Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Sign Riley Reiff; Draft or Free Agency to Replace Jonnu Smith at Tight End?

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

The New England Patriots are making moves to strengthen their offensive line in 2023. On the threshold of the start of the 2023 NFL year, the Pats have agreed to terms with offensive lineman Riley Reiff, who is expected to compete for a starting spot. Host Mike D’Abate gives his thoughts on the signing before welcoming Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper to discuss potential replacements for tight end Jonnu Smith, after his trade to the Atlanta Falcons.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

don't look now, but your New England Patriots are making moves to bolster their offensive line production in 2023. 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. 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 wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike Bate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked on Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, your New England Patriots are making moves to bolster their offensive line,

but they did make a move this week that did weaken them a little bit at tight end. It's Wednesday, so you know what that means. A visit from the Countess of Clas herself, the illustrious Claire Clasie, Claire Cooper, will be joining me here in just a moment, and we'll talk some of that tight-endage void that the Patriots will feel as the result of Johnnie Smith being traded to the Atlanta Falcons. Are they better off filling it by using the draft, going free agency? And we'll also discuss who we have our sharp eye on as potential replacements for Johnnie's services. But first, folks, the news of the day here on Wednesday, March 15th, is the offensive line.

Patriots making a pair of moves to try to help bolster their production in one of the most needy positional groups on the roster, and that is the offensive line. Patriots obviously not done adding to their depth at tackle because one of the latest players added to the mix is Riley Reif, an 11-year veteran, most recently of the Chicago Bears. Diana Rossini of ESPN reporting on Wednesday morning that the Patriots are expected to sign him in free agency when everything becomes official on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Patriots looking like they got this as a value move.

The contract has a base value of $5 million, and the Patriots gained someone with a tremendous amount of experience. I know 11 years, a long time to be in the league, kind of an Indiana Jones situation going on here. It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage, but at the the same time this is a guy that has a tremendous amount of depth knowledge tremendous amount of experience and he can play he can still play at an elite and high level in this league well maybe elite's a little strong of

a word but i think he can still play at a very high level and he's definitely starting capability right out of the gate a lot of ped pedigree with Riley Reed, folks. Started here, first-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2012. Primarily played at the left tackle position. Started 70 games for the club over the five-year span that he was with the Lions. Stayed in the division, moved north to Minnesota, and became the Vikings tackle. Solid starting level play that he provided for them.

At left tackle for four years, leaves, joins the Cincinnati Bengals briefly. And then of course, last year, most recently with the Chicago Bears. All in all, this guy's got a tremendous resume. A lot of games under his belt. 168 regular season and playoff games. 154 of them he started most recently

he was the bears right tackle down the stretch in 2022 that's why positional versatility really comes up big here could be a swing option with riley because of the fact that he can play both left and right if the patriots decide he's their starter you can always move him over to the left and have trip brown come over and play at the right. Or they could just keep things the way they are, keep Trent Brown on the right slot and move Riley over to the left slot. But bottom line, he had a solid season last year, started 10 games, surrendering three sacks, 15 additional quarterback pressures. Not great stats, but not terrible stats either. And it definitely proves that the Patriots are looking for some sizable additions to

this offensive tackle group. Now, New England does still have a lot of work to do, but signing Riley Reif, I think is a very good move for them in terms of adding experience, in terms of adding a player that can provide protection, and someone that is versatile enough to play multiple positions. Patriots love their versatility. They're going to get it in this guy. And that also means that the New England Patriots had other moves to make. And restricted free agent Yadni Kajus is back in the fold. Well, at least back temporarily. Not necessarily a tremendous vote of confidence for Yadni,

but the Patriots did place an original round tender on Yadni, meaning that if, in fact, another team signs him to an offer sheet, Patriots will receive a third round pick back. So the Patriots right now, that's, of course, assuming that they don't match, folks, big, big distinction there. But Yadni's coming back was a little bit of a surprise he struggled through much of the 2023 season Connor McDermott replaced him as the swing option even the starting option down the stretch but there's an awful lot of talent here and the Patriots are definitely seeing something under the radar that's not showing up in the game stat sheet that's not showing up in highlights and

