Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Red Flag: Patriots' Gabe Jacas Contract Language Exposes Major Injury Risk

Starting point is 00:00:00 The details are out on Gabe Accus's rookie contract, and there is reason to be concerned by what we've learned. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's show, we have the latest on A.J. Brown's knee in acclamation to this offense. In the second segment, Caleb Lomu gets a crash course early in camp. But first, we finally got the details behind Gabe Accus' first NFL contract and why it took so long to get done.

Starting point is 00:00:46 Today's episode is brought to by Kalshi for a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code lockdown to get up to $500 and bonus credits when you trade $25. Gabe Akis officially on the NFI list, non-football injury list. Now, of course, Gabe Accus, he was not going to sign a contract without some type of physical. But we have a huge caveat as far as the injury language in Gabe Accus's contract. When we found out Gabe Accus was signing on Saturday, we had the conversation. And I said, the devil's in the details. What kind of injury protection does the team have? That will tell us how concerned they are about this injury, about the reported surgery.

Starting point is 00:01:31 And now that we have the details, there is clearly cause for concern. Mike Reese posted on Monday morning a few notes on Gabacus' contract with the Patriots per sources. Gabacus's contract includes a injury waiver on his left knee. That injury waiver voids after 2028. Reese posted unique situation as there aren't many injury waivers and rookie contracts, but this seems to highlight the compromise struck by the sides. So first, there's no more mystery.

Starting point is 00:02:08 The injury waiver tells us exactly what the Patriots are concerned by. They are concerned by the left knee of Gabacus. The injury, the surgery, both. They have enough concern about the left knee that the Patriots worked on this compromise that included an injury waiver within the contract on this left knee, the injury waiver that voids after 2028 season. So you've got 26, 27, 28. The Patriots have significant worries.

Starting point is 00:02:49 I mean, the fact that you have this injury waiver in the contract for a second round pick, especially is highly unusual. Now, if this was a case like Jermad McCoy, for example, who was supposed to be a first round talent, fell to the fourth round, has some serious concerns about his knee, maybe something else going on. If we found out that Jermad McCoy had a contract like this, it would be much more understandable. But the fact that Gabe Ak is somebody who you traded up for in the second round and you invested that type of pick in this guy. The fact that he has an injury waiver in his contract is not good. It's just not good. It doesn't mean that he's going to fail. It doesn't mean that he has no chance of being a successful

Starting point is 00:03:37 NFL player. But there's a reason why the Patriots were concerned enough to make sure this language found its way into the contract. Injury waivers are usually used on veteran players with a documented history of injury or a situation like Jermad McCoy. When leading into the draft, everybody knew there were questions about him and his physical status. And then after the draft, we obviously found out, well, he got taken in the fourth round. Those concerns were big time. So the fact that you have this type of waiver in this type of contract at this stage of

Starting point is 00:04:17 Gabe Accus's career is a pretty significant red flag. And again, these are the types of things that you see in contracts like an Odell Beckham Jr. Dan Duggan of the athletic wrote after the Giants signed OBJ over this offseason that a deal included three injury waivers. And Duggan Rowe, an injury waiver is a rare clause. It's essentially an admission by the player that they wouldn't pass a physical without the waiver due to a pre-existing condition, unquote. So the Patriots, they're having these conversations with Gabacus post-draft. And if they had these concerns about the left knee before the draft, do you think they would have traded up to make that pick? The Patriots and Gabacus himself were not fully confident when they decided to come to this compromise, whether it was one side or both sides,

Starting point is 00:05:22 there was not a lot of confidence that Gabe Accus would have actually passed his physical. If you base this on the OBJ contract and other prior examples, it usually means that the player is admitting, yeah, I don't know if I would have passed due to a preexisting condition. This is obviously far from ideal. And when you look at this, when you look at this decision by the Patriots to move up and draft Gabacus, to give up additional draft capital, to bring him in, again, I can't stress this enough. I don't think there is any way on God's green earth.

