Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Free Agency: Jonnu Smith Traded, Jonathan Jones Re-Signed and More

Episode Date: March 13, 2023

The New England Patriots have retained a key member of their defenisve backfield, while parting ways with one half of their tight endage duo. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to break down the trade of Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons, the re-signing of Jonathan Jones and the major moves made throughout the NFL on day one of the NFL’s legal tampering free agency period.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

Bringing back Jonathan Jones is the best move the New England Patriots could have made on day one of the legal tampering period. But fear not, Patriots fans, because as Happy Gilmore might say, it ain't over yet, Murph. The way I see it, we've only just begun. And you are 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. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube.

So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So let me know what's on your mind. Reach out to me. Give me a follow if you so desire 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 OO underscore Patriots. And folks, putting a little hold on the mock draft Monday this week because as you know, it is day one of the legal tampering period in the NFL and teams are already making moves. A lot to break down. But just because we're putting the mock drafts on the show for a week does not mean it's not still. Hashtag Locked on Murph Monday.

And my good friend Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com joins me here today. Don Murph, the New England Patriots acted quickly in retaining the services of a key component of their defensive backfield. I opened the show today by saying this was the best move they could have made on day one. How excited are you to see Jonathan Jones back in a Patriots uniform for 2023? I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled. You know, I've gotten into it with a few people on the Bird app over the past week about Bill and how he's going to handle this off season.

You can tell this is an evolving bill Belichick. This isn't the one that's letting guys go out and test the market. He's coming in with, with, with good offers, with decent offers. Jonathan Jones actually left money on the table. Yeah my opinion, to come back here to New England. A lot of people have talked about how New England isn't a destination anymore.

Well, you know, sometimes you like a staycation. And that's what Jonathan Jones has done here in signing up for another two years. Yeah, without question. Doug Kyatt of A2Z Sports, one of the best in the business, also backed up by ESPN's Mike Reese, reporting the details of the deal. And, you know, a little bit surprising. Two years, $19 million cumulative is what this deal is actually worth. $7.5 million signing bonus, $13 million in guarantees. Base salary for 2023 is going to be 1.5 million

obviously a lot of guaranteed money along with that to offset and then the value jumps to 8 million for 2024 so yeah a little bit of a reasonable team-friendly deal and murph you and i talked about this a little bit offline saying that this had a feel to it of jonathan going to his agent and saying, I want to be in the wind and make this happen. And it's a fair deal. I'm not saying they got him for, you know, mere pennies on the dollar. Patriots are paying for his services, but at the same time, you have to think there might've been a more lucrative deal on the table if Jonathan got to that unrestricted free agent situation where he was out there testing the free agent waters. Right. There was definitely interest out there from other teams, from what I'm being told. I'm

not going to get into who those teams were. A couple of teams out there on the West Coast and near to the West Coast, shall we say, were very interested in bringing back familiar faces. And Jonathan Jones was a familiar face to a few coaches that are out there in the desert, shall we say. But I'm thrilled this is happening. They bring back who I believe was their number one free agent

that could have departed. And it's just a good sign of things to come. It's a good sign that Bill is taking care of business at the house. He's putting a new coat of paint over that old coat of paint, but he still liked the color of paint that he'd used to first spruce things up. You've got to shore up what you've got before you add stuff to really enhance the curb appeal in new england and that's exactly what the patriots are doing and i know a lot of fan

base is looking at this move and saying look at all these teams out there making big splash moves why can't the patriots get involved folks again it's a marathon not a sprint be patient look at what this is is happening. The Patriots can still make a blockbuster deal on a trade, but I think this is something that really is a very, very good base for the Patriots. And I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that you believe

that Jonathan Jones is the most important free agent to bring back on this team, or at least was in terms of guys' internal free agents that they needed to bring back. You were on that train right from the beginning. I will make a call for here. I did choose Jacoby Myers.

And I still stand by the fact I would love to have Jacoby Myers back here in New England on a reasonable deal. But the retirement of Devin McCourty on Friday evening really had me on Saturday and on Sunday hoping that this was the deal that was going to be announced on Monday. And when it was fairly early, a huge sigh of relief on my part. I think really everyone in Patriots Nation, because exactly. But you look at what he brings to the table with Jonathan and not just the ability to play on the outside, not just the ability to play in the slot, but folks, there was a time where Jonathan Jones was a pretty adept safety for the Auburn Tigers. He's played the position before.

