Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Yodny Cajuste Released, Riley Reiff or Calvin Anderson to start opposite Trent Brown?

Starting point is 00:00:00 the new england patriots 2019 rookie class still has a chance to help the team this season even though all of the draftees from that class are gone i'll explain what i mean so stay locked in to the locked on patriots podcast you are locked on patriots your daily new england patriots podcast part of the locked on Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country

Starting point is 00:01:08 of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. 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 L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, as always, thank you so much for joining me here today. A special shout out to all of you Locked On everydayers out there, all of you Locked On loyalists, those of you who make Locked On Patriots possible, unending appreciation to you.

Starting point is 00:01:39 As always, folks, I am honored. I am humbled by your support. And Pats fans, a bit of a programming update those of you hoping to hear from bob heilberg author and patriots historian today we had some scheduling issues this week unfortunately some of which were my fault folks in fact bob and his co-host scott kruzak dave usher and yours truly have been playing what you would call schedule tag for the last few days we We're trying to reschedule as soon as possible, so keep a sharp eye out there for that. But as you know, there is never a dull moment in Foxborough,

Starting point is 00:02:12 and we still have an exciting show for you today because your New England Patriots waived veteran offensive tackle Yadnik Adjus today. And that means that a position that many consider to be the biggest position of need for your New England Patriots heading into the 2023 NFL season got a little thinner. But even though he was originally scheduled to be a restricted free agent this season, Kajust had received an original round tender from the Pats in March, and that was valued at one year, $2.74 million. As a result of his release, New England will now clear that amount in cap space from their books for 2023.

Starting point is 00:02:55 So New England opting for the cap savings. Our good friend Miguel was all over this. He's got the updated numbers on his page. Visit him at Pats cap for the very latest folks the salary cap top gun there is no better in the business and definitely give him a follow and check out all of the latest cap implications from our man miguel but as far as yadni kajus goes uh there was a third round selection the patriots got him 101 overall in 2019. He was set to become a restricted free agent this season, and he spent the entirety of his rookie season on the non-football injury list.

Starting point is 00:03:31 He also missed the 2020 season after being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. So a lot of health issues prevented Yanni from really being able, not just being able, to fulfill his legacy in pro football or at least live up to his expectation. It really prevented him from even seeing the field all that much. He appeared in seven games for the Patriots in 2021. That's when he made his professional debut and he started two of them. Now, Yanni had been widely projected as a second round choice in the 2019 draft. A lot of people thought he would go second round. In fact, some had even touted projected as a second round choice in the 2019 draft a lot of people thought he would go second round in fact some had even touted him as a potential first round talent but his injury

Starting point is 00:04:12 history again at West Virginia allowed him to fall to the Patriots at number 101 and I'll admit I love the selection when they made it Yanni looked like a typical Patriots lineman right off of that wide frame, above average initial quickness, great overall athletic ability, and he was quick enough to get into position, strong enough to wall off the defenders at the running game, and even though he had a tendency to give up the edge at times, this was a prospect I thought could thrive either on the inside or the outside for the Patriots, But ultimately, New England chose to use him mostly at the outside. As a matter of fact, almost all of his on-field action for the

Starting point is 00:04:50 Pats came at the tackle position last season. And through 10 games, through three starts, he allowed 12 crushers and three sacks. You know, not great numbers, but not awful numbers either. And even though he was overtaken on the depth chart by midseason by Connor McDermott, who the Patriots signed as a free agent in the interim, he was still expected to compete for a spot on the Patriots' depth chart at offensive tackle. Overall, he played in 17 games with New England, and he made five starts. Now, Yanni is seemingly out of their plans for 2023. I say seemingly because

Starting point is 00:05:27 you never know, folks. There could be a practice squad signing. If he remains out on the open market, the Patriots could choose to bring him back at a much reduced salary for a lot of different things that could happen that may end up seeing Yanni Kajust back in a Patriots uniform. If I'm giving my honest opinion based on the analysis and based on what I've heard, I don't believe that possibility, but you never know. Even though he's seemingly out, the Patriots are going to move forward and they've got some veterans on this team that could possibly make some waves and possibly even earn the starting tackle job. One of them's going to do it. Trent Brown is most likely your starter either at left

Starting point is 00:06:05 tackle which is where I assume the Patriots are going to try to fill that open position or the right tackle position and if Trent is going to be your starter at one of the tackle positions that means that Connor McDermott, Riley Wraith, Calvin Anderson, Andrew Stuber, and potentially CISO could be all competing for that second tackle spot. Maybe even a starting spot in 2023. So keep a sharp eye on that. We all know that Isaiah Wynn, he has been the most recent and notable subtraction from a group that is soon to be officially under the direction of new offensive line coach Adrian Glenn. He's off with the Miami Dolphins. I gotta say it, Isaiah's actually saying all the classy and right things.