Starting point is 00:06:07 The Patriots had knowledge of this left knee issue. The extent of it, maybe even if he was going to have surgery on it, was, as we've discussed in prior podcasts, was this a injury that happened? Was this an injury that happened post draft? But it's pretty clear when you have this type of unusual step in a rookie contract, it's for good reason. And I don't think that you are going this far within the rookie contract, getting this injury waiver that voids after 2028. I don't think you are making that pick and making that trade to make that pick if you knew this. If you had concerns that were significant enough to make sure that these details got

Starting point is 00:07:00 into the contract and managing Gabe Accus throughout this camp gets even more interesting with this information. I had said over the weekend, hey man, maybe we'll see him. Maybe we'll see him on Sunday, right? Well, we didn't see him on Sunday. And I had said after the practice on Sunday, well, you know, maybe it's a case of they're take this a little bit slow. They're going to be cautious. Maybe we see him on Thursday after the off day. Now I don't know. Now I have no idea. This left knee injury slash surgery is enough of a concern that

Starting point is 00:07:38 you put this language in the contract. Who knows when we're going to see Gabe Accus on the practice field? He could be out there on Tuesday. He could be out there on Thursday. He could be out there next week. Who knows? I'm not guessing. Not after this information. It would not surprise me if the Patriots took this very, very slowly. Mike Giardy asked Mike Vrable a question during Monday morning's press conference with the head coach. And Giardy asked, was the knee something the club was aware of when Gabe Accus was drafted back in April? Here's what Mike Vrable said, quote, there's a professional side and there's a personal side. And Gabe Accus had to deal with the professional side.

Starting point is 00:08:26 much earlier than some other players. Sounds like Gabe Accus learned a lesson in communication and the repercussions of the lack of communication. And this is not how you want to start your career. This is not how you want to establish a relationship with the franchise that is responsible for paying you throughout the first four, maybe more years of your career. So yes, the contract and the language within the contract tells us how big of a problem this truly was.

Starting point is 00:09:07 As if we needed the evidence figuring how long this took in some of the reporting that was done on it, specifically by Mike Reese, now we know. Now we know this was a significant, a serious issue. when you look at Gabe Accus's left knee and how the team felt about it. Now, I'll give you some good news. Mike Vrable did tell the media that he does not anticipate whatsoever that Accus will miss the 2026 season. So whenever he gets out there, according to the head coach, we should anticipate Gabe back as being out there and being at least a part of this defense in this upcoming

Starting point is 00:10:03 2026 season. But this is not what you wanted to hear. This is not what I wanted to hear. And I can guarantee you the Patriots were not happy. They were not happy with whatever the circumstances were that led to this type of contract being agreed upon. In essence, the Patriots are saying that they believe Gabe Accus's left knee is a ticking time bomb. And they're not willing to trust that Gabe Accus's left knee is going to be up to snuff unless he gets through the 2028 season without problems that would cause the Patriots to void his deal. Not good. Not good at all. Coming up, this coaching staff shows big time belief in Caleb Lomo. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one

Starting point is 00:11:08 sports podcast network, your team every day. Before the season even kicks off, everyone's making predictions. On Calci, America's number one prediction market platform, you can trade predictions in a live market. Let's give you an example. Will the Patriots win the AFC championship this season? The Pats are currently trading at 9%, meaning a $100 trade would pay out $1,44,57,000. sense if the Pats win the AFC. On Kalshi, you're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there's no house. And as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. Trade the draft pick, the game, and more on Kalshi. Download the Kalshi app and use code lockdown to get up to $500 in bonus credits when you trade $25. K-A-L-L-S-H-I-C-T,

Starting point is 00:11:59 trade on anything. 18-plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Cali products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calci.com slash regulatory. Thank you for making us your first listening for being an everydayer. Always appreciate that. The Patriots aggressively moved up for Caleb Lomu. They moved up for Caleb Lomu. They moved up for Gabe Acus. Elliot Wolf at the time of the draft said that he was surprised. that Caleb Lomu was there to select that number 28. And look, a lot of GMs will come out and say, oh, it was surprised, right?

Starting point is 00:12:46 Brad Stevens came out and said he was surprised that Chris Sannack was there at 27 when the Celtics drafted the center. So a lot of times you hear that. But what matters to me more are the actions. What does the team tell us through their actions, just like we covered last segment, the action of putting that injury waiver into Gabacus's contract tells us it exposes how concerned the Patriots are about the left knee. Well, the way the Patriots are handling Caleb Lomu early in training camp exposes how much belief they have in the rookie.

Starting point is 00:13:24 And the Patriots seemingly have some notable belief in Caleb Lomu early in this training camp. Mike Vrable. talking about the rookie. Mark Daniels posted. Mike Vrable and Caleb Lomu will practice, said Caleb Lomu will practice at Jumbo Tideen, tackle and guard this summer. Here's what Vrable said, quote,

Starting point is 00:13:45 he learns quickly and usually doesn't make the same mistake twice, unquote. The Patriots are putting a lot on Caleb Lomu's plate. Just think about it, the fact that he is moving positions. You know, his natural position in college, what he played exclusively was left tackle. The first big transition, the first big ask of this Patriots coaching staff to Caleb Lomu is, well, move from left tackle to right tackle.

