Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Mailbag: Jahlani Tavai Contract Extension; Ja’Lynn Polk, Baker, Tyquan & JuJu

Starting point is 00:00:00 Jalen Polk will wear number one for your New England Patriots, but can he be number one? That and Jelani Tavai signs an extension. 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. And thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

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Starting point is 00:01:32 There's something for everyone, every day, all summer long. Visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn to get started. And Pats fans, it is mailbag day here on LockedOn Patriots. A lot of questions regarding pass catchers. Big surprise. I know it's a topic that is on the minds of all of you out there in Patriots Nation, but we'd be remiss if we did not begin with the news of the day. New England Patriots linebacker Jelani Tavai becoming the next core player to be both retained

Starting point is 00:02:01 and pretty handsomely rewarded by the Pats with a lucrative upgrade to his contract. Devine and the Patriots, per ESPN's Mike Reese and Adam Schefter, are in agreement on a three-year extension. The maximum value of this deal reportedly $21 million, with a base value of $15 million. And of course, folks, a lot of details still to come. This broke the moment we were ready to jump on the air. And here today to talk about this and more with me is my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today. Pleasure to be here.

Starting point is 00:02:36 Pleasure to be here. And yeah, we timed this one pretty good, didn't we? Yeah. Yeah. Jelani Tavai. Just another bad Bill the GM bring in that that you know the Patriots are extending shocking shocking in a lot of ways Murph you're right I mean and we've heard this from Gerard Mayo from Demarcus Covington that we don't want to reinvent the wheel on defense

Starting point is 00:02:59 that defense worked very well last year you're adding in arguably your top pass rusher in Matthew Judon coming back healthy and motivated to not only earn his own contract, but also prove to the league that he's still one of the most fearsome pass rushers anywhere in the NFL. Then you're looking at adding in a potential lockdown corner in Christian Gonzalez that did not play last year, say for three and maybe a quarter games that he played in the NFL. So you're adding two very high level talented defenders to a defense that was already ranked top three and run defense and top 10 and overall defense. So there isn't a need to reinvent the wheel and bringing back Jelani Tavai, I think is absolutely brilliant. Over the course of the last couple of years, this guy has proven his worth in the middle part of that defense. Again, Detroit released him after two years. This is a kid that came in the league as

Starting point is 00:03:48 a second round draft pick. And, you know, I mean, there was prowess. There was definite talent that the Detroit Lions saw there. They thought his downs outweighed the ups. So obviously their loss was the New England Patriots gain. And it has been, he's been a key member of that front seven, a key member of that linebacking core and he'll continue to be played in all 17 games last year he started 16 74 percent of new england's defensive plays he was on the field for 110 tackles last year that's a career high he had five of those go for a loss five pass breakups, four quarterback hits, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one sack.

Starting point is 00:04:26 That shows you he's got his hand in just about every aspect, every area of defense for the New England Patriots. He had the fourth best PFF grade among linebackers with at least 500 snaps. Again, this kid just continues to show his value. He continues to show what he's worth to this franchise, to this club. And I know some people may look at it and say 21 million, base of 15. That's a little bit high. I don't see that in terms of the value he provides this club.

Starting point is 00:04:55 I think this is great all around for the Patriots and mostly for Jelani as well. Yeah, especially for Jelani as well. That's a nice payday for him. Yeah, I do think it's a bit much compared to other guys in the league and seeing what he does on the field. But what you have to understand is, once again, that this is somebody who, if he comes out, okay, if he comes out and does what he did last year, this is an excellent deal. Okay, if he hits free agency and ends up out on the open market, he's going to get more than what the Patriots did.

Starting point is 00:05:40 The question is, is he going to do that? All right, could you have sat back and waited to see if he put back-to-back years together like that? Could you sit back and wait and see if he does this when Bill Belichick is not coaching that defense? Okay. You can keep all of the issues on offense that you want because, you know, what Bill did and what Bill didn't do and what Bill drafted. But at the end of the day, Bill Belichick still ran this defense last year and it was a pretty damn good one. Let's see how it works going forward. I think it's still going to be a fine defense. Yeah, absolutely. And I think the way Jelani has played the last couple of years has shown his versatility. It's shown his ability to adapt. Don don't forget this is also a stalwart in special teams

Starting point is 00:06:25 alignments right well 359 snaps last year in the kicking game so that's going to continue to be a a big time help for the patriots it is for a linebacker and someone who's as valuable and as vital to that linebacking core as jelani tavai you don't want to see him out there in special teams packages with the risk of getting injured. Bob Gronkowski got injured on a special teams play that really ruined his season. And you can make the argument that he shouldn't have been out there to throw that block.

