Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Free Agency: Jakobi Meyers Out, Austin Ekeler Trade?

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

The New England Patriots’ top pass-catcher from 2022 is headed West. However, might their backfield battery be in need of a significant ‘charge?’ Host Mike D’Abate breaks down the signing of Jakobi Meyers by the Las Vegas Raiders, while also discussing the tendering of Myles Bryant and the signing of offensive lineman Calvin Anderson. Lastly, he outlines his thoughts on why pursuing Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler might be in their best interest.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.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.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

Jacoby Myers is up to Las Vegas, but not all hope is lost in Foxborough. Stick around. You're about to be locked into 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. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me. 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 Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. And as fans, as I said to open the show, the Pats top pass catcher from 2022 is headed west to Sin City of all places. Jacoby Myers, now former New England Patriots wide receiver, reportedly agreeing to a three

year, $33 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. That reunites him with his former offensive coordinator and current Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and for Las Vegas this is a good move no question about it. New quarterback former Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo getting a sure-handed offensive weapon and I know all of you out there in Patriots Nation are wondering what the Patriots are going to do next at the wide receiver position. At the outset, folks, let's just put this out there. New England's going to face a tough task, replicating what Jacoby Myers brought to them in terms of productivity and in terms of reliability

on the field. Originally came to the Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2019, and from the moment he walked through the door, there was a buzz among a lot of us throughout the media, really among a lot of the fan base as well. If you go back and take a look at some of the tweets from the fan base back then, there was something about this kid and just the way he conducted himself, the mannerisms that he utilized, and the prowess that he showed on the field really told people this kid was going to be a valuable asset to the Patriots offense for two reasons durability and dependability and that's exactly what he brought to the New England Patriots for four years here compiled more receptions and more receiving yards than any other member of the team during that span 235 career

receptions currently ranks third among all non-drafted players in the league since 2019 so he's not just showing some Patriots prowess Jacoby also showing that he can play with the best of them in this league and he was one of Mac Jones most reliable and preferred targets so that creates a conundrum for the New England Patriots don't forget Mac had pretty much become accustomed to relying on Jacoby to catch basically anything that was thrown his way. And save for a few snafus, Jacoby wasn't perfect out there

by any stretch of the imagination, but he mostly reeled in whatever Mack needed him to catch. Battled for a lot of injuries in 2022, but he still started 13 of the 14 games he appeared in, led the team, set career highs with 804 receiving yards, six touchdowns, and finished second on the team with 67 receptions. So the Patriots right now have a pretty serviceable positional group under contract. Guys like Devontae Parker, Tyquan Thornton, Kendrick Bourne

are going to be called upon to play big roles on this team in 2023. But you'd be remiss if you said that help still wasn't needed. The Patriots need to address this position. And a lot of the feedback that I've been getting, and I know you've been seeing it out there on Twitter as well, is how could the Patriots allow Jacoby Myers to walk for such a reasonable price? A lot of earlier reports, and we reported this even up to yesterday when I spoke with Murphy on Locked On Patriots, that Jacoby's asking price could get up into the $15 million

annual range. And even I, who have been one of Jacoby's biggest fans and stalwarts here on the pod, had said that $15 million was way too high for his services. The Patriots would let him walk and justifiably should let him walk. But if it was between 12, 13, that was reasonable. And the fact that he was able to up for $11 million per year, I'll be honest with you, was surprising. And apparently it was to Joby as well, who made some comments on Twitter.

You can go over and take a look at those. I'm sure you've seen them talking to Josina Anderson right after the announcement was made saying, I wanted them. They wanted me. Tried to make it work with the Patriots. I respect them, but I'm blessed to be going to the place that I'm going to. Obviously, Jacoby's saying all the right things. A lot was put on, I wanted them, they didn't want me. And, you know, folks, I understand that there are inferences to be made from a statement like that. But when you look at the type of deal Jacoby signed and the type of deal that the Patriots were probably willing to offer, it might've been comparable. I don't think it's quite where the Raiders ended up and that's why Jacoby ended up leaving. But, you know, we keep forgetting that

