Day edition of Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Locked On Patriots, as always, is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover the Patriots for FullPressCoverage.com, which is where you can always find my written work. You can always reach out to me on Twitter as well, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're at it, please be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter, at L-O underscore Patriots.

Now, today's show and the opening week of the NFL here on Locked On is brought to you by Mack Weldon. Mack Weldon is a premium men's essentials brand that believes in smart design and premium fabrics. Mack Weldon is better than whatever you're wearing right now, so be sure to shop Mack Weldon. Use the promo code LOCKEDON, which will get you 20% off at MackWeldon.com. That's M-A-C-K-W-E-L-D-O-N.com. I hope that everyone had a great weekend, and there's still some of it left in this holiday weekend as well.

Happy Labor Day to everyone listening today, and we hope you enjoy as the summer of 2019 rolls to a close, but it gives birth to fall, and fall means football season. And since the Locked On Patriots show wrapped on Friday for the weekend, the 53-man roster for your 2019 New England Patriots has been set. Newcomers Matt Lacoste, Jacoby Myers, and Terrence Brooks are in. Demarius Thomas, Braxton Berrios, and Brian Hoyer are out, and we'll have some news on that for you in just a moment. And after some back and forth, I would be remiss if I did not

mention that the Patriots made that man a gunner, much to my elation. And anyone who knows my Twitter following knows that I've been circulating a certain meme from the movie Spaceballs where Dark Helmet is leaning into Colonel Sanders and says, Who made that man a gunner? Well, the Patriots made that man a gunner. They made him their returner. He is back. Gunnar Oshelski joined the 53-man roster, and I'll break that down in a moment.

But I'm happy about that simply because I get to use that meme a little more often. We'll ride it for however long we can, folks. Hopefully he'll be in the fold for the entire season, but as long as he's there, I'll continue to use it. In today's show, I'll be breaking down the Patriots roster, those who made it, those who did not. We'll touch on the practice squad additions and also what this may mean for the Patriots going forward. Are there any more moves in store? Could we see a familiar face coming back? These are all questions that I'll get into in just a moment, but first we start with the news of the day, and it was breaking news on this Labor Day morning, and that is former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer, who,

as you can probably deduce, was cut on Saturday as part of the Patriots roster breakdown. He got a three-year, $12 million contract with $9 million guaranteed from the Indianapolis Colts. It was reported on Sunday evening that Hoyer was going to be in Indy. That was reported by Tom Pelissero, Field Yates, a few guys had that in their reports, and basically had said that he was about to be closing in on an agreement with Indianapolis. Well, word broke on Monday morning that that had indeed come to fruition. The Patriots and Broncos were actually in the mix, trying to make a push to sign Hoyer.

However, the Patriots did want him. We do know that. Not sure what the details on the Broncos contract situation would have been, but the Patriots did want him back, but they were only willing to do a one-year deal. So the question on everybody's mind this morning is if the Patriots did want him back, but they were only willing to do a one-year deal. So the question on everybody's mind this morning is, if the Patriots knew that they weren't going to bring Hoyer back, why didn't they try to trade him? Well, there are a couple of very good reasons why.

And just before going on the air, I read a spot-on take from Jeff Howell of The Athletic, who said it perfectly. And I'm using his terminology here simply because I think he said it better than anybody else could have. First and foremost, they wanted to bring Hoyer back. The team was well aware of his experience and scout team acumen, and these things cannot be duplicated so easily. They realized that what Hoyer brought to the table and him being able to effectively scout guys like Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff last year really helped the Patriots defense in being able to concoct an effective game plan and allowed them to contain those guys who were having phenomenal seasons. Both of them were, especially