He's aligned here in New England. Murph, I'm going to pick your brain about this a little bit because I don't know if this is the best move for Jonathan, but it wouldn't shock me to see him potentially move to a free safety position. He has the veteran leadership. He has the respect of his teammates. He's got the speed without any question and the experience at the position to make him intriguing. Do you think the Patriots may have this in mind here, or is this purely a cornerback re-signing

for New England? That's an excellent point and something that I hadn't really given much thought to, Michael, to be honest with you. But depending on what they're able to do during free agency and up into the draft and with the depth that they have at those positions, it's not, you know, I mean, crazier things have happened. McCourty moved to safety in his second season in New England. And we were all kind of scratching our heads about it. But look how well that turned out. This guy's going to end up with a red jacket.

In my opinion, he should end up with a gold jacket. It's never going to happen. But he has played that well. Around here, it's more important to make Super Bowls than it is to make Pro Bowls. And I think a lot of people need to realize that. And John Jones is somebody that does realize that. And he is one of those guys that he proved last year that, you know, changing positions to help the team, happy to be here, hope to help the ball club is the best way to get ahead here. And if Bill

asked him to do it, I think he's more than capable of it. Yeah, I think so. I think he's definitely capable of it without question. And it is intriguing, but again, you have to look at what the Patriots are going to do in addition to this move, whether or not they're going to look to the draft for that new cornerback of the future. This is a deep class with a lot of guys that can come in here and play. We've mentioned several of them here on Lockdown Patriots. And it's not deep at safety. If you want to safety, you've got to grab him in the first 40, 50 picks. Exactly.

First two rounds. In this draft, if you're going to get somebody that's going to come in and contribute right away. Cornerback is a bit deeper. There are always guys that you can move around that are already in this system. But no, I like your thinking, Michael. It's just let's see how things play out throughout three agency and in the draft and see which way Bill decides to go. Yeah. For safety.

I'm glad that you mentioned that obviously Brian branches at the top of everyone's list of Alabama, rightfully so. I talked about this a little bit yesterday here on locked on Patriots in my tribute episode to Devin McCourty talked about Cindy Brown, talked about Christopher Smith, two very capable safeties with a very high football IQ, great leadership ability.

If the Patriots are going to use that type of high capital, I can see them maybe taking a second round flyer on either one of those guys. I don't completely see them using number 14 at the safety position because there are too many other needs, especially after what we saw today in free agency. And we're going to get into that in just a moment, folks, uh but you're right the cornerback situation is deep you can get a good solid player into maybe even an early day three yeah i mean this there's opportunities out there to get a good solid player and don't forget you've got jack jones waiting in the rings i know there's the grievance and everything i think these two sides come together. Marcus Jones is an option and Jalen Mills is a wild card. And this is a,

as well. He could also be moved to the safety. Patriots have a lot of options. But. Get moved back there. There there's, there's just so many interchangeable parts in this Patriots defense. That's the way that Bill put it together.

That's why they've been so successful is the fact that, you know, somebody goes down, there's somebody else to slide over. You don't necessarily have to have that guy coming in off the sideline. Without question. And the Patriots did, I think, make the first domino fall in good fashion for the Patriots. And they will have Jonathan Jones now here for another two seasons but one guy Murph that will not be here in for the next two seasons or even for the next two minutes is going to be tight end Jonu Smith unfortunately a melding between these two sides just did not come to fruition the way each side had planned Jonu's going to a place where he's definitely going to familiar surroundings not necessarily team wisewise, but coaching-wise.

And the Patriots shed some much-needed salary caps. So Murph and I are going to break that one down in just a moment, the trade of Jonu Smith and what it means for the Patriots short-term and long-term when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by our good friends at Ultimate Pro Football GM. Murph, if you think that building a dynasty is easy, you know, we've got another thing coming for all the listeners out there.

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Start your dynasty today. Patriots fans, the legendary Connor Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy, joins me here today from E2GSports.com. Breaking down day one, the comings and goings in and out of Foxborough as we continue to watch the new england patriots build their 2023 roster murph a lot of teams active on day one uh the new england patriots semi-active i wouldn't say they have been robustly active but i also wouldn't say they've been asleep at the wheel despite of some of the memes that you're seeing out there on twitter right now folks calm down take easy it's still a long way to go um but one of the big pieces of news that

broke early as a matter of fact i believe it was the first piece of news to break patriots wise on monday morning was their decision to part ways with tight end johnny smith patriots trading the talented but ill-fitted tight end. I wrote that for Sports Illustrated later, folks. I just wanted to throw that in because I like the way it sounded. Trading him to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh round draft pick in 2020.

Nice. Nice, nice, nice. I'm sorry. Nice. Thank you. I appreciated that. Actually, that's pretty good. I got a little tip of the cap there right there. But a seventh rounder from the Falcons coming back to the New England Patriots. Good move for the Falcons. They're reuniting John with his former tight end coach in Tennessee, Arthur Smith, who is the Falcons head coach.