the Patriots have a lot of holes to fill on this roster. And I know that the easiest thing to do out there, especially for the two to six crowds to sit there and contrive a narrative that the Patriots are sinisterly frugal. You know, they're cheap to the point where they're going to forsake the fan base, forsake winning, all for the profit, all for the bottom line. And having covered this team for the last few years, I can tell you that is not the case, but you're going to hear it and you're going to continue to see that narrative pushed. The team proved that they're willing to invest significant money in improving this roster. How quickly we forget two years ago in 2021 when the team

committed north of $190 million to seven free agents. That came within hours of this legal tampering period that we're in right now for the Patriots. So they're going to invest when they feel the investment is there to be made. That's why I think allowing Jacoby to leave for what's being perceived as less than market value, that indicates that their pass-catching plans and Bill O'Brien's offense might not really be contingent to signing Jacoby Myers. And this goes against what I've talked about. I've actually said the opposite on several occasions. And I'm not saying I'm right.

I'm not saying Patriots are right. But it appears that this is exactly what they're looking at. Don't forget, Bill O'Brien's bread and butter when it comes to coordinating an offense, folks, is efficient running, ball protection, spreading the ball to different pass catchers, and facilitating notable yards after the catch. Bill O'Brien, much like my good friend Murph, likes his yak. And I love Jacoby Myers, but yak is not his game. He's not known for his yards after the catch prowess.

So where do the Patriots go from here? Well, internally, they still have Nelson Aguilar out on the free agent market. At least I'm recording this at 5 p.m. on the East Coast on Tuesday, folks. He's still out there, so he hasn't been signed at the time you're listening to this. Maybe that's different. Maybe he is still out there.

Struggled a lot throughout his two-year tenure here in New England, but his speed, his experience on the perimeter does make him a potential candidate for retention. So if Nelson is willing to come back for a fraction of what he made the last time he was a free agent don't be a bit surprised to see him back here he does have a pretty good

relationship with davante parker pretty good relationship with mac jones uh supposedly no ill feelings of you know with bill belichick or anybody that's coming in here so maybe nelson can kind of rekindle some of what the patriots saw in him a couple of years ago if he's utilized properly and the pats of course we've talked about the trade rumors folks deandre hopkins out there on the open market um or i should say on the trade market big difference there uh but uh brandon cooks we've talked about as a potential here as well moves of this type are certainly possible and i actually have an interesting move that I'm going to discuss here today in just a bit on Locked On Patriots. So don't go anywhere.

Our third segment is going to be something I think you'll enjoy or at least be intrigued by. But I digress. We're talking about Jacoby Myers. Acquiring any of these services is going to be requiring more than just financial capital. The Patriots are going to have to surrender some draft capital as well. Speaking of that draft capital, this class is rich in receiver talent. I mean, the Patriots could secure a game-changing pass catcher anywhere in those first three rounds. It could be Ohio State's Jackson Smith Najigba. It could be TCU's Quentin Johnson. It could be

Boston College's Dave Flowers, a big fan favorite, someone I'm really warming to as a possibility in the slot. These are all definite options for the Patriots, and they would require first round capital to get. But at the same time, you could go into the second and third rounds and maybe snag a Nathaniel Dell out of Houston, maybe a Jaden Reed out of Michigan State. Guys that could come in and play the slot effectively, especially Reed, or you get somebody that could fill in on the perimeter and they may choose to look elsewhere for the slot. So the Patriots face an insurmountable, but not, it's a tall task,

but not an insurmountable task. Big difference there. I'm going to say that one more time just to clarify. It's a tall task. It's not an insurmountable task. He may not be a prototypical wide receiver one, meaning Jacoby Myers, but his ability to secure the football for big yardage at the catch point, that makes him an invaluable addition to almost any offensive scheme.

And he's joining an already impressive stable. That includes receivers, you know, Devante Adams, Hunter Renfro, Josh Jacobs as a running back, uh, will not be joining Darren Waller, who is heading over to the New York football giants. Check out my good friend, Patricia Trena on locked on NYG, and she'll fill you all in on Darren Waller joining big blue, but you still get the feeling that Jacoby is going to a place where he can be a significant contributor and doesn't have to have that put on his shoulders about being a wide

receiver one and that's exactly what he was here and i don't think that's jacoby's game or how he's built so the questions surrounding the patriots receiving core they're going to continue until a move or equal of greater proportions is made to offset Jacoby's absence. And whether New England has the answer to those questions, that's going to be discovered in the coming days. But it wasn't all bad news for your New England Patriots on Tuesday. There were some comings and some retentions as well.