you know the old adage about offensive linemen and they even say this about defensive linemen too if you're not seeing them pop up in highlights they're doing their job they're making sure that nothing is wrong and Kajus I think is someone that showed up in those highlights for the wrong reasons at times but ultimately I still think the Patriots believe that there's a lot to extract there. So when you look at the West Virginia product now and Yachty could just coming back for another year, it's looking like they will probably at least bring him into camp, keep him around, give him a chance to compete for a spot. And then if not, they can always cut bait with him before the start of

the season and it's really not uncommon to see deals like this even restructure so don't be a bit surprised if that happens according to reports andrew counter the boston herald was all over this right from the start want to give him a lot of credit here 2.73 million dollar contract if the patriots do in fact retain yanni's services for the upcoming season based on the terms of the tender. So folks keep a sharp eye on this one, but the addition of Riley Reif, the bring back of Yanni Kajust, definitely good news for the New England Patriots. Recently signed yesterday, Calvin Anderson, a formerly of the Denver Broncos. They're joining a team right now that does have an awful lot of talent

on this side of the ball. Trent Brown, obviously, will be coming back. David Andrews, there's no question about it. Patriots have a solid group of offensive linemen in place. Michael Wainu, I think, is probably the most talented

and the most reliable on all of these guys right now. But there's going to be a lot of competition for the tackle position. Just tackle, basically, folks. Trent Brown, Connor McDermott, Yanni Kajust, Andrew Stuber, and, of course, Calvin Anderson coming in yesterday. So Patriots stockpiling depth talent. One of these guys will get the start, or two of them, I should say,

will get the start. There's enough talent right now to get starts out of both of them, but I still think the Patriots might be dipping their toe into the offensive line pool when it comes to the 2023 NFL draft. They might also be dipping their toe into that pool with tight endage because, as you know, John M. Smith is on his way to Atlanta. Patriots have a hole there, and this is an extremely deep, tight end class. But does Janu's defection to Atlanta

mean that the Patriots are looking to dip their toe back into the free agent pool? Folks, I know a lot of toe dipping going on, but we're going to straighten it all out when the Countess of Clats herself joins me here in just a moment on Locked On Patriots. So stick around, stay locked into Locked On as Claire Classey, Claire Cooper joins me when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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open, the league year officially begins today on March 15th the Ides of march friends but opening up cap space was only part of that new england patriots also created a void at the tight end position by trading john and will way and if we're talking tight ends then it is our honor our privilege here on the pod to welcome the illustrious countess of class herself claire classic claire cooper of pat's propaganda and a host of a, Claire Cooper of Pat's Propaganda, and a host of A Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast,

which you can find on FPC Patriots. Countess, as the tight end aficionado of Patriots Nation, the empress of tight endage, what was your reaction to the John O. Smith trade when it happened? See, this is the trouble. You did the intro. As you were doing the intro, I couldn't hide the kind of the sneaky smile that I was trying to,

because, you know, nothing, absolutely nothing against John O'Smith as an individual, as a player. I know he had this exceptional potential, such an athletic guy. Then the Patriots moving on from him, all it does is indicate to me that they are looking at the draft they are finally looking to get someone maybe not first round because there's still there's still needs that are more significant and I fully appreciate that but it kind of gives me that confidence or at least the sort of excitement the anticipation that they that they're going to

stock up on this sort of really tight end heavy draft this season. And that has me very excited. So I was never against Jonu Smith. But I don't know if you remember when they signed Hunter and Jonu. I was really excited about the Hunter signing and I was he was going to be my guy and that was it. And I was always very much like a Hunter girl sort of thing. I had nothing against Jonu. Very athletic, you know, good time. But I was like, no, Henry's my tight end.

And that's where I'm going. And now after the two years, I can be like, see people see, I told you so. Hunter Henry was a Patriots tight end. I told you so. I'll refrain from,

I think, I think we, I think we all got the picture. No question about it. Look, I was very vocal when the Patriots made these two signings as well. Hunter was the guy that I was definitely higher on. Having covered him with the Chargers, I knew his ability to run routes. I knew that his options in the open field were a little bit greater than what they were going to get out of Jonu.