Starting point is 00:06:55 A lot of people criticized Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust at that time for putting him out there. And I think it was valid. So at this point, you want to see him play more in his own natural habitat. But again, that versatility, I think made it something the Patriots didn't want to find out in terms of whether or not he tests free agency and what he'd get on the open market. He's locked up now for the next three years and the Patriots have their core guys in, in the fold and they will continue to have their core guys in the fold, and they will continue to have their core

Starting point is 00:07:26 guys in the fold. Folks, it is just scratching the surface here on Locked On Patriots because, as Murph and I talked about earlier, it is mailbag day, and overwhelmingly, our everydayers wanted to know about the wide receiver core. As a matter of fact, Murph, for those that are viewing this podcast, you can see I've got Patriots Receivers part one. Yeah, we're going to have to do two mailbag episodes on the receivers. That's how many questions there were on this one. And we're going to continue that today. So folks continue to stay locked into locked on Patriots. As more

Starting point is 00:07:59 information comes in regarding the Tavaya extension, pretty safe bet that someone who knows a thing or two about contract extensions, going to be joining us as soon as possible to give us all of the information we need with regard to the Patriots finances. So keep that one under your cap for just a moment. But here today, Murph, we're going to pivot very quickly and we're going to go to the mailbag because there were several questions that made the cut. And Murph and I are going to talk about those in just a moment, including whether or not the Patriots' top draft pick, not named Drake May, can be the number one wide out in that room.

Starting point is 00:08:33 Murph and I are going to discuss that and so much more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Locked On listeners, summertime can be a fun time, but it can also be a time where everyone around you seems to be living a life that you'll only see in a Hollywood movie. You might find yourself getting caught up and wishing your life looked a lot like someone else's.

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Starting point is 00:09:44 and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Stop comparing and start focusing with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dotcom slash locked on. Patriots fans, thank you so much for joining us today here on a Mailbag Tuesday, Telegraph Tuesday here on Locked On Patriots. As always, Thomas, our main man Murphy is joining us here today to wade through the mailbag. And, Murph, we had breaking news to start the show with today,

Starting point is 00:10:24 talking about Jelani Tavai's contract extension and our thoughts on the subject. Folks, we'll continue to break that down as part of our previews here on Locked On Patriots. But the news that's on all of our everydayers' minds right now seems to focus on the offense. A lot of focus on the quarterbacks, but believe it or not, our most popular topic when it comes to mailbag questions wide receivers Murph a lot of people are wondering is this finally the year that the Patriots feel the group that the fan base can get excited about we've had some pretty good wide receivers come through the doors here in New England a couple of them are still on staff whether it be a veteran like Kendrick Bourne or whether it be a second year phenom like the Mario Douglas.

Starting point is 00:11:06 But beyond that, there's still a lot of uncertainty and a lot of our everydayers have thought that. So, Oh, great Sage. We are pulling upon your wisdom and counsel once again, and we're going to dive right into the mailbag this time, folks,

Starting point is 00:11:18 because great questions coming all the way around. And the first centers around the new England Patriots second round draft pick. That is number 37 overall number one in the program but can he be number one on the field and that is jalen polk and our good friend ray in patucket rhode island wants to know is jalen polk capable of being a wide receiver one dunn murph the floor is yours yeah uh no no he's not a wide receiver one. Dunmurf, the floor is yours. Yeah, no. No, he's not a wide receiver one. He was never a wide receiver one on his own team in college.

Starting point is 00:11:55 All right. Jalen Polk put up really good numbers when McMillan went down last year. And when McMillan got back, he ended up going back to being the number three receiver on a very pass happy Washington team. It's don't expect more than what you get, than what you have. Okay. You've got what you have on your plate. He's a fine receiver. He's a good number three. He's a good number two and a very good number three. He's not a number one wide receiver. He's not. You sit there and you look at it. In the 20 games in the last two years that Jalen McMillan and Jalen Polk were both on the field together. McMillan had 124 catches for 1,657 yards and 14 touchdowns. Polk had 68 catches for 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. All right, those are just facts.