Starting point is 00:06:50 He met the Miami media a couple of days ago, said that he's looking forward to playing his team twice a year, his former team, I should say twice a year, and that he has nothing but respect for the Patriots organization that drafted him. So after what seemed to be a very acrimonious, difficult situation throughout most of the season, Isaiah's moving on. You tip the cap and you wish him well, at least only when he plays the New England Patriots, you don't wish him too well. But bottom line, folks, that's exactly how it's going to go. And the Patriots are scheduled to begin OTAs on Monday at Gillette Stadium.

Starting point is 00:07:24 So it's going to be interesting to see how these guys start to work out, who the coaches are working with. Going to get to see a lot more during minicamp, even though there's not much for the linemen to do. When you start seeing some of the drills out there, it may be able to give us a little more of an insight as to who might have the inside track. But to be honest, folks, we probably won't know for certain

Starting point is 00:07:47 or at least have a very good heading on who may have the inside track until training camp practices start in earnest. And when I say in earnest, I mean the pads coming on. So we've got a little ways to go to see how things are going to go on that offensive line. And even though Yanni's time has come to an end in Foxborough, there's also another end. There's also another book that closes with his release.

Starting point is 00:08:10 And that is a book closing on the 2019 NFL draft class. And folks, it's really, it's something. If you've ever seen the movie Major League and you know Harry Doyle, when they say they closed the book on Kilmer, yeah, thank God. i think a lot of patriots fans are feeling that way about this draft class no matter how you slice it it just was not one of bill belichick's or nick casario's finer moments in draft history just to give you a little visual if you are viewing this on youtube there it is folks there is your class first round rounder, Nikhil Harry. Obviously, we know that didn't work out so well. Nikhil is now catching passes for the Chicago Bears.

Starting point is 00:08:52 Juwan Williams left as a restricted free agent, or I should say an unrestricted free agent, earlier this offseason. He signs with the Minnesota Vikings. Chase Winovich, a lot of people love this pick. I was one of them that really liked it. I thought he was a good fit here in New England, just didn't end up being the fit we all thought it was going to be. He is now playing for the Houston Texans. Damian Harris, probably the most productive, probably the best pick out of this entire draft. And the irony here is that Damian was actually considered

Starting point is 00:09:21 one of the weaker picks when the Patriots draft class in 2019 was graded. You won't believe some of the grades that were handed out by a lot of the national pundits. A lot of A's, A minuses, and even A pluses for the Patriots in this draft. Just goes to show you, it's not an exact science, folks. Grading the NFL draft too early is really a futile enterprise, and this draft really proves it. But Damian obviously not here anymore, probably the most productive.

Starting point is 00:09:50 He's up in Buffalo. Yanni just getting the ax today from the New England Patriots. Yelda Frohold getting some love at times when he was a fourth-round selection here. He goes to the cardinals with arizona jared stidham now with the broncos after a brief stint with the las vegas raiders last season and byron coward actually just signing on thursday with the houston texans see if he can hook on big defensive tackle had some moments in new england where you thought he might be able to break through but just couldn't see the field and couldn't break through a very deep depth chart.

Starting point is 00:10:27 Jake Bailey, probably one of the more disappointing ends to a 2019 draft pick here. A lot of promise really showed off some great leg work, was a former all pro, but an acrimonious end to his time in New England. And now he is punting in Miami. And, of course, rounding out the mix, Ken Webster, cornerback now playing for the CFL. He's playing for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. Yeah, folks, this is not a great moment for the New England Patriots when it comes to this draft class, but coming up here on the pod in just a moment,

Starting point is 00:11:01 there's a 2019 rookie that might be poised to help the offensive line in just a moment, there's a 2019 rookie that might be poised to help the offensive line in a big way. And the Pats media contingent met with him on Thursday afternoon. Yeah, we're going to talk about Calvin Anderson today, and I'll tell you all about it after we talk about the higher era parent, I should say, to the starting tackle job opposite Trent Brown. Talking about what motivates Riley Rafe when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

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Starting point is 00:13:11 a formidable offensive line. I happen to think this is a more talented line than people are giving it credit for, and I'll tell you why in just a moment. It's because of a couple of very savvy veteran additions to this line that I think can pay dividends. We're going to start with one of them, and we're going to start with the elder statesman of the two, and that is offensive lineman Riley Reif. And even though Riley has played the majority of his games on a professional football field in his career, he'd be the first to tell you that. He's on the north side of 34, not a whole lot of years left in the tank for him but he continues to be motivated by really i think the most common bond that ties every athlete and that is a ring and