Mahomes, a record-setting season, and Goff was having a tremendous season in LA as well. Patriots were able to keep those guys in check for the most part, and a lot of that was due to Hoyer's scouting and his ability to mimic those guys in practice. That being said, you can't ignore the fact that Jarrett Stidham's play during the preseason, and especially in the preseason games, was a big reason why Hoyer was not retained. Stidham showed tremendous poise and great athletic ability to be able to take over the duties of being Tom Brady's primary backup. As valuable as roster spots are to Bill Belichick and the team's brain trust, they're not going to simply cut loose a player that gives you a chance to win simply because they need the roster spot or simply because they want to save a couple of dollars on cap space, which Hoyer's cap hit was not a tremendous hit. They could definitely use the cap relief, no question about it, but it wasn't a deciding factor here in this situation. So therefore, the Patriots decided that if they could bring Hoyer back, opening up a roster spot by cutting him and then being able to re-sign him to a one-year deal, it was a more effective way to be

able to retain the player and more importantly, the roster flexibility to be able to fill out their 53-man squad. Now from Hoyer's perspective, this is definitely a win-win, no question about it, and one of the big reasons why the Patriots decided against the trade as well is if a re-signing weren't to happen, which ultimately it did not, Hoyer ends up now in Indianapolis, this course of action allowed Hoyer to build his own free agent market and get this type of deal, and that's exactly what happened here. It's unclear whether or not he would have moved anywhere else if all he was going to get was the $1.5 million salary that he would have taken with him had he been traded as

opposed to being cut. But the chance to earn $12 million with $9 million guaranteed, well, it was just, here comes, folks, another Godfather reference. It was an offer he couldn't refuse. And all kidding aside, it was a great opportunity for him. And Brian Hoyer is now a Colt, and I wish him well. It's a great landing spot for him. He gets to be the primary backup in Indy. He could be a possible spot starter. And most of all, he can be a mentor to a young quarterback that will benefit from his experience and tutelage in Jacoby Brissett.

It's a nice pay bump. there's no question about that, but it's well-deserved. And as for the Pats, they're going to be well-equipped, and they're going to be just fine with Tom Brady and Jarrett Stidham, and I will get into that in a moment as I break down the 2019 Patriots roster. But before we begin, I just wanted to remind you that it's time to celebrate celebrate and football is finally back. Draft Kings is the leader in one-day fantasy football and they have a huge week one contest coming up. The first one starts this Thursday night when Chicago and Green Bay kick off the season in a single game showdown with 2.5 million in total prizes up for grabs. Draft your single game showdown lineup and feel the sweat

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And new users don't miss this extra special week one bonus. Enter my code LOCKEDON to get a free shot at $1,000,000 with your first deposit. That's code LOCKEDON, only at DraftKings. Make it rain! Minimum $5 deposit required. Deposit bonus requires a 25 times playthrough. Eligibility restrictions eligibility restrictions apply see draftkings.com for details saturday's cut down day is a time of year that most players hate whether they're secure or not you develop friendships and relationships with guys that you have gone through training camp mini camp otas with and the fact that some of them won't be there at the end of the day is definitely a nerve-wracking and very stressful situation for everyone involved.

But the roster cuts were not the only changes to the roster on Saturday for the New England Patriots. The team started the day on Saturday by announcing that they had swung a rare trade within the division with the Buffalo Bills, and they brought in center Russell Bodine, who was acquired from the Bills for a sixth-round pick. Now, this was definitely an indication that the Patriots were looking for extra help at the center position. Last week, I had discussed that center David Andrews had been hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs, and he was likely facing an uphill battle to be able to make it back to the playing field in 2019.

At the end of the day on Saturday, the Patriots did make it official, and they placed David Andrews on season-ending IR, or injured reserve. So his 2019, folks, is in the books. It's an unfortunate turn of events for David, but a necessary one in order for him to get the health that he needs, and we wish him nothing but the best in his recovery. Without question, we'll miss seeing him on the field, but this was the best decision for him in terms of getting him the long-term recovery and the long-term health that he needs.