Starting point is 00:12:56 And that's what you're going to get here. That's not a bad receiver. But, I mean, Elliott Wolfe ended up with the last guy in every run in the draft he ended up with the the third quarterback the the um the seventh uh wide receiver and he ended up he ended up no i'm sorry he ended up with the first right tackle that got taken off the but he was thinking that he could move him to left tackle and you can. Jalen Polk is not a number one wide receiver, folks, not in my eyes, not in a lot of other people's eyes, who delve deeply into college football and how that's going to translate into the draft and going forward. I don't see Jalen as a number one wide receiver, and I don't think he'll ever grow

Starting point is 00:13:46 into that role. Just be happy with what you got. A very good number three, a good number two, a guy with the type of attitude that you want on your team. I like Jalen Polk, folks. Don't get me wrong. I like the kid. I like his game. He's just not a number one wide receiver. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, Murph, what you've done is kind of drawn the line in the sand as to what a number one receiver is and opposed to what maybe Jalen Polk can be, and that is maybe the Patriots' most versatile perimeter weapon. And I think he has the chance to be the latter rather than the former. But true number one is someone that can consistently quote unquote, take the top off the defense, get deep, be able to make those plays consistently, draw the double team, draw sometimes a triple team

Starting point is 00:14:36 because you need to contain this guy in order to be able to contain their offense. I don't necessarily know if Jalen is going to command that type of defensive strategy from the Patriots opponents this season or even beyond. Here's where I really love this kid, and that's the skill and the power at the catch point. You look at the offense he thrived in in Washington last year, Murph. An offense featuring a lot of option routes, safety leverage. That's where a lot of the routes came from. So that's a position I believe

Starting point is 00:15:05 the Patriots are going to put Polk in, in order to help him to succeed. You're going to see passes thrown his way. You're going to see that type of prowess kind of leap out on the field. But again, I think it really comes down to whether or not he's going to be your go-to guy on every single throw. Someone who has to be accounted for on every alignment, on every throw. That's a number one wide receiver because he's someone that always has to be accounted for. Opposing defenses are going to game plan to try to shut him down. I don't see that necessarily when it comes to Jalen Polk, but again, that opens up opportunities that some number one wide receivers may not see. It gives him the opportunity to play under the radar.

Starting point is 00:15:45 And that's where I think you're going to see this kid leap off the page. Mike Reese in his Sunday column described it perfectly. There was a play that he made during mandatory mini campus. There's a tight window. Mikey Victor was the cornerback that was in play. Jalen goes up, makes the contested catch. And really his teammates were whooping it up around him. Everybody was on their feet.

Starting point is 00:16:06 It really was that type of play that you see a savvy veteran make in order to make an example and really motivate his teammates. Jalen is doing this right from the get-go. This kid not only has the ability, but he's also got the extra motivation as a rookie to go out and to make his team better. This kid will be a very good wide receiver here in the NFL. But I agree with Murph. If you're looking for someone that's going to be that type of wide receiver one,

Starting point is 00:16:32 yeah, I think the Patriots may still be a little ways away from determining who's going to get that role. Yeah, he's not a Brandy Ayuk. He's not a Nico Collins. He's not Amon Ross St. Brown, who, yes, I wanted the Patriots to take so badly. So, so badly. But that's, that's not what you're getting folks, you know, be, be happy with what you're getting.

Starting point is 00:16:53 Be happy with a guy that's going to fight for every catch. He's going to do a little bit of some, a little bit of something after the catch a little bit, a little bit. And, and, and yeah just just enjoy the ride because he's he's fun to watch just don't put so much on him that you that you think he's going to be that you know one of the guys that that i was just talking about here he that's not him he you know uh he's not justin jefferson please yeah. Well, I mean, Jefferson's skill set is tremendous. I mean, that puts him in an echelon that is so much all his own.

Starting point is 00:17:30 But again, Polk is going to make his mark in this league, and he's going to do it uniquely with his own style. I'm just not sure the style of play that he has, and combined with the types of targets he's going to see, truly make him that number one. But you know what, folks? Stranger things have happened. We'll find out in short order what the Patriots' brain trust, especially Alex Van Pelt, Gerard Mayo is the head coach,

Starting point is 00:17:52 and Drake May and Jacoby Brissett have in store for this offense and who they feel are going to be their top targets. Jalen is already developing a nice relationship with both quarterbacks, so he'll be utilized, and he'll be utilized early. The only question is, how will he be utilized will he be the deep threat that the patriots have needed not necessarily his game as a contested catch machine but someone who is drawing the eye of this fan base as a potential deep threat maybe not this year but maybe even down the line is fellow rookie javon baker and that leads us quite nicely into our second question

Starting point is 00:18:26 on wideouts that we got in this week's Telegraph Tuesday Mailbag Murph. Angela in Bangor, Maine wants to know will Javon Baker finally give the Patriots a downfield pass catching threat? Murph, I think this has more of a chance to come to fruition. She didn't label him a wide receiver one or put that type of expectation, but this kid, especially the way he runs his routes, I think he could be a deep threat this year for this team. I do.