Patriots obviously getting some draft capital, but really the whole point in this was to shed about $4 million, approximately $4 million, a little less than that, judging by calculations of our good friend, the Pats cap. And the Patriots also shedding some dead money on Janu's deal for the fourth year, which would be 2024 next season. So Murph, this just seemed like a marriage that was destined for divorce court. Not a great fit. Jono just was never able to assimilate into the Patriots system. Coaching problems definitely had their issues there. And yeah, just a bad fit all the way around. When you look at this move for the Patriots, is this just a case of we needed to get rid of the players, so we tried to send him in a place where he could be happy? Yeah, it really is.

And it was, let's send him someplace that we're not going to have to eat more money than we already have to eat. The get back, a seventh round draft pick goes ahead and proves that. But, you know, it was a four year, $50 million contract. That was just, it was, it was head scratching at the time. You got a little happier over it when you, when you see highlights of John O'Reilly. He just, he did not fit in here for a myriad of reasons. A lot of it last year came to a head with the issues of trying to change the offensive style here on the fly with the coaching staff that he had to work with., he's played 31 games, had caught 55 passes for 539 yards

and one touchdown in two seasons. It had to end. It really had to end. Yeah, it did have to end. You look at the promise that John who came in with and everybody thinking, here's this prototypical move tight end that you're going to pair with Hunter Henry along at the Y. And this is going to be something that's really going to ignite the Patriots' offense. It just never worked out that way.

Jonu was used much more prevalently in blocking schemes, much more so in line. Did a fairly good job as an in-line blocker. You've got to give him some credit there, but you look at just what he had to deal with in terms of sharing the field with Hunter Henry for only 18.6% of New England's offensive snaps in 2021. That actually dropped to just 18 flat in 2022. You can blame a conservative coaching approach to Josh McDaniel's handling of Jonu, I think, for season one. We had the opportunity to speak in depth with Josh on this when he was still here

as offensive coordinator. And it was, you know, Zoom conference and Josh was very blunt, very open about the fact that some guys have a difficulty coming in here and grasping the playbook. How often have we said it? Exactly. And in a lot of ways with a tight end too, it gives you options to be able to utilize him as a blocker and i think josh tried to keep him as much involved in the game planning as possible for new england but uh you know the debacle of last season just detriment of the team you know it really was uh it just didn't fit it didn't work it was a square peg in a round hole. And I wish him nothing but the best.

Johnny Smith is a great man, a good team guy. You never heard him complaining about his usage here at all. And, you know, you just got to tip the cap to him and hope that he does well down there in Atlanta. Glad he's over in the NFC. Yeah, I know. I think we're all glad he's over in the NFC. And, well, i'll tell you pairing

him along with kyle pitt should be a very very uh welcome addition whoever is throwing passes down there in uh in atlanta this season uh you know it's going to be a lot of fun for falcons fans to watch that and again the arthur smith connection those guys were pretty good when they had the opportunity to hook up together so a good spot for John to go. And the Patriots at this point now look ahead, Murph, as they're going to be looking at a lot of different options. We know there's some free agents still out there. At the time, Murph and I are recording this, folks, and I stress that we try to keep up with everything we possibly can to the minute here on Lockdown Patriots.

But at present, guys like Hayden Hurst, guys like Dalton Schultz are available out there. But I think this means that the Patriots may be more active in the draft to try to bring somebody in. And this is a very, very deep class. Guys like Sam Laporta, guys like, you know, Kraft that's out there as well. These guys are players that, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's... Dalton Kincaid. Dalton Kincaid. There are guys out there, they would have to make a splash early in this.

Well, let me preface it. They don't need to make a splash early in this draft, but the splash would be massive if they did. Yeah, absolutely. And all players that Claire and i discussed last week and you want to talk about that clairvoyance folks she had that going this is something where she did say she can envision a scenario where the patriots did get much deeper back into the tight end pool and really take a good look at this position in early rounds i think john who now moving on to green pastures or we hope hope for his sake, greener pastures

in Atlanta means that the Patriots are seriously looking at this position now in the draft. So folks keep a sharp eye there. And, uh, you know, if you think we're going to discuss that on Wednesday, you're probably a safe bet there as well, but folks, it is not just all about the New England Patriots. There are a lot of moves that were made on Monday, and some of which may have an impact on your New England Patriots. Murph and I are going to discuss some of those, including what Murph's moves of the day have been throughout the NFL when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast wraps up.