I was extremely excited to see what Jonu could bring in the end zone. And in all fairness to Jonu, I don't necessarily think he was utilized in the proper way. I think Josh McDaniel's offense was a little bit complex for Jono to get right off the bat. That's not to say that he can't pick up offenses. That's no knock to Jono. But Josh McDaniel runs a different ship. And if you're not able to get it right off the bat, it does take a learning curve to get started. Just as he was starting to get acclimated, Patriots pulled the rug out from under him by putting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the offense. And I think that really slowed things in terms of his ability.

So great analysis in terms of, in my opinion, Countess, on Jono just really being a good player, not in the right fit here in New England. And I think you've tipped your hand, so why don't you illuminate to us why you believe that the New England Patriots are a little better off going toward a deep draft class than necessarily dipping into the tight endage free agent pool, which a couple of days ago, we probably thought the Patriots weren't even going to touch. See, this is the thing. This is the other thing why I was so excited, and I didn't even going to touch see this is the thing this is

the other thing why I was so excited um and I didn't want it to sound detrimental against the player because I don't I hope that he is successful in Atlanta because I know that he is this this you know very athletic tight end and I hope he has some success because I you know I I always wish that on players anyway but for me for a Patriots fan the excitement was it makes a hole and and hopefully with regards to having Bill O'Brien as a coach, he likes that two-tight endage set. It's infamous for lighting in the two-tight endage set. For me, it's like, oh, shiny new toy, shiny new toy, shiny new toy.

And if the draft wasn't as stocked as it was this year, I'd very be in on it's got to be free agency. You know, let's look at the free agency situation. But now, because of how well stocked the draft seems to be and how it's really out there, as everybody knowing, I think it was Daniel Jeremiah, as we mentioned last week, had said, you know, this is the best tight-ended, sorry, tight-end, he wouldn't have said tight-ended,

he'd have said tight-end. This is the best tight-end class. He should have said tight-ended, but he said the best tight-end class. He should have. This is the best tight- end class in approximately 10 years. And it's like, that's significant. And we were hoping, or I was hoping, and I think some of the people were hoping as well, that maybe the Patriots would look into the draft sort of in the later rounds, the later days, that kind of thing.

But this gap that Jono Smith leaves is sort of the hopes that maybe that's a little bit more of a priority now that they are going to dip into the more higher calibre of the tight end skill set that, you know, that's going to be available in the draft. For me, I can see the necessity of having another veteran, you know, dipping your toe into the free agency market for a tight end what i think is when you're looking at that if the patriots look at look at that if they look at the free agency really you're getting someone or you're looking to get someone who sort of can be a starter but doesn't really need to be because you're looking at i'm hoping you're looking at a more higher caliber draft to a draft pick who just needs that little bit of time to settle sort of thing someone who can be pretty much a you know initial starter but you've got that sort of safety net of having a veteran who is good enough to utilize whilst you're you know you're drafted tight end he's finding his feet because it's renowned for you know the tight end position to be a difficult position to be in football,

to be something that is, you know, an extensive playbook to learn, particularly in New England. You know, circa John O. Smith situation. You know, it's not an easy thing to pick up straight away. So if they look at the free agency situation, I don't think that they shouldn't. I just feel that, you know, myself personally, my fandom opinion is the draft is where the significance is. The tight ends that they're going to pick up in the draft are what we should be looking for. You know, as I said, the sort of the higher calibre, the earlier round draft picks. I always get those all mixed up.