Starting point is 00:18:52 I agree. And I've said before that I think Elliot Wolf would have attacked this, this draft differently. If he'd known that he was going to get Javon Baker where he got him, you know, I could have had my, I could have had my tackle where there where Jalen Polk was taken and not another right tackle.

Starting point is 00:19:12 But, yeah, no, he can definitely be the deep threat that this team has lacked or one of the deep threats that this team can lack. There's another little tease right there. And work out well here. Van Pelt's scheme is a run-based zone block rushing attack with movement throws, deep play action shots, and rollout shots. And this kid is built for that. He is really built for this play action, get down the field. Again, it's going to come back to the large round men

Starting point is 00:19:48 and if they can give this kid the time. Okay, but like I said, they're designed rollout throws. And Baker is the type of guy that can get down the field, do a lot of the things that we were just talking about with Polk, go up contested catches, get yards after the catch. But no, I think he's perfect for this offense. I think it was a fantastic pick. It was definitely, it was my favorite pick of the draft was grabbing this kid.

Starting point is 00:20:14 Yeah, I think a lot of people were excited about Javon Baker. I know Javon was excited. He joined us on a conference call shortly after being drafted and said, get your popcorn ready. And he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder that he'd lasted that long and was not chosen on day two or on day one. The fact that he had to go and be a day three, I think really bothered him. Right. And I think at that point, I think he looks at it now that he wants to prove all these guys wrong.

Starting point is 00:20:40 And look, this kid has got it. He's fast. He has the speed. One of the smoother route runners, Murph, that I think we scouted during this draft cycle uh this kid has the ability to get out really effective at the top of his routes and that's where a solid offensive line comes in if you can be smooth right from the top of your route I think that really proves an awful lot about the way that you're able to get open and the way that you're able to use your athleticism if that offensive line gives him even adequate protection right someone as athletic as javon baker can help

Starting point is 00:21:09 erase some of those mistakes that the offensive line may be prone to make right this year with potentially a left tackle without a whole lot of experience at the position maybe a rookie right tackle a lot of different areas right now where the Patriots need to shore up during training camp. Go back and listen to our last show, the last show I was here with Mike, and take a listen to what we had to say about this offensive line and where we had everybody lined up. It's going to go back to that and how well they do it. But this offense is really built for this kid. It really is. What I talked about earlier, you know, we all know that Drake May is the type of passer who likes to throw the ball downfield.

Starting point is 00:21:54 He had a 121 passer rating on deep throws. That's pro football focus last year. He was third in all of college football on deep pass on his deep passing grades, 40 of 84 for 1,450 something yards. He threw 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions on throws of 20 with 20 plus air yards on it. Um, so, you know, he's, he's somebody that can get the ball down there. Uh, we're not sure when he's going to going to get started. I'm not sure how much really Jacoby Reset's arm has left in it. But remembering from seasons gone past, Jacoby's able to make those throws too. So Baker is somebody that I'm really looking forward to seeing in this offense with

Starting point is 00:22:40 these two quarterbacks. And yeah, without a doubt i think that that he's one of the pieces that is going to be able to come in here and and actually do something in that long game give give the patriots uh that that long threat that they have not had in a very very long time and he's got the swagger he is not afraid to show his prowess right off the bat pull the old top gun line i like that in a pilot you know you like that in a wide receiver you want guys that are going to go out there and have that confidence to be able to to play and play their game early so all eyes are going to be on the wide outs and especially the rookies we've talked a lot about the rookies but two veterans on this team may be fighting for their roster lives come the end of this month into August.

Starting point is 00:23:27 A lot of people wondering whether or not either Juju Smith-Schuster or Tyquan Thornton may have played their final regular season game in New England. That's a question that we're going to answer in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Listen up, Locked On listeners. We all love sports. I love sports.

Starting point is 00:23:54 In fact, I love them so much, I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs start winding down, we get fewer games. And the sports aren't sporting like we want them to. But FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open up the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. And this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone, every day, all summer long.