As for Bodine, he comes in to give immediate help to center Ted Karras, who probably will be the opening day starter, although one cannot totally dismiss the fact that Bodine may see some serious minutes. Don't forget, Bodine was acquired from the Bills, and the Bills offensive coordinator is former Patriots assistant Brian Dayball, so there is a familiarity with the Patriots system. It'll be interesting to see how he practices this week, if he's able to develop any type of a synergy with Tom Brady. Might see Bodine out there a little more often than originally thought. But right now, this still looks to be Ted Karras' job as we head toward the season opener on Sunday night against Pittsburgh at Gillette Stadium. But the Patriots

were not done trading with the Bodine deal. In fact, they also traded cornerback Keion Crossan to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2026th round pick. Now, Crossan had played in 11 regular season games last year, did not start, but he did play in all three postseason games. He was their inside cornerback and also a top gunner on special teams. Now, Crossan had been impressive in preseason game four on Thursday against the New York Giants. He was beat early down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown.

However, Crossan rebounded nicely. He totaled 12 tackles, which included 10 solos and 2 assists and 1 interception. Crossan had been a guy that many had placed securely on the roster bubble, and a lot of people wondered whether or not he would be able to make the team. With the trade of cornerback Duke Dawson last Friday, it seemed likely that Crossan may have earned his way onto the roster, but ultimately, I think the Patriots saw an opportunity to get something back for Crossan. The Texans were willing to offer the sixth round pick, and ultimately the Patriots decided

that would be a better course of action than to cut Crossan and risk him going to a team within the division that was looking for help in the secondary, namely the New York Jets, who were reportedly very much hoping to see Crossan's name on that waiver wire. But this move keeps him away from a division rival and puts him into a position where he can thrive in Houston. Also with Jack Easterby, who is now the director of player personnel in Houston, developed a pretty good relationship with Crossan when he was here as the team's character coach. So a good place for him to be able to grow. And we also wish Kroshen the best, who always gave 110% every time he was out there on the field.

But as fun as trades can be, roster cuts were ultimately how the Patriots were able to trim their roster down to the required allotment. We start with the quarterback position, and they did go with two quarterbacks. We opened the show talking about Brian Hoyer, and we're actually going to close today talking about a little bit of what Jared Stidham brings to the table in conjunction with Tom Brady. But the Patriots ultimately preferred to keep two quarterbacks, and Stidham showed enough to beat out Brian Hoyer for the number two job. So we'll get into that in just a moment.

At the running back position, the Patriots went with six. And in this case, I have to lump in James Devlin into this group who technically is a fullback, but does count against the running back slot on the team. And this one was pretty much set from the outset of training camp, based on reps, performance. Michelle still seems to be the number one lock. I don't think anybody's questioning that Sony will be the featured back. However, you will see a greater amount of sprinklings, I think, of James White, Rex Burkhead,

and the rookie Damian Harris as well, who, if healthy, can definitely prove to be that pounded ground back that a lot of people are hoping that the Patriots have to add some dynamic to the running back position this year. And as always, the special teams contribution of Brandon Bolden. You can't say enough about what this guy brings to the table on special teams. As a spot runner, he can do it all, and there's a big reason why the Patriots wanted to bring him back this year, so it's good to see him back in the fold as well. The wide receiver position was probably the big eye-opener of the day, and the Patriots are listing six active wide receivers on their depth chart currently. Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon Gordon Philip Dorsett rookie Nikhil Harry undrafted rookie Jacoby Myers and of course my personal favorite Gunnar Ryszalski

Cam Meredith is still on this team folks he is listed on the pup he will continue to be listed on the pup and will be eligible only to come off after eight weeks so interesting to keep your eye out there to see if he ends up on long-term IR or if there is a prognosis that he may be able to come back. However, there is a name that is conspicuous by its absence, and that name is Demarius Thomas. Now, it originally was a shock to see Thomas on the cutting room floor. The Patriots brought him back off of the pup list. Seems like everything was headed in the right direction in terms of him being on the roster. However, there is still reason to believe that Thomas may even end up back on this roster, possibly as early as this evening.