And we're going to discuss those in just a minute when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel Sportsbook. The midway point of the NBA season is here, and now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because new customers get a no-swe sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. And just download the FanDuel sportsbook app. It's safe, it's secure, and it's super easy to use. And then you can bet on everything from the money line to the point scorers to all the three pointers that are drained. Plus, FanDuel even lets you combine

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thank you for taking time out of your schedule to join me here on LockedOn Patriots. I'm Mike DeBate, your host, and it wasn't all exits on Tuesday for the Patriots. Obviously, we're all sad to see Jacoby Myers go. On a personal note, I loved covering Jacoby here in New England. One of the great guys in the locker room, truly one of the hardest workers I've seen come through those doors in quite some time.

And you know the Patriots are going to be very concerned and also very diligent about the way they choose to try to fill those shoes. But they did have some retentions and even one arrival, a new face. and also very diligent about the way they choose to try to fill those shoes. But they did have some retentions and even one arrival, a new face joining the New England Patriots, the first one of such. And let's start with those sticking around. The team took a pretty notable step on Tuesday and trying to shore up that secondary for 2023. And the Patriots have apparently tendered restricted free agent defensive back Miles Bryant

at the right of first refusal level. This according to ESPN's Mike Reese. The tender worth $2.6 million, a one-year deal for Miles. Now it is going to be subject to offer sheets. What that means, folks, is that if another NFL team provides an offer sheet to Miles Bryant between March 15th and April 21st, the Patriots hold the ability to match that contract, or they can allow him to play elsewhere without receiving draft compensation in return. So at this point, it is interesting to see if there is a market out there, if he's going to

have an opportunity to get an offer sheet. If the Patriots choose to match, they definitely are committing to him, but this at least shows that they're trying to work out a way to keep him in the fold. And I know there's some bitterness, for lack of a better term, and I'm sorry to kind of fumble around with that a little bit, but a little bit of hesitation toward welcoming Miles Bryant back into the fold. I understand there were games that he had last season where he was beaten. There were difficulties. We talked about them here on Locked On Patriots.

I'm not going to say that I've never been critical of Miles, but overall, I always thought this kid was a solid option in the slot. And don't forget, he joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent as well. Came out of the University of Washington in 2020. Three seasons with the Pats so far. 123 total tackles. 10 pass breakups. Three interceptions.

One sack. One forced fumble. Those statistics are not going to really light the world ablaze. But keep in mind that he's the one that stepped up after Jonathan Jones had a shoulder injury in October 2021. That's when Miles became the past primary option at the slot and really showed that he not only can he hit hard, which he always had a reputation of doing, he can play a versatile role with New England, especially when the Patriots are employing the multiple defensive backs against their opponents. Miles really provided a lot of versatility to the

Patriots defensive backfield. He does see most of his time in the slot, but he can occasionally align as a third safety in the Patriots three safety sets. Didn't do as much of it this year because you had Jabril Peppers along with Adrian Phillips, along with Kyle Duggar, along with Devin McCourty. You had some depth there at the position, but Miles did fill that position out quite nicely in 2021 as well. And he can do that once again for the Patriots. If they have a rookie or a lesser known player come in to fill Devin McCourty's shoes, you can see Miles Bryant taking on maybe that role on occasion, but I think they're looking to keep him in the slot and really have his primary focus be against the opponent's slot receiver. And he had a pretty good season this year, statistically. His career highs were

reached. Most of his major career highs were reached. 70 total tackles, 45 solo tackles, six pass breakups, also logged an interception and he even recovered a fumble so the Patriots keeping Miles Bryant in house I like this move not a blockbuster move but a solid move to show that the Patriots are serious about keeping their court intact as Murph and I said yesterday you got to fix up the house first before you can really start to enhance the curb appeal and that's what the Patriots are doing here. So I like this move, and we'll see what it brings to the Patriots' defensive backfield, especially knowing now that Jonathan Jones is going to be back.

But the Patriots weren't done yet, folks. The first new face arriving in New England belongs to a guy that's coming here for his second tour of duty with the Pats. Patriots agreeing to a two-year deal with former dendro broncos offensive tackle calvin anderson and that's per the nfl network mike garofalo breaking that on tuesday afternoon this is the patriots first edition from outside the organization in 2023 so a little interesting trivia bit that you may want to keep in the back of your head who Who was the first outside free agent for the Patriots in 2023? It was Calvin Anderson, formerly now of the Denver Broncos.