Starting point is 00:24:23 So head over to FanDuel.com slash Locked On and start making the most of your summer. That's Fanduel.com slash Locked On. Fanduel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us. A multifaceted show today here on Locked On Patriots Murph. Of course, we opened with breaking news and Jelani Tavai signing a contract extension with the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:24:51 Three years, $21 million with a base value of $15 million. Gave our thoughts on that. Talked a lot about the rookie wide receivers and Jalen Polk and Javon Baker, but it's time to talk a couple of veterans. One savvy veteran and one veteran that might be playing for his roster life here in New England. I'm talking about wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton. Now, Murph, there are a lot of wideouts on this roster right now.

Starting point is 00:25:17 We know that not everyone is going to make the team. Very few of them are probably even going to make the practice squad. So a lot of receivers are going to end up on the cutting room floor. And a lot of people within this fan base right now believe that because of their lack of production on the field, maybe one of these guys on the outside looking in. And as a matter of fact, that's how we're going to wrap up today's mailbag, because Eric in Wakefield, Massachusetts, wants to know who is more likely to make the Pats roster. Is it Taekwon or is it Juju?

Starting point is 00:25:48 Murph, I'm going to give this one to you first. Based on contract details, based on experience, based on promise, who do you believe has the more inside shot to make this roster? It depends on health and not just their own. All right. You know, it depends on the health of Kendrick Bourne. Okay. It's Kendrick's Bourne knee, not just Juju Smith-Schuster's knees as to whether or not he's who's going to make this this roster out of the two of them.

Starting point is 00:26:17 Javon Baker, you know, it depends on how well he does in camp. You know, is he going to make Taekwon redundant? Okay. And I don't think Taekwon is redundant. And I'm going to get to that. I think the guy who should make the roster is Taekwon Thornton. I really do. I think Juju's knee, while it felt better in mini camps and stuff,

Starting point is 00:26:41 I just think that it's beyond repair and that he's going to end up either making the squad because Thornton is on pup to start the season and they need somebody in that spot, another veteran. But I believe that with this offense that they want to run, that Taekwon is going to be another piece to stretch that field that they don't really have many of. I agree with you 100%. I do believe if it's based on projection, if it's based on current talent, if it's based on fit within the offense, yeah, I believe you give Taekwon Thornton an opportunity to

Starting point is 00:27:22 make this roster because the speed that this kid has in terms of being able to take off and be a deep threat on every single throw. And whether he's got it, it's just being able to stay on the field. Yeah, there were a couple of drops last year, but there was a shoulder and get back up and do it again and again is going to determine whether or not he makes this team this year. There's a lot of different factors into this, but I think Taekwon is going to end up coming out of camp on top of it if he can stay on the field. There are a lot of factors that are going to go into seeing which one of these guys makes the final roster. And basically, it comes down to health.

Starting point is 00:28:11 All right. How healthy Juju is, how healthy that knee is, and how healthy, you know, not only Taekwon can stay, but how healthy Kendrick Bourne is. Very good point. If Kendrick Bourne is going to come back, you know, game four, game five, maybe, maybe, you know, it makes Juju redundant because of all the other pieces and who you need to fill out that room and the roles that they're going to play. Cause Smith Schuster, I don't see as, you know don't see as – he's a slot guy to me.

Starting point is 00:28:49 He's that guy that you want breaking in and catching the ball and getting yards after the catch. That's why Bill wanted him, and Bill maybe looked the other way and just saw what he was able to do in the playoffs a couple of years ago and said, yeah, I can get a couple of years out of that. Let's see what we can do. But no, I think out of all the Bill signings that he's going to be the first one cut. Yeah, and I think a lot of people right now are looking at this and saying,

Starting point is 00:29:18 yeah, on paper he is the easiest cut. Maybe not contractually, though, and I will get into that in just a moment because there are advantages to keeping him on the team monetarily, and that may end up forcing the Patriots' hand. But when you look at Juju Smith-Schuster's abilities, I think you summed it up perfectly. This is a guy that is able to be efficient when you're running an offense that spreads the ball, multiple pass catchers catchers facilitating gaining yards after the catch that's Bill O'Brien's offense that's what Juju Smith-Schuster was coming in here to facilitate that's why they wanted to go with Juju over Jacoby Myers I know a lot of people love to point to that

Starting point is 00:29:57 as the cardinal sin that Bill Belichick committed that ultimately led to his demise here in New England there was a reason why they wanted to go with someone who's a little bit better with yards after the catch because Bill O'Brien was coming in here. That's his offense. Van Pelt runs a similar style, but his is much more predicated on the run facilitating play action. So when you look at that, yes, if Kendrick Bourne is healthy and is going to give you significant minutes this year, then yeah, Juju Smith-Schuster is redundant. And then it becomes an easy cut on the field. Here's where you run into the problem though with Juju Smith-Schuster.