Don't forget, if a player is to be eligible to return from injured reserve, he needs to be on the team's initial 53-man roster. That means that the team may have wanted Demarius Thomas' roster spot in order to take a player, put him on the active roster, and then later place him on injured reserve with the designation to return. Now, a lot of people have speculated that that could be rookie wide receiver Nakheel Harry or even linebacker Shaliqua Calhoun, but there's been no indication from the team that either of those will be the candidate. But speculation still runs rampant.

Now, if Thomas does return, the Patriots could end up rolling out a three receiver lineup of Edelman, Gordon, and Demarius Thomas on Sunday night versus the Steelers. Gordon meaning Josh Gordon. And that point was pointed out by Kevin Duffy of the Boston Herald in Sunday's column. And it's a very intriguing possibility. Dorsett is a very reliable player. He earned Tom Brady's trust over the years, and you saw Brady rely on him very heavily in the opening minutes of the Patriots preseason game on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. A very, very good synergy between the two, and it's not a big surprise to see Dorsett as a final member of this roster. Myers definitely was the story of the offseason. He was a preseason stud, as a matter of fact,

and really showed a lot of promise and earned his spot on the roster. And while Jacoby is probably going to be either third, fourth, or fifth on the depth chart, it's going to be interesting to see him get some reps, and the Patriots obviously saw enough in him to put him on the active roster and make him a part of this wide receiver core for 2019. And last but certainly not least, Gunnar Roschelski, who had to deal with a little bit of a game of flip-flop on Saturday. Originally, it was discovered that he was going to be cut from the team, which broke a lot of hearts, including my own. However, Gunnar Roschelski is going to be on this team. As a result of the Keon Crossan trade, it opened up a roster spot,

and Gunnar has done an awful lot to earn his spot on this team, both as a punt returner mostly, a wide receiver in spot cases, even could see him in certain packages as a defensive back. I'd say that's extremely highly unlikely, but he does have the ability to do it, and we actually saw it in the preseason finale against the Giants back on Thursday. We saw Gunnar line up in that as well. So definitely a feel-good story, folks. Obviously, I'm more in love with the mean than anything else. However, I am happy to see Gunnar Roschowski on this team because I think he can prove to be a very valuable addition to the Patriots roster in 2019.

And rounding out the offense on the tight end and the offensive line positions, the Patriots are carrying two tight ends this year, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo. Of course, Benjamin Watson is suspended for the first four games of the season, so until then, LaCosse and Izzo will have to carry the load at the tight end position, which will primarily be used, I believe, as a blocking position this year. But these guys can receive the ball and can make receptions. So they will be a pass-catching threat for Tom Brady, but perhaps not as much as we've seen in years past with the prolific Rob Gronkowski taking snaps

and catching passes from Brady in the open field. And as for the offensive line, the Patriots are going with eight. They're going with Marcus Cannon, Shaq Mason, Ted Karras, Joe Tooney, Isaiah Wynn, and the newcomers Corey Cunningham, Jermaine Illuminor, and Russell Bodine. Now, this also means that, of course, David Andrews is on season-ending IR, as well as rookie offensive lineman Yelda Frohold from Denmark. As you recall, Frohold suffered an injury in the Patriots' preseason finale against the Giants on Thursday, so Frohold from Denmark. As you recall, Frohold suffered an injury in the Patriots preseason finale against the Giants on Thursday, so Frohold will spend 2019 on injured reserve.

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starting with a stout defensive line. This is a solid group with a blend of experience and upside. It's headed by Michael Bennett, Lawrence Guy, Danny Shelton, rookie Byron Cowart, Adam Butler, and Dietrich Wise. These are definitely guys that can get after the quarterback and protect, and doing so will allow the Patriots to be able to formulate a very formidable defensive line, one of the best they've had in quite some time. And that's saying something, considering that they lost Trey Flowers in free agency.