So I hope you understand what I mean when I say it, because I often say the wrong thing. So I mean earlier, taking in the first couple of days or the earlier rounds, because of the quality of skill that's there for tight ends. So for me, it's a pick up a guy, maybe second, third round tight end. And if you want to dip your toe in the free agency, then, you know, I'm all for it. You know, bringing in more tight ends I am never going to refuse that obviously so I don't mind whatever start the day

I just don't think that I think kind of not to say that they were burnt by the the situation with Jono Smith but looking at that I don't sort of think I don't think it's a good idea I suppose really is probably what I should say but so then it's like you don't kind of think I don't think it's a good idea I suppose really is probably what I should say but so then it's like you don't kind of want them to do it is move on from you know a veteran tight end who who is a good athlete who you know had the quality there and pay him a lot of money they kind of it was a bit of a few they've got out of his contract sort of thing. Why jump out of that kind of pan back into the fire of paying money for a higher value free agent tight end, that sort of thing, of a significant veteran?

To go from that to that seems pointless. That seems a lateral move that you haven't learnt anything from sort of the mistakes you made with Jono Smith. Now, obviously, every player is different. So not every veteran is going to struggle the way that he unfortunately did. So and granted, I fully understand that. But because of sort of what happened with that situation, because they threw so much money, you know, they were stuck for so much money. They've had to take a hit at the cap moving on they managed to find um you know a place to trade him across to thanks atlanta but people were surprised that you know a trade was found it

was that really should show you sort of the comp that the lack of confidence in johnny smith really going forward was the surprise that someone was willing to trade because of the the dollar value was significant and sort of the numbers weren't, if you see what I mean, as in his statistics, you know, what he produced kind of thing. So for me personally, as a tight end fan, yeah, okay. I just want tight ends and that's fine. But I think, not to sort of repeat myself, but the draft is such a quality

that I kind of think that's your priority first. There's your draft picks which are needed more your free agents you're looking at sort of backups or depth or experience that's there to help that draft guide that that's very firmly what I'm thinking of at the moment yeah and I think you make a very good point this type of a draft class does not come around that often and i don't remember the last time i really was able to take a look at tight ends up and down the draft and look at names like michael mayer obviously being the top consensus pick i still think there's room for debate on that as well but you look at guys like luke musgrave like darnell

washington dalton kincaid who we've talked about, Tucker Kraft, Sam Laporta. These guys have been like the flavor of the week here in New England for a little bit. Zach Kuntz of Old Dominion is really starting to make his move as well up the charts. So there's a lot of options that the Patriots can go with in the draft. And I think that finding a more fiscally responsible going to dip their toe into his pool and try to get him by a trade and make sure that he didn't hit the open market or that he wasn't someone that was a victim of a roster cut, it was the Atlanta Falcons. There's a connection there with Arthur Smith. He was his tight ends coach in Tennessee. Two of them work very well together. I like Jonu coming in and being paired with a guy like Kyle Pitts, as opposed to maybe a little bit of contrasting styles in New England's offense.

So good fit for Jonu and the Atlanta Falcons. I think he'll do well there. But this was a move the Patriots had to make, and I think they made it with the future in mind. And because the Countess has regaled us with visions of tight end draft picks in our heads, I still say that they will at least kick the tires on some available free agents. And we're going to discuss who those free agents might be and where the

Patriots might go to find them. 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 ultimate pro football GM. folks today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at ultimate pro football gm if you've ever dreamed of being a gm and folks what better week to dream of being a general manager than the week that is right now in professional football you have to absolutely check this game out you've got to give it a try not as easy as you think it is to create a dynasty

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the draft, player personnel issues, all the ups and downs of a season. And you can do this all in a challenging and realistic game world. Ultimate Football GM is completely free and it's playable offline. So you can play on the go as you want, when you want to. Locked On Patriots listeners, listen up because you can get a 100% free boost to your franchise when using the promo code LOCKEDON. Find it in the game store in all caps. That's LOCKEDON in all caps.

