Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: DeAndre Hopkins Favorites? DeVante Parker, Ja’Whaun Bentley On-Field Predictions

Episode Date: July 1, 2023

As the New England Patriots continue to emerge as the ‘favorites’ for signing free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, many wonder what role DeVante Parker may play, in light of his recent contract extension. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com to discuss the potential of Parker, as well as linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley for the team on the field in 2023.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As long as the New England Patriots can make the money work, can DeAndre Hopkins coexist on the field with the newly extended Devontae Parker? Stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. We are a proud part

of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots

Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. That's fans. We are through another week here on the pod. And I thank you all for joining me, spending part of your weekend here on Locked On Patriots. And of course, for making us your first listen every day.

A special shout out to all of you Locked On everydayers out there. Those of you who make Locked On Patriots possible. All of you loyalists out there. My unending gratitude to you. As always, I remain honored. I remain humbled by your support. And Pats fans fans yesterday here on the pod the pats cap showed us all why he is indeed the pharaoh of foxborough finance dropping all

kinds of knowledge on why the patriots recent extensions of both davante parker and joan bentley are big wins for the patriots salary cap situation, even if they still want to sign five-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins. We're going to get back to that in just a moment, but what about Hopkins' ability to coexist with Parker on the field? After all, these two have similar skill sets. Both of them are top-level wideouts. They're ex-receivers, meaning that they both align at the line of scrimmage. So the question becomes, can Bill O'Brien make it all work on the field? Well, to help us answer that question, we're going to welcome in the resident voice of reason here on Locked On

Patriots. My good friend, my Patriots bison, Steve Valsary of Patsfans.com is going to join the fun here in just a moment. We're going to discuss what the Parker extension and what the Bentley extension mean for the Patriots from a player's standpoint. Folks, Steve is always spot on. It's going to be a lot of fun closing out the weekend style, so keep it locked into this weekend edition of Locked on Patriots. But we've been talking for months about the mutual interest between the Patriots and DeAndre Hopkins. Done several shows on it.

You might be a little tired of hearing about it. But bottom line, two ESPN NFL insiders made things a little bit more interesting on Friday morning. That interest seems to have materialized into a legitimate contract offer, which we had all speculated had happened but now apparently it looks to be all but confirmed and of course we know deandre has made two free agent visits so far one of the patriots a few weeks ago and the tennessee titans and apparently he's mowing actual contract offers from these two teams on On Friday morning, ESPN's Dan Graziano kind of got the ball rolling on this. On the Friday episode of Get Up, he said, quote, DeAndre Hopkins has contract offers from the Patriots and the Titans. He'd like to have something in place before training

camps start. And that's interesting because just a couple of days earlier, ESPN colleague Diana Rossini said something similar, and she shared that she was told by sources close to the situation that Hopkins was going over both offers from the Titans and from the Patriots. Now, we know the Pats already made that initial offer to Hopkins. It's apparently in the form of a dedicated contract, and it's clear that the Patriots had the money to sign DeAndre they still do they always did they didn't need these extensions of Parker and Bentley to do it but that doesn't mean that these transactions won't help the Patriots sweeten the deal a little

bit so Graziano addressed that as well and he said quote those moves are to clear up cap space especially when they're done this time of year it may well be that cap space is intended for deandre hopkins they're very serious about him and it's good to hear that the patriots are serious in their pursuit of deandre hopkins i think we all assume that now i respect dan's opinion here but we know from our visit from miguel yesterday and i can sense all of you everydayers right now nodding your heads that they did not extend Parker or Bentley simply to clear up cap space at least that wasn't the primary reason for them to do so but I think we can all

agree Miguel included that they can benefit from it positive news there now deandre still could consider an offer from another quote-unquote lurking team out there we keep hearing those reports kansas city chiefs bills continue to be mentioned among these lurking teams that might want to throw their hat into the ring prior to the start of training camp baltimore ravens may be being another one to keep an eye on the cleveland browns out there the The Carolina Panthers. We've heard all of these teams potentially attached to DeAndre Hopkins. But with a reported offer in hand for the Patriots and all of the logical dots that are connected here, there's no reason to not still consider the Patriots as the frontrunners in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes. So the good news is, if you want to see DeAndre Hopkins in a Patriots uniform,