Starting point is 00:13:53 those are his words exactly right right pointedly replied when asked what keeps him going by reporters at the stadium on tuesday yeah he said a ring. And that's something you always heard about the New England Patriots. When you wanted a championship, that's where you went. You sacrificed maybe a little bit of money. Maybe you understood that you were going to get a little more dirt on your uniform, but ultimately the payoff was that championship ring. For those of you that still think that the Patriots don't have that to cache I can tell you Riley Rafe believes they do and whether or not he's going to be right on that folks is a matter of discussion it's a matter up for debate but Bill Belichick still has that allure so don't let

Starting point is 00:14:36 people tell you that he's lost his step and Rafe is a definitely a veteran without any question he's about to enter his 12th season in the NFL, and he's going to be suiting up for a team that's seen its share of success. I mean, New England's chances of winning their seventh Lombardi trophy may not be all that great right now, but Riley Ray feels that there is something special here, and that's why he agreed to a $5 million contract, $4.15 million of that guaranteed, and he did that

Starting point is 00:15:08 shortly after the start of the league year in March, and even though he's going to face some notable competition at the position, Patriots investing that kind of money, that type of financial investment, folks, clearly raises the expectation of him not only earning a roster spot, but also really in contention to be the starter opposite Trent Brown that we talked about in the previous segment. And if they do go with Riley Reif here, folks, they could do a lot worse. This kid is a definite, definite solid offensive lineman in this league, widely expected to provide significant improvement to a unit that we all know struggled in 2022.

Starting point is 00:15:47 Under Matt Patricia, this was a unit that was routinely plagued by injury, inconsistent play, and as a result, the offense requests to a subpar level, both in pass protection and in run blocking. But Reef comes in with a lot of pedigree and an ability to play solid in both facets. 6'6", 313 pounds, definitely has the size to provide both protection in the passing and the run games. But I think it's his versatility that really caught New England's sharp eye here. Began his pro career as a first-round selection by the Detroit Lions in 2012. He played both right and left tackle for five seasons. For the past couple of seasons, he aligned at right tackle primarily, which is where I think

Starting point is 00:16:32 the Patriots are going to try to use him. 10 games with the Bears in 2022, that came on the heels of a 12-game stint during a run to the AFC Championship with the Cincinnati Bengals. And Riley talked about this, about how not getting a chance to play in that game, being in the press box and watching it really kind of whetted his appetite to try to get into the big game and play there. This is a guy that still remains very motivated by winning a championship. And that experience, I think, only fueled his desire to get back to that game. Maybe he sees that in the New England Patriots. We all hope that is the case without any question. I know all of you do and we do as well. And Rafe has played left tackle before as well. So if the Patriots do decide

Starting point is 00:17:17 that it's going to be left tackle and that Trent remains at the right, Minnesota Vikings, he did that from 2017 to 2020. So Riley Rafe can play both of the tackle positions, and you can make the argument that he can play both of them adequately. But he'll be the first to tell you it's not easy to toggle back and forth. I don't think the Patriots want to make this a swing situation. Wherever he's most comfortable is, I think, where they'll lead him for the season, or at least in my humble opinion, that's what they should do. And I'm using Riley's own words to support this. He told reporters on Tuesday, look, quote, at first it was hard. I'm a little bit used to it now. That's just something where you have to bank on the reps, put the time in to get it right. And even though he

Starting point is 00:18:01 started 149 of his 163 career games, he's going to get a chance to do so and compete with some very difficult players to outdo. We talked about Trent Brown. We talked about Calvin Anderson. We're going to talk a little bit more about Calvin Anderson in just a moment, Connor McDermott, and potentially Rookie City South. So you're looking at guys right now that could give him a run for his money and even though he's competing with these guys you know he still feels that he can

Starting point is 00:18:30 play with each and every one of them one that might be a little bittersweet for him to compete with believe it or not is james ferentz it's his old college teammate with the iowa hawkeyes these guys played together in college he actually played for kirk Ferentz, who happens to be James's father at Iowa. So Riley is very well versed in that. And with OTA set to begin on Monday, you're going to start to see these positional competitions start to brew and take shape. And as the old saying goes, things are about to heat up, but Riley Rafe is not one to rest on his laurels. He's going to take his time becoming acclimated to his new surroundings and he's going to make sure that he knows everything he needs to know before he starts to get into high gear and he is very level-headed uh he concluded his press