And you may remember Calvin back in 2019. He was also signed as a Patriots undrafted free agent. But his stay in New England only lasted two weeks. And again, tip of the cap, nod to the gods to my good friend mike reese of espn who is the best in the business he pointed this out and save me folks i would have never remembered that he was actually released only two weeks into training camp or two weeks into the season last year to accommodate the rivals of offensive tackle jared villapiltier and wide receiver Dontrell Inman. Yeah, both Patriots legends, folks.

But no, no disrespect to either player. Both good players. But the Patriots did indeed part ways with Calvin, and he was quickly picked up by the New York Jets. He remained on their practice squad until October when he was signed by the Broncos. And that's when through the next four seasons, he would really emerge into a very solid member of their offensive line. Saw action in 41 games, made 12 starts. His best season came last year

in 2022. He played on 47% of the Broncos offensive snaps. Most of those snaps came at the left tackle position. And pro football focus really said this very well. He gave up two sacks last season, as well as 15 additional quarterback pressures. That makes him a very solid swing option for the Patriots. But there's a chance that he might be able to compete for a starting role as well. Don't forget, the Patriots right now don't have a starting right tackle. I know that will probably change because Isaiah Wynn obviously is going elsewhere and the Pats are either going to look to the draft or maybe continue to look in free agency.

But right now, you have to think that Anderson is going to get a shot along with Connor McDermott to try to come in and compete for a starting role. And the Wynnwoods offensive line is going to get a shot along with Connor McDermott to try to come in and compete for a starting role. And New England's offensive line is going to need that help. They struggled all season long last year. We mentioned Wynn is on his way out. No question about that. Yannick Adjust is a restricted free agent. We're not sure what's going to happen there with the Patriots if he's going to be brought back.

Trent Brown struggled in 2022. I think he comes back strong in 2023. He's working out hard. Again, all proof is going to be on the field when it comes to that. I love Trent. I think he's got it in him. I think he will do it, but we'll see. Cole Strange, I think, is going to take a little bit of a jump this year,

and he's going to move forward. David Andrews is as solid as you get. And Michael Lueno, I think, is still their most consistent contributor at right guard along the offensive line. So these guys are going to definitely do what they need to do. And Anderson's apparently excited to return to the place. He started his pro football journey years ago. In fact, he took to social media to make a promise to Patriots Nation saying that he remembers everybody here. There's unfinished business and he's ready to get to work. You'll love to see it. Really enthusiastic about rejoining the Patriots. And why shouldn't he be? It's a great place to be.

And I think he'll definitely do well here. So he's going to join a lot of different guys on this line. Haven't even mentioned guys like Cody Rusi, Jason Hines, Andrew Stuber, James Ferentz. He's going to compete with all of them for a spot on this roster. Galvin Anderson comes with some pedigree and he comes off of a very good season and that could lead him to success right here in New England. Folks, the Patriots did have a couple of comings and goings, but one thing that we haven't discussed a whole lot of here on the program is the running back position that's because remandre stevenson is pretty comfortable sitting at the top of that that offensive depth chart however the patriots may have an opportunity to bring in a player that i

think could catapult them to the top of the list when it comes to dual threat running backs and maybe the most impressive duo in the game. It's a hypothetical, folks, but there are measures that have been taken to maybe make it a reality. I'm going to talk the Patriots possibly snagging Austin Eckler from the Los Angeles Chargers in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by our good friends over at Built.com. The Built March Madness bracket is here, and we know you have a favorite bar or pub, and now is your time to make it count.