nothing that's happened this week seems to have derailed those hopes. As Lloyd Christmas would say in Dumb and Dumber, there's a chance. And in my humble opinion, Pat's chances are a lot better than Lloyd's were in that movie. So, Pat's fans, my Patriots pies on. Steve Balistrieri is about to hop in here in just a moment. We're going to talk a little bit more in depth on DeHop and specifically how both he and Devontae Parker can coexist on the field and work well together within the Patriots wide receiver depth chart.

We're also going to talk about Juwan Bentley's impact on the defense. He's got himself a new contract in hand. Will he be a team captain again? The defensive play caller? Steve and I are going to discuss all of that and more. So stay locked in to this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Folks, today's podcast is brought to you by our good friends over at fan duel sports book take your first swing at betting mlb on fan duel and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to 200 that's right just bet 20 bucks and you'll land 200 in bonus bets win or lose that's200 that you can spend betting on everything

from the money line to the over-under to who you think is going to hit the first home run. All on an app that's safe, secure, and super easy to use. Plus, when you win, you get paid instantly. There is no better place to bet on MLB than FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. So sign up today and visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn to get up to $200 in bonus bets. That's FanDuel.com slash LockedOn.

FanDuel, official partner of Major League Baseball. Patriots fans, thank you once again for choosing to close your week in style here on LockedOn Patriots. Don't forget, we are your team every day and a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network. And joining me here today is a man we missed so much, we had to bring him back as soon as it was humanly possible. My good friend, my Patriots bison, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. Steve, welcome back to the pod.

It's great to have you back here on a regular rotation, buddy. Oh, thank you for having me. It's great to have you back here on a regular rotation, buddy. Oh, thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure talking football with my pod's on. So, you know, hey, you know, when we're on the field together, fireworks go off, right? That's right. Absolutely. Quite literally, folks, that actually has happened. We have stood on the Gillette Stadium football field and watched fireworks numerous times so those are good things those are always great memories my friend and um

the New England Patriots are hoping to create some fireworks of their own this year they actually did a little bit this week with a couple of contract extensions and Patriots fans got really excited when you saw the words Patriots sign wide receiver and then it was discovered that it was signing a contract extension 33 million dollars three years for wide out Devontae Parker Steve obviously there is a synergy between these two sides the Patriots like what they saw from Devontae obviously they're bringing him back for that reason a lot of people were kind of on the fence about this. I happen to think it's a good move, but when you saw the news that the Patriots had signed Devontae to this contract extension, what was your reaction based on what you saw from him last year and based on what you think he'll be a fit in Bill O'Brien's offense? Well, you know, it's funny because we talked a lot about Mac Jones

and some of the other guys, how they, you know, should bounce back and have a really good season out of the Bill O'Briens here. And Devontae Parker was kind of one of those guys that was left out because a lot of people after the season was over, well, you know, his numbers were good when they, you know, threw to him. They were actually very good, but he didn't produce the way, you know, we expected. And I think you could say that about everyone on offense last year.

And we kind of forgot about Devante was in the same boat. So, you know, I think that the fact that they extended him out tells you all you need to know how they feel about him moving forward. You know, I know that he misses a lot of time with injury, but, you know, when he was on the field, he was pretty effective. So, you know, the coaches know better than we do because they see everything firsthand. And, you know, maybe with know better than we do because they they see everything firsthand.