Starting point is 00:14:14 And we've had that conversation in years past. It sounds like it's easy, but it is not easy for many people who try to do it. For many guys that try to move from the left side of the right, right side of the left, a lot of times it doesn't quite work out. So not only is Caleb Lomu being asked to move from left tackle to right tackle, he's also being asked to work at a position that is pretty much alien to Caleb Lomu. Again, exclusively left tackle in college. Now you're asked to not only move from the left side of the right side at tackle,

Starting point is 00:14:53 but you're also going to be getting some reps at guard. So plop something else on the plate. Caleb Lomu. And on top of that, you are going to be tasked with the responsibility of being the jumbo tight end in a lot of these offensive packages slash sixth offensive lineman. So move from the left side of the right side, play tackle, figure out how to play guard, and then also help us at jumbo tight end slash sixth offensive lineman. It's only been a couple of days of training camp. And Doug Marone and Mike Vrable and the rest of the offensive staff,

Starting point is 00:15:35 they feel like they can throw all of this at Caleb Lomu. I mean, compare Lomu to Eli Rairdon in what Vrable had to say on Monday about the rookie tight end. Brable said about Eli Rairden, according to Mark Daniels, quote, new offense, new scheme, new NFL, capable, willing learner, we'll see when the pads come on. there's some hesitation there right there's some there's some caution when mike raebel is talking about eli rarden we'll see when the pads come on you know he's got to deal with a new offense a new scheme

Starting point is 00:16:11 a new NFL he's capable he's a willing learner that's a different tone than he learns quickly and usually doesn't make the same mistake twice if we're taking mike vrable at his word the tone of his words it should tell us Caleb lorne is well beyond where Eli Raredin is in the coaching staff's eyes. Now, shouldn't be a huge surprise because Eli Rairden, as we've talked about, he's more a 2027 guy and he's going to be asked to do more than he should be asked to do if this roster stays the way it is at tight end with the injury to Julian Hill that cost him this season. But Caleb Lomu, he is being asked to do multiple things.

Starting point is 00:16:57 things here while the coaching staff is saying, we'll see how Eli Arreden works out. We'll see how his camp goes. Let's get the pads on the guy. Now, yes, tight end is much different from offensive line, but the confidence level is, is clearly different from the head coach. And that leads us to Morgan Moses, because Morgan Moses is going to be not only managed this training camp, he's going to be managed heavily. So we should be prepared. There are going to be a number of days where Morgan Moses is not out there, let alone the days that he is taking limited snaps and getting limited reps. He's in year 13, as he said to the media on Monday, year 13, feeling fantastic.

Starting point is 00:17:45 Year 13 means let's relax, let's pump the brakes. And if Caleb Lomu continues this type of trajectory and the coaching staff, you know, is, is open and willing to put this much on the plate of Lomu right now. And he, and he picks up what they put down. And he stays on that track. That should give us all some confidence, if not a lot of confidence, that Caleb Lomu, if he is asked to do so, will be comfortable stepping in to replace Morgan Moses. And if an injury situation popped up. Caleb Lomu would be more ready to step in day one than we might have thought. So as not ideal as the Gabakos news was in segment one, this is ideal news about your first round pick. Now, I do not think Lomu is going to pass Moses on the depth chart, not during training

Starting point is 00:18:42 camp. I feel like Morgan Moses, in what he did in 2025, has been overlooked too often. Pro football Focus released their top 32 offensive tackle rankings for 2026. Morgan Moses made the list. Now he was 30th. He was towards the bottom of the list, but he is still considered one of the top tackles in football. There are 64 starting tackles in the NFL. Morgan Moses is in the top 30, according to Pro Football Focus and take them for what they're worth, but his 78.7 run blocking grade last year was top 20. He logged 1,200. 94 snaps last season and allow just two sacks in 21 games. And when we talk about what happened in 2025, I just feel like Moses gets left off the

Starting point is 00:19:36 list way too often, man, overlooked too often. He was really solid slash really good last year, especially for the money you're paying him, like $8 million. However, with that said, this is about 2026. And if Morgan Moses is struggling during the regular season, then yeah, I could absolutely see the Patriots move on from Moses, make him a backup slash kind of swing tackle and put Lomo out there to start at right tackle. I could see that happen.