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Built.com. Patriots fans, thank you once again for taking time out of your Tuesday to spend here on Locked on Patriots as we recap the day's events here on March 14th, the second day of legal tampering and the eve of the official start of the 2023 NFL season, or at least the NFL year. I know, folks. Season's a whole different ballgame. The league year is about to begin. And because the league year is about to begin, not only are we tracking all of the official,

well, unofficial official comings and goings, they'll be official tomorrow, but at the same time, we're also in prime speculation season. And something came across my purview, my eyes, as it did all of you on social media, that really got me thinking about the New England Patriots and their desire to upgrade their offensive prowess in 2023. It started to get me thinking that the New England Patriots and their desire to upgrade their offensive prowess in 2023. It started to get me thinking that the New England Patriots backfield might be in need of a significant change or a significant charge, more likely. Yeah, I know, bad dad joke, folks. I apologize, mea culpa. But with Jacobi Myers now agreeing to join the las vegas raiders

new england might be looking to the afc west for a potential pass catching weapon that might make life a little bit easier for mac jones i'm talking about a guy i had the privilege of covering when i covered the chargers back in 2017 and 2018 his name is austin Eckler. Not only is he a great pass catching weapon, but he also is pretty good at running the ball too. And this all stemmed from a Tuesday afternoon report from the athletics, Jeff Howe, who again, like Mike, one of the best guys in the business, always, always take his stuff to the bank, folks. You definitely know it's coming from a place of sincerity and spot on analysis eckler has been granted permission from the organization to seek a trade and i know this

surprised a lot of people but despite being pretty well set at the top of their running back core with remondre stevenson i think the patriots should be smart to inquire on eckler's services and i'll tell you why coming off of back-to-back NFL seasons with 15 or more combined touchdowns, both rushing, receiving folks, he's only 27 years old to do this, so he still has a lot left in the tank. And you want to talk about how rare it is to have him come off of two back-to-back seasons where he's got 15 or more combined touchdowns. The only other player is the Rams running back Marshall Falk, only two players in NFL history to have 10 or more rushing touchdowns and five or more receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons. Eckler combined

for eight touchdowns and 1,637 total yards just last season. He also finished with a franchise high 107 receptions, five of which went for a touchdown. So if you're looking for a guy that can do it all, Austin Eckler is pretty much that guy. In fact, some people think he might actually be better at catching passes than he is at running the football, but I wouldn't necessarily go that far because Eckler definitely has the ability to do all of them he's still a pretty good runner as well he presents something of a defensive coverage problem I like to say and I've said this about him for uh for years now since I started covering him even though he's very good as a backfield catcher he's still the Chargers

feature running back and he set career highs in 2022 on the ground with 915 yards, 13 touchdowns, all of this with all the prowess he brings out of the backfield. Given his ability as a dual-threat offensive weapon, he can be dangerous as a pass catcher, but he can be dangerous as a rusher as well. That means taking pressure off of the Patriots' receivers and giving Ramondre Stevenson some much needed rest. Folks, this makes a lot of sense logistically. And one of the things that I love about Austin is it creates so many mismatches from a defensive perspective. Anytime Austin takes the field, and the Patriots have done this as well when they've had to play him, you have to

pair him with a legitimate cover defender. You can't allow a linebacker to come up and do it. Austin Wilt is too fast. He's too shifty. He's going to be able to shake that type of defender. So you really need a dedicated defensive back simply to the duty of covering him. And go back and take a look at how some teams have had success against Austin Eckler. This is what they need to do. When they do that, though, it also draws a member of the secondary away from the rest of the backfield. That means one fewer defender that's now in the backfield defending against the other skill position players. This is how the Chargers have been able to really make some headway. You've got guys like Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Gerald Everett at the tight end position. They can open up a lot of lanes for Justin Herbert

to be able to find if you have at least one of those defensive backs dedicated to trying to stop Austin Eckler. And this is where he really fits, I think, very well into New England's scheme. Bill O'Brien, once again again an offense that features ball protection efficient running spreading the ball to multiple pass catchers facilitating notable yards after the catch that means that eckler would really project very well into bill o'brien's system he does all of those extremely well now the patriots have several positional needs here and i know people are screaming right now saying no we don't need another running back. We need a wide receiver. We need offensive line help. We need a tight end. Yeah, you can make the argument that maybe the Patriots need all three

positional-wise a little bit more, but here's why I think Austin is an intriguing member for the Patriots. Damian Harris, you know he's probably going to test free agent waters, and it's interesting to find whether or not he's going to be able to get what he wants out there on the open market. I love Damian, but if you have an opportunity to add someone with Eckler's abilities, if you're the Patriots, you have to take advantage of this, and I think this is something that a lot of people would agree with, and I think it's something the Patriots would agree with. Yes, you have youngsters like Pierre Strong Kevin Harris they saw minimal time last year you expect them to make that jump but adding someone like an Austin Eckler pairing him along