But first, today's episode is also brought to you by our great 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 sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the FanDuel Sportsbook app. It's safe. It's secure. Super easy to use.

And then you can bet on everything from the money line to the point scorers to the three-pointers drained. Plus, FanDuel even lets you combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with a same-game parlay. So don't miss the chance to get your no-sweat first bet up to $1,000 in bonus bets when you go to FanDuel.com slash LockedOn. That's FanDuel.com to learn more, make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, once again, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join myself and my good friend the counter Murphy Fisto himself a legendary Thomas Murphy of e2gsports.com Don Murph you have come to me in friendship today so the least I can do is show my hospitality give you another tarty cafe a little bit of a canola you know we'll get we'll definitely get you all set and we'll get you ready for this. But we're talking monster moves on this Monday folks. And there were several

teams that did make monster moves out there. Former Buffalo bills, linebacker, train Edmonds, a four year, $72 million contract. I'm a big fan of Tremaine Edmonds, but wow, what a deal. Yeah. I mean, go get yours, son. Go get yours. Absolutely. That was a very nice deal. Chicago has the space, and they had the need. So they went in, and they blew everybody away.

And it's a great day for New England, everybody, that Tremaine Edmonds is not going to be seen across the line of scrimmage from your New England Patriots two or three times this next year. That was a fantastic, fantastic move. Jimmy Garoppolo going to the Raiders on a three-year $72 million deal. I thought this was the one place that Jimmy could go to really be able to step in and make a difference right away. I know a lot of Raiders fans out there are not happy about it. It seems like a retread move coming from Josh McDaniels. It's not. Jimmy's going to do really well there as long as he can stay on the field.

Jesse Bates going from Cincinnati to Atlanta. That was a big loss for Cincinnati. He got four years and $64 million. But right up at the top, Mike McGlinchey going to the Denver Broncos from San Francisco for eighty seven point five million dollars. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I wanted Mike McGlinchey here. I was I was driving the Mike McGlinchey bus or train as you would. But I am not paying Mike McGlinchey seventeen point.5 million a year to not pass block for me. Yeah. I mean, you want to talk about hefty contracts. I mean, the Washington commanders

offensive tackle, Andrew Wiley, three years, 24 million. That's a pretty reasonable deal. Yeah. Jawan Taylor going to the defending Superbowl champions. We talked about Taylor here as a possibility for the New England Patriots. That one comes off the board four years, $80 million. So money's really flying around for tackles, folks. They just don't. And they always do. They're moving on from Brown. I would love to see Brown here.

I'm a little hesitant at giving him the size of a bag that he is going to get and seeing how committed he's going to be after that. We've all seen this before. But then again, you've got to give a guy the benefit of the doubt, and he is the number one left tackle that's available, I would have to think, in the last three years. So if that was to come to fruition and the cap space that the Patriots have opened up, I'd be really thrilled if that happened.

I still don't think it's going to happen. I think whether that happens or not is going to dictate a lot of what Bill does during the draft as to whether or not he's going to go for those weapons that you're all thinking out there. I don't like throwing money at weapons. It's not something that has ever worked here. It's not the way that I like to build a roster. I'm completely built from the inside out on the offensive side of the ball on the outside in on the, the defensive side of the ball, but I wouldn't mind seeing Brown in a, in a Patriots uniform, Brown and Brown. What Brown and Brown done for you? Absolutely. That would be a beautiful thing on as bookends for that offensive line without question.

And as the time again, folks, at the time we're recording this, he's still available out there on the market. So the New England Patriots definitely looking at a lot of different options without any question. A couple of other minor Patriots moves, or ex-Patriots, I should say, on the move. Chase Winovich going back to, or I shouldn't say going back, but he is going back to hook up once again with Nick

Casario, heading over to the Texans. Jarrett Stidham getting two years to back up Russell Wilson, maybe get a spot start there, depending on how old Russ looks in Denver under Sean Payton. But a two-year, $10 million for Jarrett, one of the great guys that I've ever had the chance to get to know in and around the Patriots. So I was happy to see Jarrett get his deal. And ultimately, Murphick will close here today. The big story that really is on everybody's mind,

or at least on most of casual fans and stark raving fans at the same time is the fate of Aaron Rodgers. Still hearing conflicting reports at the time we're recording this. I think it's mostly a done deal. He will be in New York. How much does this change the landscape? How much does this change the landscape? This much.