And, you know, maybe with Bill O'Brien at the helm, they're going to have good feelings about how much Parker can, you know, produce this year under a better offensive system. Having more people around that can catch the football and just being able to spread it around. So actually, I kind of doubled back on my own self there, and I'm all for this. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, need to look at the big picture when it comes to Devontae Parker and re-signing with the Patriots. And then, of course, their pursuit of DeAndre Hopkins, which is still out there. And I'm going to get to that in just a moment but just on its face on the surface this is a good move for Patriots it gives Mac Jones that viable contested catch red zone target that the Patriots really I think need in this offense from the wide receiver position as good as Mike Gusecki will be in that

role he's still a tight end I know people are calling him a glorified receiver, and I think there is some truth to that, but he's still going to align as a tight end. That's going to be 12-man personnel, so you want someone from the wideout position that can go up and bring down those 50-50 balls. Parker had his injuries last year. He's had his injuries throughout. There's no question about that. That's something to monitor, but 10 contested grabs last year, each of those leading to 20-plus yard receptions. That's something to keep an eye on. Evan Lazar of Patriots.com gave a great stat about 11.5 yards per target last season. That goes to show you that the Patriots believe that even though Devontae is at his best at the point of the catch, he's still going to be capable of being able to haul in yards because he is very good at

beating his target to the desired location and being able to make that grab. And let's face it, this is also not a system that he's coming into this year under Bill O'Brien that he's not familiar with. He had arguably his best season in 2019 coming from the Miami Dolphins, playing under Brian Flores and playing under Chad O'Shea, two guys that have coached alongside Bill O'Brien. They know that system. The Patriots use it well. That year, Devontae grabbed 72 catches, 128 targets, 1202 yards, nine touchdowns.

You have to think that the Patriots and Devontae are hoping to rekindle some of that. I don't think they're going to get all of it, Steve, but I think just even a three-quarter fraction of that, I think is going to be something where the Patriots will take it and they'll take it big time if Devontae is able to round play into form this year under Bill O'Brien. Yeah. And, you know, it was funny because Derek Havens and I, you know, on our own podcast, we were talking about what would happen if the Patriots signed DeAndre Hopkins and they kept Parker.

And Derek was saying, you look at the red zone. Parker is a red zone, you know, contested catch target. Hopkins is. Gusecki is. Hunter Henry is. That's a pretty good red zone receiving group right there because these guys can catch the ball. They don't have to have that separation right at the line of scrimmage.

And that would make this red zone offense pretty, pretty capable. I would think. And, you know, that, that's something that they really struggled with last year, probably cost them a couple of games, if not more. So, you know, looking at the big picture, I think these guys can coexist. I wasn't of that mind at first, but, you know, I don't know who would be the odd man out. Maybe it would be Kendrick Bourne if they decide to do that. I still believe in Bourne.

I think he's another guy that can give you, you know, a lot, but, uh, you know, uh, Parker, you know, if, like you said, if he catches 50 balls this year and, you know, is, uh, producing in the red zone, I think the Patriots will be quite happy with that. And the numbers, you know, you hear 33 million, but it's really not all of it, you know, every year. So it's pretty reasonable contract for a wide receiver, I think. Yeah, without any question. I'm so glad that you mentioned that. Miguel, the Pats cap ends on joins me here yesterday on Locked On Patriots and really outlined what the contract extension for Devontae Parker would look like and the fact that financially these two can coexist on this roster.

As a matter of fact, the Patriots didn't even need to extend Devontae Parker in order to be able to afford DeAndre Hopkins. So this is a good thing for the New England Patriots. And at the very least, it creates more wiggle room, more opportunity for them to offer a little bit more of a lucrative contract but I don't think these two moves were tied together at all I think Devante is someone they felt they wanted to have in the fold here in Foxborough and they definitely did that now you brought up an interesting point as to how these two guys can coexist on the field, Steve. DeAndre Hopkins, Devontae Parker, both considered X receivers. Folks, that just means that you're the top option at the position

and you line up at the line of scrimmage or on the line of scrimmage. These are two alpha pass catchers and that's their game. That's what they are. They're not speed demons. They're not necessarily the most agile, but they are the best at being able to secure catches. And I think that's where you're going to see these two maybe go back and forth a little bit. I've heard suggestions that if one was going to align as a Z receiver, essentially someone that lines up off a line of scrimmage, that it would be more Devontae Parker that could do it rather than DeAndre Hopkins based on their skill set right now. I can see the argument for putting Devante in as a flanker. I know a lot of people are going to argue that he's not speedy enough to be a flanker, but I can't see DeAndre Hopkins doing it. Is this

the only way that they can coexist? I think they can make it work. I think Bill O'Brien can make this work. I think they'll move guys around a lot. I see that happening a lot this year. You'll see somebody in motion, and you'll have either Juju or Tyquan Thornton operating out of the slot. So I believe in O'Brien. I think he'll make it work. He's going to figure out a way to do it.