So make sure to check it out today. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up on the app stores. That's ultimate-gm.com. Ultimate Football GM. Start your dynasty today. Patriots fans, the illustrious Claire Classey, Claire Cooper, host of A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast, and also columnist extraordinaire for Pats Propaganda,

joining me here today on the pod, talking a little tight endage for the New England Patriots and maybe a priority shift for the Pats in the wake of the trade of Jonu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons count us in the previous segment we talked about the Patriots being wise to check out the draft to try to fill the hole left behind by Jonu Smith but you know as well as I that Bill Belichick loves him some veteran talent on his team usually likes those guys around as mentors maybe one or two years to try to think bring things along until the new kids are ready

and you have to think that with John O'Smith gone now and only Scotty Washington and Matt Sokol on the depth chart behind Hunter Henry that there is at least a veteran name he's thinking about looking at or bringing in a lot of tight ends still available at the time we're recording this 10 30 a.m on Wednesday March 15th on the east coast of the U.S. not many tight endage dominoes have fallen Dalton Schultz is still I think probably the top option he's still out there of the Dallas Cowboys Mike Kosecki we know him from the Miami Dolphins but of those guys at the top of the list there's always guys in the middle of the list too I leave it to you Countess when you look at the free agent pool if the Patriots do dip their toe into this free agent pool of tight ends where are they going to go who do you have your sharp eye on

well there's there's a reasonable list as you sort of alluded to in regards to free agent tight ends and yeah the top ones Dalton Schultz are the cowboys Micah Secchia the things then you move into the sort of the not the next tier but almost and I mean there was Hayden Hurst of the Bengals on the list until probably about five minutes before we started recording this. And then I understand that Hayden Hurst has been sent to the Panthers. So that's one name off the list. So,

you know, not him anymore. There's Austin Hooper of the Titans, of Smith of the Vikings, Jordan Atkins. Now, Aitken, sorry.

He's with him. There's a connection because he's a former tight end of Bill O'Brien so there's that there's that kind of link there he's a considerable veteran as he's 31 see for me it just feels like maybe he's just a little bit too old and I know we how we bandy these you know these ages about you know this guy's 31 so he's old and it's just so ridiculous he's had some solid production kind of as a rotational tight end and i just don't know he was one that sort of stood out for me because of that link because of that bill o'brien link i'm just not too certain on him the name that has got me kind of like oh if we're gonna get a free agent i think i might want this one is

foster moreau from the raiders now the Raiders as as as he's very kind of well known by now has kind of done a crazy trade with the Giants and um Waller has gone to the Giants and he's like what for something like it was a pick it was it something like a sixth round pick or something I can't quite remember now i haven't got that in front of me but wall has gone to the giants so the raiders need a tight end now you could argue that the raiders have got a tight end gap so would moreau move up to sort of tight end one so are they going to snap him up there is that risk of that of course but it could be a case of are they sort of clearing out the cupboards a little bit they've got some serious dynamic wide receivers they've just stocked up with jacoby myers from the patriots so are they looking at maybe going into a slightly different direction

when it comes to their tight ends and would barrow sort of not tick the box anymore so you know would they look at moving on from him obviously we don't don't know. As you said, as we record this at the moment, he's a free agent. So that's it. But I had a little bit of a deep dive into Titans, which I usually do anyway. It doesn't take much to ask me to look into sort of, you know, what's going on with the Titans world.

It really, you know, it doesn't take much to see. And there's notes and there's sticky post-it notes and everything like this. So I'm going to jump back to Moreau because I did want to touch on Dalton Schultz because, yeah, he's got to be number one on your tight end free agency list because, I mean, he's predominantly an in-line tight end. I hate to say it, when you look at his stats and stuff,

he's kind of a little bit better than Hunter. He's kind of like a Hunter Henry but a bit better, which is awful because I absolutely love Hunter Henry so this is he's definitely kind of the quality tight end up there you know um he's got solid numbers even though he had that PCL injury he's I think he's the top wide wide receiver the top tight end that's kind of out there on the free agency market so I just think he's going to be outpriced from the Patriots I just don't think that that's the way that they need to go now if they're not looking at the draft maybe he is the way that they need to go because you know he's he's a good producer sort of thing but for me I think with the draft class as we said before it's so stacked and now they've made that space I don't think that