They've done a nice job of equaling that, and I think they're going to be as formidable as they've been in quite a long time. At linebacker, this is one of the best linebacking cores I've seen the Patriots field in quite some time, and technically they have eight guys that could possibly line up at linebacker. Dante Hightower anchors the list. He is the captain of that unit, folks, and he does it better than anybody. Kyle Van Nooy has been one of the most stout members of that linebacking core and really a very key cog in the Patriots' defensive strategy. Jamie Collins is back and looks a little like the Jamie Collins

of old at times. The improvement here is that he looks like he's buying into the system much more so than he did in his first go-round and tour of duty with the New England Patriots. So his return is definitely going to be huge. Landon Roberts is a guy I was so happy to see make this team. Roberts has always done his job, quote-unquote, and no pun intended, but maybe a little pun intended there. But he's a guy that just does everything that is asked of him, and to see him back on this team and the valuable knowledge that he brings to the linebacking core is going to make him a great addition as well. Juwan Bentley was someone that came in with so much promise last year.

I was really, really disappointed to see him go down with an injury. But he looks to be healthy and looks like he could be a guy that adds a lot of pop and a lot of strategy to the linebacking core. He's a guy that does see the field well. He wore the green dot on his helmet a couple of times last year before going down with an injury, and for those of you that don't know, that green dot indicates that you're essentially the play caller on the field. For Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to give that responsibility to a rookie shows

a lot of confidence in him, and Bentley will grow into that confidence this year. And rounding out the core, John Simon and Shaliqua Calhoun, if healthy, are very, very solid depth players. And of course, last but not least, rookie Chase Winovich had one of the most impressive preseasons for a rookie that we've seen in quite some time. This kid's got a star written all over him, and him being able to either be a linebacker or a defensive end really gives him the option of being a very special player in this defense. And before moving on to the secondary, I just wanted to take a moment to

mention defensive end Derek Rivers, who I've mentioned on this show a couple of times. Rivers unfortunately landed on season-ending injured reserve for the second time in three years. This is a guy that just has not been able to stay healthy despite showing flashes, even in this preseason, of being the player we all thought he was when the Patriots brought him in with a relatively high draft pick. Definitely want to wish best wishes to Derek Rivers in his recovery. Hopefully, the season-ending injuries will not

be career-ending injuries for him. Still think there's a lot left in the tank for this kid and really hope that he's able to get the help that he needs and possibly be able to come back in 2020 stronger and better than he ever has been before. And in the cornerback position, there's no surprises here. Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, and rookie Juwan Williams helped to round out one of the best defensive backfields that the Patriots have fielded in quite some time. Now, a lot of people expected either Duke Dawson or Keon Crossan to be in that mix. I thought Crossan was probably a more likely choice than Dawson, but both of them are gone.

And even without those two, this is still a very stacked unit. Williams improved dramatically over the course of the summer. He's a second-round pick. You know they have high hopes for him, and he will be a very formidable player in this league. He's right now the fifth option behind a tremendous top four in Gilmore, McCourty, Jackson, and Jones. So that should give you an indication as to how deep this cornerback position is.

At safety, they're equally as stacked. Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Deron Harmon, Terrence Brooks, and Obi Melonfunwu, which a lot of people, including myself, were very happy to see make this roster. Obi's a hard worker. He's someone that comes in that does have the ability and the size to be a very formidable member of this defensive backfield. Malik Gant also, I wanted to mention him as well, went down with a season-ending injury. He's on IR, showed a lot of promise this past year

in training camp and in rookie minicamp. So keep an eye out for him next year on 2020, folks. If he can come into this roster and turn some heads especially with some of these guys possibly entering either final years or move on years Malik Gantt could be someone that we see in the Patriots secondary for many years to come and last but not least we have the special team specialists and that's headed by kicker Steven Gustowski who will handle the kicking duties for the New England Patriots once again this year. It's been highly, highly publicized that Jake Bailey is now the new punter in New England, having beat out Ryan Allen a couple of weeks ago when Allen was released. Bailey comes in with a lot of pedigree, a huge leg, and some very impressive hang time,