You know, speed isn't necessarily the only factor at Z. You know, it all depends on how you're creating your offensive, you know, play design. So I'll be interested to see how it works out. I'm sure at times one of them will be off the field and the other will be on, and then they'll have different packages depending on the opponent and the situation. But I'm looking forward to seeing if it happens,

meaning if they sign Hopkins, how they make it work. Obviously, they have a plan in place because supposedly they're still very interested in bringing Hopkins in. And obviously, Parker isn't going anywhere. Yeah, there's no question about that, folks. I mean, I know there's still a little bit of question as to where DeAndre Hopkins is going anywhere. Yeah. There's no question about that folks. I mean, I know there's still a little bit of question as to where DeAndre Hopkins is going to end up. Talked a little bit about that to open the show today, ESPN reporting that he's currently mulling over the offer from the Patriots and the Titans, but the way this deal is structured for Devante Parker,

he's here through 2025 and I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon so Patriots definitely have that X if they need him and if they do have a couple of players at that position they're pretty good at doing what they do it's nice to have an embarrassment of riches Steve then have the cupboard bare when the 2023 season begins so folks again not an an unconventional pairing to say the least but it can happen and these guys can coexist on the field. And if they do have to coexist on the field, it might make for some real interesting and exciting and entertaining football for Patriots fans everywhere. But, Steve, the Patriots were not done extending players this week

because they chose to flip the script, go over to the defensive side of the ball. Juwan Bentley being locked up is something that the Patriots absolutely needed to do. Great move for New England. Just how great was it? Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com, and I will discuss that point and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patsfans, thank you so much for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. We are a proud part of the locked on podcast network,

your team every day. And because it's your team, your questions, your comments, your concerns are going to be focused and featured here on Monday's episode of the locked on Patriots podcast. It is hashtag mailbag Monday. It's also hashtag locked on Murph Monday.

The kind of Murphy F, and I will be breaking down your questions, comments, and anything that you want on your mind. So be sure to get those questions in on Twitter at LO underscore Patriots. You can at me at MDABATENFL. You can even at Murph at TMurph207.

Or put hashtag Mailbag Monday in your comments on YouTube, and we'll be sure to feature your great content here on locked on Patriots. That is Monday's episode. Don't miss it, folks. You will definitely be entertained and informed, but today you are already being entertained and informed by my good friend,

my Patriots buys on columnist, extraordinary pats, fans.com, Steve Balistrieri. And Steve, we talked about the contract extension of Devontae Parker yesterday here on the pod, talked to financials. Patriots chose to address the defensive side of the ball as well, and they lock up a beloved captain here in New England, Juwant Bentley, a two-year contract extension with the club,

$18.75 million, of which $9 million is guaranteed. And Steve, you know the value of protection, you know, based on your history. You know, I think you can definitely teach all of us a thing or two about the concept. But in football, defense has always been said to win championships. And you need a solid defender in the middle of the field that knows how to direct traffic, knows how to keep guys where they need to be. Juwan Bentley, unquestionably that role. I love this move.

What was your reaction to Bentley being extended for the next two years here in New England? I think it's a great move for the team. You know, he's morphed into that on and off the field leadership. You know, he's kind of filling that Willie McGinnis role, you know, he's morphed into that on and off the field leadership. You know, he's kind of filling that Willie McGinnis role. You know, we've seen that for so many years. You know, he's going to be the guy, you know, in the locker room. He's going to be the guy on the field. He's going to call the plays.