they're going to put such a veteran in the in the place I think it is the draft so when you're looking at the the free agency when you're looking at the veteran is moreau for me i don't know something really stood out i mean he's only 26 so you know he's still got youth on his side because you know 31 is like well old now yeah really um last year he had 33 catches for 420 yards and two touchdowns he was behind waller at that point so bearing in mind that this guy was picking up the scraps when it came to tight endings because he was behind such a number one tight end so his production value isn't going to be as high because he was like a number two and and that he offers a little um he offers sorry a little in sort of patriots experience because he's had that one

year under mcdaniel's he might have sort of just elements of sort of knowing the way that the Patriots work if McDaniels has sort of taken his style with him now it's kind of that's a bit of a sort of if butts and candy and nuts kind of thing and you're making it like a really loose connection now but there's this chance of this little bit of kind of thing which could maybe give him the edge in regards to that um pff gave him um a really sort of a miserable run block grade for 2022 because you know that really wasn't his wasn't his strength however he didn't surrender a single pressure as per pff thanks judas um and he converted 70 of his catches into touchdowns or first downs.

Now, you know, for that, the production is quite good. So with his age, there's a chance because he's one of the, he is one of the younger tight ends over on the free agency. So he is one of the guys that you're looking at maybe keeping for that little bit longer because he's got youth on his side. He may warrant maybe to hire price tag that the patriots really need to pay simply because there's there's big needs that they need to pay for you know when it comes to tackle wide receiver and cornerback so i know that there's a draft to look forward to and i can't wait i'm just like just bring me the draft right now i'm so excited it's just

on just it's untrue at the moment but however we'll curb the excitement um because we're onto free agency folks so yeah i just think that the patrons do have a lot of needs and there's only so much money that you can spread around and that's why and that's why i didn't sort of i haven't even really kind of addressed the idea of dalton schultz because it's too much money for something that isn't isn't such a big need if they're going to throw that sort of money i think it's going to be at a wide receiver more than it's going to be at a tight end in free agency i think the draft as we've said is is a different matter entirely so for me it it is the sort of the the lower level or i hate the terms that we we kind of tend to use for these guys but you know the sort of the the lower down the list guys um is something

that the patriots are going to look at so if you i believe anyway so if you if you're thinking of the patriots needing a tight end which i wouldn't disagree with you agree that they could do with a veteran it's just he's not going to be sparkly he's not going to be a big numbers guy he's not going to be a oh they signed because people want the big numbers they want the significance and they don't need that out of free agency at tight endage right now because i think because of the way that the draft is stacked was it a different year we'd be having a completely different conversation um so yeah there's definitely some names out there when it comes to free agency price tag is really going to, of course, obviously, stating the obvious, really.

Price tag is going to depend. But, you know, there's a few guys that if they want to dip their toe in the pool, even, there's definitely some. And for me, I think looking at the list as I did and having a look over and having a look at the highs and lows and that sort of thing. Foster Moreau, he's Claire's pick, shall we say, for the free agency tight endage if the price is right. That's good. I like that if the price is right. And that really, I think, is what this all comes down to, because we can talk all day

about high priced free agents and free agents that we'd love to see come here. Kind of went through this a little bit yesterday here on the pod when I talked about Austin Eckler and the fact that the Patriotsots made their toe into the trade market for him all well and good he'd be a tremendous logistical fit and i love austin's game but again it comes down to money are they going to be able to work out the long-term extension with austin that he's going to want bumping up his salary from where it is it's six a quarter right now per million a year um a million per year sorry folks or are they gonna you know bump that up to where he's gonna be wanting maybe 15 million

a year that's a big jump in order to be able to sign an extension so with someone like schultz i think he's going to be priced out of their market love the player without any combination he's really if he's not in it for the money sorry to talk over you if he's not in it for the money then i'm all for it i mean how can you not oh yeah if he's like oh i want to come and play with bill belichick come on down mr schultz we will happily have you but absolutely yeah money talks doesn't it without question and the other team that is rumored to be heavily involved in uh possibly looking for dalton services is the chargers and that actually makes a lot of sense now you've got kellen moore over there coordinating and doing what he does for the los angeles chargers so this is going to be interesting that