Starting point is 00:19:16 conference on tuesday by saying right now i'm just worried about learning the playbook i just want to keep playing simple as that And when he said that with a little sly grin, you got the impression and the understanding that Riley Rafe is not only taking this very personally, but he's also taking it very seriously. And he knows that this is probably one of the last opportunities he'll have on a football field to truly make an impact. So whether he sees the chance to maybe go for a ring here in New England, or if this might be stop on the way to try to get a ring, he's going to be highly motivated to be able to show teams what he can do. And a highly motivated player is always a good

Starting point is 00:19:56 thing, folks. And it will be for the Pats and for Riley. But Reif is not going to be anointed as the starter. He's going to have some competition. And from the looks of things, the competition that he's going to face in the form of Calvin Anderson might just be a guy with a big-time chip on his shoulder. We'll discuss what put that chip there and why it actually just might be Bill Belichick's fault. We discuss that in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up. Patriots fans, thank you once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots. Again, we are a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means all of you everydayers out there,

Starting point is 00:20:50 all of you loyalists to Locked On Patriots, I'm truly humbled and honored by your support and truly amazed by the support that you provide. The comments, the feedback, the desire to see the show consistently get better, and those of you that buckle up and take a ride with us each and every day on Locked On Patriots, much love, much appreciation, and I hope you continue to do so. Going to be an exciting time for Locked On Patriots. New studio coming up, new audio-visual situation coming up. So definitely stay locked in. You're not going to want to miss this.

Starting point is 00:21:16 And one thing that we've been talking about today, folks, is the offensive line. And if there's something that needed an upgrade, maybe a little bit of a facelift, much like Lockdown Patriots does audio and visually, it's the Patriots offensive line. Just a dismal performance last year. Just a disaster from start to finish in terms of structure, in terms of coaching. I'm not going to say it was a disaster for the players.

Starting point is 00:21:40 I really think they did the best job they absolutely could. I think Billy Yates tried to do the best he could coaching that line last year. I think Matt Patricia gave his all as well. I don't want to sit here and turn this into such a negative on Matt. I just think he was overwhelmed and weighing over his head. And unfortunately, when things happen of that nature, something's going to suffer. And the play of the offensive line definitely suffered. But there's good news because the Patriots do have reinforcements and veteran reinforcements guys that could end up making an impact on this team and even though the 2019 NFL draft class for the New England Patriots is no longer with us here in Foxborough there's still an undrafted element to that class that could have an impact

Starting point is 00:22:26 on this team in 2023 and his name is calvin anderson signed a deal with the new england patriots shortly after the 2019 nfl draft concluded and he may actually be adding his name to what has become a pretty long list of undrafted success stories for the Pats. The dream ended quickly for him, though. Anderson's Patriots tenure in 2019 lasted all of 11 days. The Pats needed a 90-man roster spot to sign tackle Jared Valdir, and they also needed a spot to sign wide receiver Dontrell Inman, so Calvin found himself on the cutting room floor.

Starting point is 00:23:04 And at that point, Anderson never really had a chance to really even practice with the Patriots. Went back into the free agent pool and by his own admission, he was wondering whether or not there was going to be a situation where he could suit up in 2019. Very fortunate for him, another team bid. He was claimed off of waivers by the New York Jets, opened the 2019 season on the Jets practice squad, but was signed by the Denver Broncos just one month later. And over the course of the last couple of years, he's appeared in 41 games for the Broncos, starting 12 of them.

Starting point is 00:23:39 His career's kind of come full circle now, folks. He's back where it all began in New England. Calvin signed a two-year deal worth $ million dollars with the Patriots in March he was the first external free agent to agree to terms with New England this offseason so you know the Patriots had their eye on him and for the first time on Thursday Patriots reporters had a chance to talk to him for the first time since his return and he reflected on that road that took him back to Foxborough the ultimate journey that led him back to New England and it was all smiles and reflection at the beginning saying quote it's been fun obviously I was here for a brief stint kind of a funny story looking back I can make

Starting point is 00:24:22 some humor of it now but at the, I was going a little crazy. But as a rookie, you got to learn the ropes somehow. And I ended up benefiting from learning that the NFL was a business very quickly. I went off, created some value, and now I'm back. And I'm hopefully ready to give that value back to the Patriots. Now, for the New England Patriotsots there's no question about it they're bringing in Calvin Anderson to help shore up a position that needed a lot of shoring up and we've gone into the deficiencies that the Patriots have had on the offensive line several times all you everydayers