Starting point is 00:20:13 If Caleb Lomu's trajectory continues to go this way and he looks more and more comfortable and he does well in the joint practices, he does well in the preseason, if Morgan Moses becomes a turnstile out there, then yeah, I think Lomu could be your guy this year if all of those things happen that I just mentioned. But I don't think, and I'm not going to count on the idea that Lomu is going to be your starting right tackle aside from an injury situation playing out. And that's more to do with my respect regarding Morgan Moses and the job he does than my disbelief or my questioning of Caleb Lomu's potential in what he could do. Up next, the latest on A.J. Brown, a UDFA that is standing out early and more.

Starting point is 00:21:01 This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. If you're watching us on YouTube, don't forget to click that thumbs up. Give us a like. Don't forget to throw a comment in. I want your thoughts on Gabe Accus's contract situation, what the coaches are asking of Caleb Lomu very early in his NFL career. Let me know, throw those comments in. Liking and comments, help us with the algorithm.

Starting point is 00:21:33 And don't forget to subscribe, trying to get to 11,000 subscribers by kickoff of week one against Seattle in Seattle. Also, thanks for checking out the lockdown podcast network. Now the number one sports podcast network. I might have just said that if I didn't. Well, I covered my basis. All right, speaking of knees,

Starting point is 00:21:52 segment one, we talked about Gabe Accus. We talked about the contract, the, the, the injury waiver for the left knee. A lot was made about A.J. Brown's knee condition during this offseason. Before the Patriots traded for him, as the Patriots traded for him, after the Patriots traded for him. A lot of talk about the deteriorating knee condition of A.J. Brown. Well, Mike Vrable downplayed the knee condition with the media on Monday. Doug Kye transcribed.

Starting point is 00:22:22 Here's what Mike Vrable said about A.J. Brown's knee. I think a lot of things get fabricated and people tell stories. We're very confident in where he's at physically. He's done every single thing. Will he do every single thing? Nope. He'll have time. Us as a group decide that just like Morgan yesterday,

Starting point is 00:22:40 I talked about Morgan Moses on Sunday, just like Reggie Gilliam also on Sunday, there will be things. But I think he's gotten off to a really good start, both mentally and physically, and acclimating himself to his team. this is where I remind people that AJ Brown has played 15 games or more in the last three of his past four seasons. Now, he missed three games in 2024 for a hamstring.

Starting point is 00:23:08 So three of the games he missed in 24 were due to a hammie, not a knee. And this is just going to be, as Mike Vrable mentioned, and we've discussed it, but now he has said it. It's on record. They're going to manage AJ Brown, and they're going to handle him. in a similar way they handle guys like Morgan Moses and Reggie Gilliam and Hunter Henry. And that's just the way they're going to do it. And last year, if you look at the health of that football team, I fully believe in the plan that Mike Vrable sets forth.

Starting point is 00:23:38 He obviously has a really good idea as to how to handle veterans and the training staff and, you know, the nutritional staff, the medical team, the coaches, they all put their heads together and say, this is how we're going to handle this specific veteran. And A.J. Brown is obviously on that list. It's management 101. And I trust the team is going to do right by A.J. Brown. Another note from Brown himself, he spoke with the media on Monday.

Starting point is 00:24:09 He said, quote, he's 90% with the Pat's offense, unquote. So that tells me he believes he has a firm grasp on 90% of what they're going to try to do this season. Now, of course, there is a difference between understanding the concepts and being able to execute the concepts in real time. So I want to remind everybody of that. But A.J. Brown's been around for a while. And I'm sure he's watched a ton of film. We know that he is very diligent, has an incredible work ethic. He's really all about football. He's all about, you know, his business and staying on the field. He has done a lot of things. himself to take care of the knee.

Starting point is 00:24:55 So we know when it comes to studying football, getting prepared, understanding this offense, A.J. Brown's going to put as much work as humanly possible into all of that. And that's why I would not be surprised if we see, you know, a Stefan Diggs type acclamation to this offense from A.J. Brown. But we need to see it. We need to see him execute this offense before we say, oh, all right, he knows 90%. He understands 90% of this offense. So let's move on on the next topic.

Starting point is 00:25:25 Let's see the execution. But good news on A.J. Brown seems like he is really fitting in so far. That should not be a surprise. Possible surprise. UDFA making a little bit of noise early in camp. Tight end Tanner Arkin. Go back a few weeks ago. We talked about Tanner Arkin.