with from Andre Stevenson gives Strong and Harris the chance to develop at their own pace you don't have to rush them along in a lot of ways it may even be more beneficial to those second-year players now who were rookies in 2022. And I think the chance to add a player of Eckler's skill set, his experience, might just be too great to forego, especially given Meyer's defection to the Raiders. Now, obviously, this is a move that's going to come all down to money without any question, and Eckler is about to enter the final season of a four-year, $24.5 million contract that he signed in 2020. Accordingly, he's set to hit the books this season for $6.25 million annually with a cap hit of $7.75 million. Now, even if the Patriots don't try to rework that,

they can still easily accommodate that what I like to call rental fee for one year and work out a long-term deal. But that's where this could snag because Eckler is going to be looking for a long-term deal. He only has one year left on that contract, so he's going to want to go to a place where he can thrive for a number of seasons and play with a quarterback and a coach that he knows can maximize his capabilities. Matt Jones, I think, is the quarterback. I know Bill Belichick is definitely the coach, and I really, really strongly believe that Bill O'Brien is the offensive coordinator that can really utilize Eckler as well as anyone. The two sides can come

to an agreeable medium here. The Patriots have a number of draft picks, sufficient draft capital, if you want to get very flowery about it, to really entice the Chargers to sit down at the negotiation table and really try to hammer something out here. He's going to have his share of suitors. He's definitely going to have a lot of options, and New England may or may not be among them. But if you're the Patriots, you have to at least kick the tires and see what's available here because the logistical fit to me in New England is as strong as anyone. For years, the Patriots have been waiting for a guy that could be that dual threat type of running back that they need. Kevin Falk was that to an

absolute T here in New England. James White did a tremendous job being that guy. I really think Austin Eckler has the opportunity to come in and be that type of player, that type of weapon on offense that could really change the complexity of the way the Patriots play and catapult them, I think, into the top running attack in the league. If that happens and you have Stevenson and Eckler at the top of this team, you're looking at a special moment. And yeah, you know, it's going to be tough. I'm not going to lie to you.

It's not going to be easy to broker a deal between these two sides. But I think the benefit for both of these sides trying to make it work really makes it worth watching in the coming days. And i'll leave you with an interesting tidbit here eckler may actually be willing to try to shed some of that belichickian kryptonite uh that he has whenever he plays new england eckler's got a very good record against a lot of other teams out there but the patriots are not one of them honestly three career games against the pats um 21 carries in three games, mind you, 108 yards, only one touchdown. So if you can't beat them, folks, join them. And who knows, maybe Austin Eckler may be willing to come here and play with his old

Chargers teammates, Adrian Phillips and Hunter Henry. And maybe we can get Chargers East going here on the East Coast. I would love it because I did cover the Chargers back in the day, and I would love to see Austin come here and really make it a trifecta of three of the favorite bolts that I ever had the opportunity to cover. But again, I'm not making the decisions, folks. Bill Pochek is, and he will continue to make those decisions each and every day this week as free agency continues and the league year officially begins.

Tomorrow here on Locked On, Patriots, we'll bring you the very latest from March 15th, the third day of official, unofficial free agency that really becomes official tomorrow. I know it's a lot to keep track of, folks, but trust me, tomorrow some of these deals will become in books and we'll break them down for you here and also my good friend the countess of class herself claire classy claire cooper is going to join me for some tight endage talk on wednesday so you don't want to miss that in the meantime if you've made us your first listen please make your second listen our good friends over at locked on nfl

draft my good friends damian Parson and Keith Sanchez are crushing the LockedOnNFLDraft coverage. Definitely check them out wherever you get your podcasts. Download, subscribe to, follow. And while you're at it, smash that subscribe button to YouTube and follow us wherever you get your podcasts as well. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I sincerely thank you for joining me here on Locked On Patriots today.

Keep making us the daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. It's definitely something that I am humbled and honored to do, and I continue to try to make this show better each and every day. So drop me a line in the comments section on YouTube or reach out to me on Twitter. If there's anything you'd like to see more of, less of, differently, more of the same, definitely let me know, and we'll definitely continue to try to bring you the best show we possibly can here

on Locked on Patriots. In the meantime, please continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you tomorrow, right here on Locked on Patriots.