which a lot of people will notice when the regular season games start. It'll be good to see what Bailey can do with the competition in the NFL this year. Joe Cardona is once again your long snapper. Nate Ebner once again joins the team as a special team specialist. And of course, the captain, Matthew Slater, anchors that special teams unit. Technically, he could be listed on the depth chart as a wide receiver, but his primary contributions come in terms of special teams, and in my opinion, no one in the league even comes close to doing it as fine as Matthew Slater does. So that is your New England Patriots roster for 2019, folks, and it's going to be an impressive

one. Now, will it be a Super Bowl caliber roster? Well, that's why they play the games on the field. However, there are some teams that are capable of challenging the Patriots this year for the AFC crown. Of course, you always need to keep a sharp eye on the Kansas City Chiefs, who also made a move over the weekend. They swooped in pretty quickly to sign running back LaShawn McCoy after he was cut loose by the Buffalo Bills, and that helps to fortify that offense. However, Kansas City is still going to have to prove that they can do it on the defensive side of the ball before they're ready to be anointed as the Patriots' successor.

Other teams that could be in the mix, the Los Angeles Chargers. We don't know what's going to happen with the Melvin Gordon situation, but if he comes back and plays, that could be a formidable team to watch. The Baltimore Ravens have a chance to be a challenger, a potential challenger in the AFC. The Indianapolis Colts still have the ability to contend, folks, even with the loss of Andrew Luck. Jacoby Brissett, and now with Brian Hoyer coming in, gives them solidified quarterback play that allows them to be able to at least contend in their division and possibly for the AFC.

And also the Pittsburgh Steelers. A lot of people are sleeping on this team, and I think that's a mistake. There's still a lot of talent on that roster. And then the wild card, of course, is the Cleveland Browns. How are they going to stack up together? A lot of talent, a lot of promise. Can they bring it all together? If they can, they could be a very, very big challenger for the Patriots. But ultimately, we're worried about what our team is going to do here in

Foxborough, and I believe the Patriots will still be right in the thick of things, if not near the top of their game, to be able to contend for a top seed in the AFC. We mentioned earlier on in the show about Jared Stidham, and of course we opened the show with the breaking news on Brian Hoyer, so there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Stidham is now solidified to be the number two option. And in hearing Stidham speak to the media yesterday, it seems like he is definitely ready to do that. He mentioned that tall task at hand of being able to back up Tom Brady and learn from one

of the best that's ever played the game. He mentioned that he's going to be toiling away extremely hard this week working on the scout team and mimicking what Ben Roethlisberger can bring to the table. So all the right things that you're hearing from Stidham are definitely a product of his savvy, they're a product of his maturity, and they are a great sign that he is ready and able to take the mantra as the primary backup to Tom Brady in New England for 2019. And before we close out the show today, we actually close out with breaking news from ESPN. This according to Mike Reese of ESPN,

and it looks like Adam Schefter was the one that broke the story, and that the Patriots are indeed placing rookie first-round pick Nikhil Harry on injured reserve. Harry had battled an ankle injury during the summer. He is expected to return this season, so they will put him on the pup list with a designation to return. And as a result, the Patriots are re-signing Demarius Thomas to a one-year deal.

So Thomas is back in the fold. Harry will most likely see mid-season, and that looks to be a formidable wide receiver core in New England. So as we close out the show today with breaking news Harry will be on IR for a limited amount of time and Demarius Thomas is back in New England so apparently everything that that was being reported about Thomas has come true and has come to fruition so there you have it folks Monday may be a holiday for us but in New England it's just another day on the job and you can bet that the Patriots will be busy and continue to be busy

both on the field and in the front office. As always, I'll be back tomorrow as I start to take a look ahead to Game 1 of the 2018 regular season as the New England Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, September 8th. We have some very special guests lined up this week. As always, I look forward to speaking with the crew over at Locked On Steelers on Wednesday as well, because that's right, folks. NFL regular season football is back, and we'll be bringing you our crossover show in addition

to some great guests this week as well. So make sure to join us each and every day on the Locked On Patriots podcast and subscribe to Locked On Patriots via your favorite podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank Mack Weldon for sponsoring the show today, and most importantly, I thank you so much for listening. Have a great day, everybody, and a happy Labor Day.