was his uh you know that was his coach last year with the um with the dallas cowboys so it's going to be very very interesting to see how that uh works out but i agree with you i think schultz is going to be a little bit too high priced. Hurst obviously is off the board as we're talking. Austin Hooper is still available. Austin is some guy that I had my eye on last time he was a free agent. Being a Jaws fan, I would just love the fact that they have a guy named Hooper on the roster just so I could yell Hooper and just see what the reactions would be. As I be as I'm removed from Patriots training camp for doing so I'm only kidding folks

can't do that in the media tent you have to have a whole lot of respect there and I promise I wouldn't do it under my breath maybe but not not to make a scene um see I bypassed Hooper because of the sorry interrupt I bypassed Hooper just because I think I was just too because Smith came from the Titans it was like oh let's yeah let's not do that let's not let no offense let's not go there again let's just not repeat ourselves two years later on a on a Titans tight end who oh yeah I couldn't do it it was like well no I went Raiders unfortunately it's understandable um a guy that I would keep an eye on and I don't know if he is going to be priced up because I think there will be teams that will pay based on potential Irv Smith of the Minnesota Vikings did not put up the type of numbers he was expected to when he was drafted but

his biggest problem staying healthy if he can prove that he's past his health issues and he can get on the field, I like him, and I liked him coming out of college when he was a draftee. I really like him as being a tight end that can do something for a team, maybe the New England Patriots this time around. But I do agree with you. I think if the Patriots are going to upgrade this position and they're going to spend or invest time into grooming someone that can be their tight end of the future. I think they do it via the draft and this is definitely the draft to do it. And there

are plenty options out there. Countess, what can I say? You always lend your wisdom and counsel the way only you can. You've talked us off the ledge in terms of tight ended troubles and you've automatically let us know that all is well in Patriots Nation. There's no need to panic. Everybody's doing enough panicking on every other position. Tight endage. Patriots have that pretty well in hand and I think you've nailed it as usual. Before I let you go today, please let everyone know, all our adoring public, where they can interact with you, where they can reach out to you and what you have coming from the great men and the great voice of claire classic claire cooper well thank you very much um i'm just trying to think what i've just recently done yeah um perhaps propaganda there's usually some stuff over there

i think my combine yeah i think um a combine update was the was the most recent haven't hit free agency yet because obviously it's only just starting so yeah definitely check out patspropaganda.com occasionally and you will find obviously my written work come the season there will be a lot more content and we're looking at doing some new stuff over there anyway so as for me on one page it's place with uh thomas murphy as you know a friend of the show shall we say from e2g sports network that's there for you each and every tuesday so you'll find me there talking about whatever's going on at the time at that week but my own show a Claire perspective I started it in the off season as I said two years ago now and I have continued to stay in the off season it's slightly less regular during the off season

but I will be here for you during the off season my next show should be out I'm thinking that there was one last week with Fitzy which was hilarious and it doesn't really kind of necessarily cover anything sort of technically sort of time time sensitive so do go back and check that out because the guy is crazy i get a face ache every time he's on the show it's amazing um so so much fun so please go and check out a clear perspective from full press coverage uh pretty much everywhere you get your podcast but yeah i should be back probably next week with something else with some more with some more guests so please don't sleep on acp i will be around it's just a little less during the off season because yeah because there's less to report isn't there right oh and find me on twitter at classic absolutely definitely definitely follow claire no matter what she does. Pen to paper, voice to microphone, keyboard to tweet, fingers to tweet, whatever.

She always, always does a great job. So be sure to check out all the great work that she does. Folks, we thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to spend with us here on Locked On Patriots this week. It's a busy week, a lot of coverage out there, and a lot of NFL options for you to find yours. If you are choosing Locked On Patriots to get your Patriots information from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you. Continue to support, and we'll continue to bring you the best content we possibly can here on Locked On Patriots.

If you've made us your first listen, please, I implore you, make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked on NFL Draft, my new colleagues Keith Sanchez and Damian Parson are doing an absolutely amazing job keeping you updated on all the comings and goings when it comes to draft speculation, when it comes

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On behalf of the illustrious Claire, Klazzy Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Please, folks, 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 here on Locked On Patriots.