Starting point is 00:30:31 When you look contractually at what the Patriots would have to do to cut him, yes, they wouldn't go in the hole. There would be a cap savings. We're looking at about $647,000, $648,000. That's not a tremendous amount of cap space or savings for a guy that could give you more production than that amount is going to be worth. So he's not going to be a cap casualty. Now, here is the interesting rub when it comes to him. If you trade him, if you can find a trade partner, the Patriots stand to save about $.6 million against the gap that's going to be

Starting point is 00:31:06 the difficult factor though who's going to trade for Juju Smith-Schuster does he have enough in that resume did people see enough from his time in Kansas City and in Pittsburgh to say yeah you know what that's an anomaly that's not something we're willing to do uh to deal with we'll give you a seventh rounder or we'll give you a future draft pick to try to bring him in and see if we can rehab him into our system that's going to be the case i think the patriots are going to be working the lines if elliot wolf is not already doing that you know he's going to be doing that in the coming weeks especially when they see what he looks like on a training camp field that's it and this comes down to the new cut rules also. There's that one giant big cut down that comes instead of in stages and stages when we'd see him on that big list and then pick him up and scoop him up. But if they can find a trade partner, by all means, go ahead.

Starting point is 00:32:14 It's just the fact that are enough people out there going to see that he's healthy in the amount of time that he has to showcase it? Yeah, that's going to be the big question and i think it already is the question that a lot of people have on their minds and one of the reasons why they're saying that even if you do cut him and only save a little bit in terms of cat take a 9.6 million dollar dead cap hit in order to cut him but is it worth it at that point in order to be able to cultivate the young talent that you have here in New England and Thornton adds a dimension that Juju does not and that is the ability to carry the ball out of the backfield as a jet sweep option look at what he did against the Cleveland Browns a couple of years ago receiving touchdown rushing touchdown

Starting point is 00:32:58 this kid's more versatile than you give him credit for because of the speed added a little bit of bulk during the offseason we'll see if that helps when it starts to get a little chippy during training camp so to answer your question eric i think murph is in agreement with me i don't mean to put words in your mouth my good friend but uh taekwon seems to be the guy who's more likely to make the roster and i think he's the guy that makes more sense to make the roster at this point even though the Patriots would be facing a little bit of a financial lull if they cut Juju loose. You're looking at the future. You have the cap space right now to be able to withstand that hit.

Starting point is 00:33:33 This might be the time to do it if they're going to cut ties. That's it. Perfectly said. What can we say? Another home run, another great job from our everydayers out there that continue to knock it out of the park when it comes to great questions, our positional previews, and we even sprinkled in a little Jelani to Vi to open the show. So to Ray, to Angela, to Eric, a tip of the cap to all of you for great questions. And don't forget, continue to send them in because Murph is going to be back here

Starting point is 00:34:00 several times between now and training camp to answer your great questions as we prepare to break down every position on the Patriots roster as we head into training camp on July 24th when the Patriots will finally take the field. In the meantime, my friend, what can I say? Thank you for always being there for the handoff when I need you. Thanks for dropping by today and for being very versatile in your own right. Talk about versatility. Murph is the definition of that that didn't even tell him we were going to talk to Lonnie to buy today he came prepared for it he was ready boom absolutely cannot ask for more never mind that my friend now you say hey you you you're very good you you got a gift my friend you're very good you're very

Starting point is 00:34:40 good very good all kidding aside folks we love having the kind of Murphy Fisto himself on here each and every week, multiple times per week. Before I let you go, my friend, please, the floor is yours. Let everyone know where they can interact with you and what you got marinating in Murph's kitchen from now till the next time you grace our airwaves. Yeah, you can get to me on Zitter at Team Murph 207. Stop by, say hi. I say hello to everybody.

Starting point is 00:35:03 I get back to everyone. I'm one of those guys. And, of course, you can read me at DieHardBostonSportsFans.com. Right now, I'm doing my way-too-early roster projections for the Patriots. I give a tip of the cap to my good friend, the kind of Murphy Fisto himself, a legendary Thomas Murphy, for dropping by here today. And, once again, I encourage all of you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world on behalf of Thomas Murphy.

Starting point is 00:35:30 I'm Mike debate. Have a great day and we'll see you back here again tomorrow. Unlocked on Patriots. Peace.

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