A little bit. A little bit. I really do not fear Aaron Rodgers. I know he beat the Patriots last year. He also lost to the freakingicking lions twice. Okay. Um, it's, it granted, he's got some better weapons around here. We'll see what happens with

the, with the, uh, the jets backfield, but look, we're, we're not talking about Tom Brady at this age. And, you know, Aaron Rodgers is somebody who's very set in his ways, is very enamored with his own opinion about the way an offense should be run. And that's really never a good combination unless your last name happens to be Brady or Manning or of that ilk. And I have never considered Aaron Rodgers of the Brady and Manning ilk. Now that is not an insult in any way, shape or form. I'm talking about two of the top five quarterbacks in NFL history. Aaron Rodgers has done some amazing things, freelancing behind the line of scrimmage and chucking balls down the field. But you take away five Hail Mary passes, and what do you actually have?

Not the legend that he has become. This is a guy that repeatedly steps on himself in the playoffs, has had some fantastic teams around him. And when crunch time came, he lost games at home. You know, he sat there in the playoffs and had home field advantage and choked them up. There's a reason I call him discount double choke, people. And, you know, quite frankly, you know, know i will i'll say it here first okay i'll say it before i write it this may actually help the patriots more than it hurts them really you know because he's gonna have to go he's gonna go up against he has to go up against

miami too and if he beats miami great he's got to go up against uh buffalo and if he beats Miami, great. He's got to go up against Buffalo. And if he beats Buffalo, great. It just makes the division tighter. Okay? It absolutely does. It makes the division tighter. Yeah, without any question. And I know that we saw a tweet from Garrett Wilson come out. Obviously, he's excited about this.

He would be. There's no question about it. I don't blame Garrett one bit. This is great news for him. And having someone like Aaron come in with the weapons that the Jets are projected to have, it does look like a much better fit this year than what he did put out in Green Bay last year. This is not going to be the 2017 Patriots. Yeah, exactly.

That's something that I think a lot of people have to take under account, is that we've seen super teams be built several times. It takes more than that it takes the right coach to be able to get what and i don't need out of these guys it takes a concerted team effort in all three phases folks to be able to win games consistently at a high level in the nfl your new england patriots did it as well as anyone for two plus decades we're seeing the kansas city chiefs put that type of team or attempt to put that type of team together. They're doing a great job early on. It's still early. Exactly. It's still early to put them in the same yard with the

New England Patriots dynasties of years past, but they're starting to do it the right way. And you see those building blocks come in as they're trying to make that type of case. But it's, and I'm not saying that this is what the Jets are doing. Obviously they're in a win now mode. You're not looking at Aaron Rodgers for long-term help, unless you think that he can magically extract something out of Zach Wilson. But at the same time, it does tie up the division. It does really, I think, cinch up the division is a better way to put it. And who knows, you know, things have motivated up the division is a better way to put it. And who knows?

Baltimore couldn't extract anything out of Zach Wilson. Folks, I can't top that. So I think we're going to just wind it up right here for the New England Patriots on day one of this always, always interesting legal tampering period folks because we know that prior to today no negotiations took place at all anywhere in the nfl we're having these for the first time although i am sort of not excited but i am sort of uh surprised to see that there wasn't an immediate signing at 1201 p.m here on the East Coast right after. Yeah, exactly. 12.08, yeah, I think is the first one. Yeah, exactly.

Let's give it a couple of minutes. No, all things aside, folks. We are going to continue to break. We are going to continue to break down all of these moves here on Locked On Patriots. So once again, keep it here. Stay locked into Locked On Patriots for the very latest on what your New England Patriots are doing. Dunmurf, what can I say? I thank you once again for coming to me in friendship.

Before I let you go, please let everyone know what you've got cooking over at E2G Sports this week because it's not just a big week in the NFL, folks. It's a big week in Major League Baseball, and I know you got us covered when it comes to Red Sox coverage. Yeah, I got a nice little piece up there today as to the real reason that Chris Sale will not be the starter on opening day. Please go check that out. Everything else, you can check me on the Bird app at TeamMurf207.

I'll have some stuff up later this week about the World Baseball Classic. We're all loving those games. It would be nice if those bats would show up. Could those bats show up, please? Team USA? That's what was supposed to get us through this was the bats. Other than that, everybody go out and really enjoy Spotted at Logan Day. Oh, yeah.

Now that the nightfall is about to happen here on the East Coast, you know a lot of people are going to be spotted at Logan Airport. Keep those notifications high. But as my good friend Mark Schofield would say, if you get gut, you got to take a lap. And that means a little time off from the bird app. So, folks, definitely keep it here to Locked On Patriots. Make us your first listen each and every day.

I thank you sincerely. If you've done that today, now that you've made us your first listen each and every day. I thank you sincerely if you've done that today. Now that you've made us your first listen, please make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked On NFL Draft, my colleagues Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez are absolutely crushing it when it comes to draft coverage.

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