You know, that whole, you know, center of the defense in your front seven. He's going to be the glue that holds everything together. You know, he's becoming an extremely good playmaker. You know, he had, I think it was 122 tackles last year. And, you know, he provides that immovable object in the middle, and he's a thumper, you know, especially on early downs. But he's shown he can cover now. You know, he's developed into a decent coverage linebacker when he has to.

And, you know, his physicality, his athleticism, and, you know, his knowledge of the defense, making sure everyone's lined up. I think it's a great move for them. I think he's the glue, you know, that sticks that front seven together. Without question. I'm so glad that you mentioned his ability not just to be used in early downs, which is where the Patriots

really saw a lot in him coming out of college in his early years here in New England but he's developed into quite the coverage linebacker and I think you hit the nail right on the head there the leadership the experience it really makes him a very important piece of the Pats roster one of the reasons why he's been a captain two out of the last three years, seating it only one year to Dante Hightower. And he's really taken the baton from Dante. And I think going to continue on in that role for a good number of years to come. The Patriots love Juwan. There's no question about it. And there's a lot to love there. His packet specific roles that he plays, but also giving him the opportunity to see the field a little bit more often than not is something that I think is going to be a great move. So I love this move again,

folks, and I think the Patriots were smart to do this. Now, we've talked about Juwan having a very prominent role, and he'll continue to do that. A lot of people think that he may actually be used in more specialized packages this year. I, for one, am a proponent of that because I think it's going to accentuate his skill set. You're going to have Mack Wilson, Anthony Jennings, and Josh Uche likely playing on and off the line this year. I think Bentley can go into a little bit more of a specialized package. Could you see the Patriots using him in this fashion a little bit more? Or was this more about locking up a veteran leader and a team captain, especially with the loss of Devin McCourty? Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both.

I mean, you have that veteran and, you know, we saw how they used. I should have mentioned him as well when I talked about Willie McGinnis, you know, the the role of the quarterback of the front seven there, Donta Hightower. We've seen the Patriots, you know, use Hightower at times in a specialist role. And, you know, I think the players you mentioned are going to be very good and they'll be able to, you know, rotate those guys in and out. But another guy that I could see pairing up really well

in what you say it's a specialist role is excuse me mapu you know you put mapu on the field with bentley and you know in certain situations and i think they'll be able to clean up out there because you have one guy that's an absolute thumper that can take on the big blockers, but you also have a guy that's athletic, and, I mean, he hits a ton as well. You know, when he's on the field, I mean, he hits like somebody that's Bentley size.

So you've got to love the move. I agree with you. I think they're going to experiment with a lot of different looks this year. They talked about unicorns. Who knows? Bentley might be the biggest unicorn we've ever seen. It might be. And, again, someone that can do it all. We've talked about his prowess in run defense.

We've talked about his ability in coverage. He can get after the passer if he needs to. He's got that skill set and that capability. Last year, 125 combined tackles, 62 of them were solo, six quarterback hits and three sacks. So he has the ability to get after the passer if he needs to. Even a fumble recovery, which really shows you his field awareness just for the position that he plays and what he's able to bring to the table. Once again, just, I think, a very good move for the New England Patriots to lock him up. And that brings me quite nicely into my final question for you today, buddy, in that the Patriots still have some questions out there in terms of players that are owed contract extensions.

And Miguel and I talked a little bit about the figures and what's believed it will take for the Patriots to get moves with Kyle Duggar and Josh Uche done. Miguel believes that Uche will be the first extended, then Kyle Duggar, and he kind of thinks Michael Wainu is more or less on his way out. Those are Miguel's predictions. I'm not going to step on them or I'm not going to, you know, endorse them. Those are predictions right now. It gets a little way too early, but do you have any optimism based on the way that the Patriots are building this defense, not necessarily financially, but the way they're building this defense that they may get something done with Uche or Duggar prior to the start of the season?

That's a great question. I think looking at the big picture, I think they'll attempt to get something done with both of those guys. I think they'll be a little more cautious with Uche to see if last year was just an anomaly or did the light finally come on with him. I think we know the answer for Duggar. I think Duggar is rapidly becoming one of the better playmakers that they have on the entire team.