Starting point is 00:25:45 When Julian Hill went down, we looked at the options that this team has at tight end and to try to fill that Julian Hill type role. And the guy that we talked about, one of the guys, was Tanner Arkin. And Arkin has already taken some snaps with the first team. Now, of course, some of that is the Hunter Henry management. And you have Eli Rairden. And then the next guy up is, you know, Tanner Arkin because C.J. Dupree is on the physically unable to perform list.

Starting point is 00:26:17 So you got to get somebody out there on the field. And that somebody is Tanner Arkin. Greg Bedard wrote about Arkin at Boston Sports Journal. Badaard wrote with Reggie Gilliam out. Again, that was a management day. UDFA, Tanner Arkin got some reps at fullback slash Hback and absolutely earhold defensive end Amari Gainer on one block. Arkin added another plus run block later for running back Miles Montgomery.

Starting point is 00:26:47 So he's getting some opportunity. and he is showing he can block at the NFL level with the opportunity to this point. Again, C.J. Dupree on Pup, Hunter Henry getting managed. The opportunity is legitimate for Tanner Arkin to make this team. And he's different from Eli Rairden. He's a different type of tight end. Eli Rairden is that athletic, you know, receiving tight end. I do think Eli Rairden will eventually be a good enough blocker in the NFL

Starting point is 00:27:16 to be a number one or number two guy weekend and week. week out, but Tanner Arkin, there's no arguing. He is ahead of Eli Rairdon when it comes to blocking and blocking in the run game. And we've had the conversation. One of the reasons why you go out and sign a Julian Hill to that contract, the Patriots signed him to, is because I think you want to put less on Hunter Henry when it comes to blocking. He's in his 30s now. You want to preserve him as much as you can. So the inside track right now for tight end three goes to Tanner Arkin. And if he can, he can, continues to execute the type of blocks that Greg Bedard wrote about at BSJ. If he continues to do that throughout this training camp, he's going to be on this team.

Starting point is 00:28:01 And he is going to have that job of running around smoking dudes in the run game, what you hope Julian Hill was going to do for you. One more note, very early in camp, but signs of improvement from Trayvion Henderson, according to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. Callahan wrote, Henderson's vision will be critical to determining whether he makes a year two leap. And for a second straight day, Saturday and Sunday, he ran decisively. It's great to hear. It is great to hear this early.

Starting point is 00:28:32 Being decisive, not only vision, but he also, I believe, Trayvion Henderson also has to show better patience in year two. There were times where he was just like Speedy Gonzalez into the backside of an offensive lineman for no apparent reason last year. You're going to slow down the brain, slow down the process, take a deep breath, show better patience, better patients should lead to better vision, should lead to a better Trayvon Henderson. But the early signs in camp so far, so good, according to Andrew Callahan. And other running back news, again, early in training camp, but Jam Miller stood out to Andrew Callahan.

Starting point is 00:29:16 Callahan Roe, amid some fits and starts for the run offense, Jam Miller was the most productive rusher Sunday. Miller ripped off several long runs, taking snaps with the second and third team offenses. The offense's emphasis on zone running seemed to suit Miller, an Alabama product whose draft stock took a hit in his final season. Jam Miller's an interesting prospect. When you look at relative athletic score,

Starting point is 00:29:40 he finished in the top 250 at running back since 1987. We're talking hundreds, thousands of running backs that qualify. So being in the top 250 is pretty darn good. In Alabama last year, I don't know how many of you watch college football. I watch a good amount of college football. I'm a big fan. Alabama did not run the ball necessarily well last year. And I don't think it was a Jam Miller problem.

Starting point is 00:30:06 I think it was an offensive line issue. I think it was some scheme issue as well. So, you know, Jan Miller, he could be one of those guys. He was seen as a better prospect going into last college football season. Alabama doesn't run the ball very well. Now he takes a drop. So you might have something in Jan Miller. Running back three looks wide open.

Starting point is 00:30:29 Now Mark Daniels did note on Monday that Land Larison got a lot of reps with the top offense on Monday. It was a walkthrough. So I don't know how much to take from that. but Lan Larison, Jam Miller, Miles Montgomery, Terrell Jennings, the battle for the third running back on this team is going to be a fun one to watch. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:31:00 Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL scouting. Kyle Crabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. find lockdown NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day. Talk to you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Red Flag: Patriots' Gabe Jacas Contract Language Exposes Major Injury Risk

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