Starting point is 00:24:56 know this has been a hot topic of conversation for the Patriots and for locked on Patriots specifically, really since the end of the 2022 NFL season. So Anderson continued on. And the more we heard him talk, the more you kind of saw a little bit of the chip on his shoulders start to emerge. And the next quote, I think sort of bears that out a little bit saying, quote, I was forced to move on quickly. I didn't have time to really sob over it or anything. It was a really quick turnaround. You got to get back up on your feet if you're going to make it work. I was forced into having it turn into a learning experience

Starting point is 00:25:34 very quickly. But I think in retrospect, I give it maybe about a year later and I was really able to appreciate how much of a benefit it was going through that NFL experience. So he's taking stuff away from it. He's using it as a learning experience, but there's clearly still an element of him that was not happy about the way things happened. Obviously, no one likes to be let go from a job, especially signing and then getting dropped 11 days after you sign your contract. That has got to be excruciating, and it's got to be difficult. So this situation with Calvin now gives him the opportunity to make his Patriots debut.

Starting point is 00:26:13 And folks, from the way that they're paying Calvin Anderson, it seems very obvious they intend to have him make that debut. Even if he doesn't earn a starting position, I think he's pretty much lost her luck. He's going to be making $4 million this year guaranteed. Much like Riley Rafe, these guys were brought in to play. They weren't brought in as camp bodies. And that's something that I think both of these players want to do, especially Anderson. And you hear him use the phrase, do your job, which really, I think, endears him to Patriots

Starting point is 00:26:42 Nation because that's what we want. There's still a sign in the Patriots clubhouse that says, do your job. It's still very much a part of the New England Patriots lexicon. And he said that, you know, he says, that's something you just take. I think anybody that comes here will tell you that the idea of doing your job, and I think you carry it through, even though we didn't say those specific words wherever else that I was the idea of doing your job and how important it was I think it always gives you a leg up to guys who maybe don't understand that other place that tells me that he took a lot of this wisdom and counsel that he accumulated in 11 days mind you folks to Denver and he took it there

Starting point is 00:27:22 and really showed a lot of the Broncos players what it meant to go in and to do your task each and every day without whining without complaining just doing your job the way it's instructed to you and even though it remains to be seen what eventual role he's going to have here with New England again I think this almost guarantees him a spot on the roster. That experience that he has, much like Riley Rafe, folks, between right and left tackle, currently projects him as the team's top backup at the very least, but I think he could push Rafe, maybe even Trent Brown, folks. We're not completely sure that Trent is automatically going to slide into the starting role. He struggled a little bit last year. I still believe he will be the starter and should be based on this lineup, but training camp

Starting point is 00:28:10 can be a very unforgiving thing for a lot of players if you come in not ready to go. By all indications, Trent should be ready to go, but I think this is going to be a very good competition between all three of these guys. I, for one, cannot wait to see what Calvin Anderson, Riley Rafe, and Trent Brown can do to push each other in camp heading into 2023. And if you think Calvin Anderson forgot about all this, folks, I'm going to quote you exactly how he concluded, essentially concluded, his press conference on Thursday, and you'll find out all you need. And he says, quote, I'd say it made the chip on my shoulder a little bit bigger. You always have a chip on

Starting point is 00:28:50 your shoulder going undrafted. I think I had to have a chip on my shoulder leaving this place. I tried to take what I learned. I came back with much more of a business mentality as far as what I was doing and what I was able to give the team that I was on. You'd have to learn quickly. You're young and think the NFL is going to last forever. So he has a very fatalistic view at that point of what his future is going to be in New England, in the NFL. But at the same time, that type of viewpoint pushes you to be better and give your all and give your maximum each and every moment that you step on a football field. If it's

Starting point is 00:29:25 something that doesn't sound patriotic enough for you, probably haven't been paying attention these last couple of decades under Bill Belichick. So Patriots offensive line may end up being okay. It's going to be a lot better than it was in 2022. That's for sure. Adrian Clem has got his hands full, but I think he's got his hands full of guys that can make the plays when you need to make them and of course folks we have just scratched the surface when it comes to discussing the O-line and all of the Patriots positions and Pats fans we're going to continue our look into the 2023 New England Patriots as we get a little OTA preview tomorrow to close the week in style so as always stay locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. And before I let you go today, folks, one last bit of love to all our everydayers out

Starting point is 00:30:12 there. Thank you so much for your consistent support of the pod. Folks, I am your host, Mike DeBate. And until tomorrow, stay safe, stay well, and be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. And we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Yodny Cajuste Released, Riley Reiff or Calvin Anderson to start opposite Trent Brown?

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