And I think he's going to be your long-term solution. You know, I think he's going to move to free safety a lot this year myself, but you know, that's a conversation we can have at another time. But I think Uche, now if Uche starts turning in numbers like he did at the end of last year, he's going to be in for a huge payday. So maybe they're looking at him in the offseason saying, you know, he has all the signs that he's going to continue that. Maybe they do try to lock him up early.

I mean, you know, you could go either way with this. But, you know, last year, the last half of the season, that's when, you know, everything started to fall into place for him. And we saw the player that they envisioned when they drafted him. But I'm not sure. You know how hardball they play it. They may just tell Uche, well, you know, yeah, you had a great second half of the season, but can you do it again?

But we're offering you the chance to stick around. You know what I mean? So I think Duggar would be my first choice. Get him locked up and then see what happens with Uche during the season and try to lock him up midseason. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways you make a very, very interesting point, especially with Uche. And that can be a double-edged sword.

The Patriots may see what he's able to do on the field especially in training camp and say yeah you know what this kid looks like he's ready to break out even you know above and beyond what we saw in 2022 because of that we want to try to keep him in the fold and we're going to make him an offer and try to keep him here in new england But Josh may be looking at it and saying, Hey, if I keep playing at this level, I may be in line for a galactic type contract that I may not be able to get here in New England. So there is a lot to consider. Kyle Duggar's role, I think is a little bit more, I don't want to say muted,

but maybe a little bit more subdued on the national level than it is on the local level. You find local members of the media, colleagues of ours on the Patriots beat that have nothing but glowing things to say about Kyle Duggar. Duggar kind of rides a little bit under the radar in most national circles. There are some analysts that give him his just due, but a lot still see the division two rookie from Lenore Ryan, and they don't believe that he really belongs in that conversation Kyle Duggar does folks he came in here with a full understanding of the Patriots defensive concepts before even stepping on the field as a rookie that's not easy to do and he did it and he did it well so I agree with you I think there are some roadblocks some double-edged swords here but I

think they may try to make things happen with these two guys because there's such an important part, each of them, of what the Patriots do defensively. So it's going to be interesting to see, my friend. It always is in Foxborough, never a dull moment. And you can bet that if it does happen or it doesn't happen in Foxborough, we're going to be covering it right here on Locked On Patriots, folks. And I hope to have this man alongside me for several of those conversations throughout training camp, throughout the season,

as we continue to try to bring you the best coverage possible for your team every day. So, Steve, what can I say? Thanks again for joining me here today, for lending your reason, as you are the resident voice of reason. Don't forget, folks, you can catch Steve's written work at patsfans.com.

You can always catch him on Patriots 4th and 2, a tremendous listen with Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and of course, yours truly, Steve Balistrieri. So, Steve, before I let you go, my friend, please enlighten everyone as to what we can look forward to in the coming week from the great pen, the great voice of Steve Balistrieri. Yeah, you know, my Sunday column will be coming out in two days, and I'm going to be looking at the roster as it currently stands and seeing where, you know, they may need more help. I mentioned that last week. But I'm also going to mention some under-the-radar guys who, you know,

people might not be looking at as a major contributor this year and guys who I think may step up and, you know, provide the Patriots with some added production. Absolutely. Find him on Twitter, at SteveB7S7 sfg as the man said and you can definitely catch him here on locked on patriots every now and then and folks don't forget even though it's the weekend get your questions in to locked on patriots at lo underscore patriots or tag mailbag monday in your youtube comments for a chance to have your questions featured here on a

very special monday episode Locked On Patriots. We'll be off in observance of the Tuesday holiday on July 4th, but we'll be back here on Wednesday as well. Just a few programming notes as you set your week, but we will be here on Monday for Hashtag Mailbag Monday alongside the Green King of Sting himself, Mr. Thomas Murphy. But in the meantime, folks, please continue to stay safe and stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world.

On behalf of my Patriots Paisans, Steve Balistrieri, I'm Mike DeBate. Have a great weekend, folks, and we'll see you back here on Monday on Locked on Patriots.