Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - The Day After: New England Patriots Roster Talk with Phil Perry — 9/1/2021

Episode Date: September 1, 2021

The Mac Jones era has begun for the New England Patriots. However, the roster moves keep coming in Foxboro. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. The duo discuss the decision to release Cam Newton, why the Patriots made the right decision with Mac Jones, Stephon Gilmore on reserve/PUP and some other eye-opening roster moves.Support 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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.NorthOneWith NorthOne, you’ll never pay overdraft or NSF fees again, saving you hundreds of dollars per month. To get started, visit apply.northone.com/locked.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and use promo code LockedOn at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Wednesday, September 1st, 2021. And today we deal with the aftermath to the presumed end of the Patriots quarterback competition. And we'll break it all down for you here today on your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions,

the New England Patriots. And don't forget, Pats fans, that the NFL season is about to begin and nobody covers it like the Locked On Podcast Network. August 30th through September 8th, Locked On's ultimate Preview is taking you through every team and every division with the help of Odyssey's Ross Tucker and Jason LaConfora. Follow the Ultimate Season Preview 2021 feed on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your

podcasts. Greetings, salutations, and happy hump day, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here on this midweek episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I'm also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback

are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Wednesday wandering through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans were one day removed from your New England Patriots, setting their initial 53-man

roster, and some of the roster moves were surprises, some were not. One in particular was a major shock, and no folks, I'm not talking about Quinn Nordeen beating out Nick Folk for the kicking competition. That was a pretty good surprise, but of course, I'm talking about the release of Cam Newton, meaning that Mac Jones assumes the role of the starting quarterback for your New England Patriots in 2021. But the Pats are not done building a roster yet. And today was the day that the Patriots began to build their practice squad, and some familiar faces are returning to the New England Patriots. None of the Patriots players that were waived yesterday, not veterans that were outright released that can immediately sign anywhere else, players that were subject to the

waiver wire were not claimed by any of the 31 other NFL teams, meaning that if said player was on the roster on Monday, they could very easily rejoin the roster on Wednesday. And several, including some of your favorites, did just that. As of the time I'm recording this podcast, 11 of the 16 possible spots have been filled. Quarterback Brian Hoyer, cornerback D'Angelo Ross, defensive back Miles Bryant, defensive tackle Bill Murray. No, I'm not going to throw in a Cinderella story joke there, folks. Too easy. Linebacker Tayshaun Bauer.

Tight end Matt Lacoste. That one's for you, Claire. Wide receivers Christian Wilkerson and Trey Nixon. And offensive lineman Alex Redman. All members of the Patriots 80-man roster on Monday. Now members of the Patriots 16-man practice squad. But they did go outside the organization for a couple of additions. Former Detroit Lions linebacker Jelani Tavai joins the New England Patriots after two years

in Detroit. Some experience under Matt Patricia, that big thumping type of linebacker that the Patriots love to employ. This was a smart signing for New England and could end up paying dividends in order to provide them some depth at the linebacker position. The other is a fullback. And folks, as much as I love Jakob Johnson and think he will stick around on the roster this year,

this could be your fullback of the future. Ben Mason joins the New England Patriots by way of the Baltimore Ravens, and this is a great signing, the type of fullback that the Patriots love to employ, very reminiscent of James Devlin, and he could have the opportunity to become a fan favorite here in New England. The Patriots also making an addition to their 53-man roster by putting in a waiver claim of their own. Former Navy quarterback, wide receiver, running back Malcolm Perry, most recently of the Miami

Dolphins, is now joining the New England Patriots. A versatile player that can play a lot of different positions and really someone that the Patriots coveted for quite some time. The fact that he's a former Navy midshipman definitely helped his cause. You know Bill Belichick likes his Navy boys. Very much like Lieutenant Kendrick in A Few Good Men, folks. And if you've seen the movie, you know the scene I'm talking about. But the Patriots making all kinds of roster moves and we will break down a lot of the practice squad moves and some of those procedural maneuvers that the Patriots are making to create some room tomorrow here on the pod. Today, we have a very special treat for you on Locked On Patriots.

Because today on the pod, we welcome a senator to the broadcast. No folks, not an actual U.S. senator. I'm talking about someone with integrity. Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston is my guest on the pod today, and we'll talk a little Malcolm Perry with Phil. To the best of my knowledge, no relation. And we'll also talk a little bit about how no New England Patriots were claimed off of the waiver wire, and why that is a good thing for the Patriots. Of course, we'll talk about the news of the day, the week, and probably even the month.

Mack Jones in as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, Cam Newton out. What are Phil's thoughts and what does this mean for the Patriots moving forward? We'll also discuss Stephon Gilmore being placed on the physically unable to perform list, meaning that he will miss the first six weeks of the season. What does this mean for the Patriots' defensive backfield? Last but certainly not least, Phil will offer his take on what other story raised his eyebrow. Folks, I'll give you a hint. It might involve a rookie specialist from Michigan.

Folks, an action-packed agenda today. Tons to get to. And without much further ado, I will welcome Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston to the Locked On Patriots hot seat when this midweek episode of the pod continues. Locked On listeners, it is that time of year again. All eyes are now turning to football as teams are back on the gridiron to start the football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. Get all the updated odds, props, and contests, including online's biggest half-million-dollar NFL mega contest

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on these airwaves, there is never a dull moment in Foxborough. Well, the last 24 hours here up in Massachusetts have been anything but dull. Massachusetts madness running rampant throughout New England right now. And here today to join me and lend a little wisdom and counsel on the subject is one of the true best in the business when it comes to the Patriots beat. He's covered the New England Patriots for NBC sports, Boston since 2011, the co-host of Monday night Patriots,

as well as football fix. And he's a staple on other Patriots centric programs, including quick slants and Patriots Wednesday. You know, his name, you know, his voice, you know,

his face. Well, it is my honor to welcome Phil Perry of NBC sports, Boston to locked on Patriots. Phil, thanks for taking the time out. Welcome to Locked On. Mike, thanks for having me, my friend.

What a phenomenal, phenomenal intro. It's a gloomy Tuesday here, or Wednesday. What the heck day is it even? I don't even know anymore. It's been a wild week, but you've brightened my day with that intro, so thank you very much. You're very welcome and very well deserved yeah the days are melding together over here as for this you know day these 24 hours i've enjoyed every week of it uh it really has been tremendous it's been uh a whirlwind of information without

any question and phil obviously the big story will continue to be as we march along toward the Patriots' steps to the season opener on September 12th against the Miami Dolphins. Cam Newton out, Mac Jones in, and we will get to that, folks. But starting off with a little breaking news today, very shortly before, folks, we hit the record button to record today's podcast, Patriots making some roster moves, claiming former Navy wide receiver, running back, quarterback, I can do it all, Malcolm Perry, now going to be a member of the New England Patriots. Their only waiver claim thus far.

Another big piece of information, Phil, is that all the players that the Patriots waived yesterday, not outright released for veterans, but the waiver claims that were submitted, none of the players were claimed on waivers, which was a little bit of a surprise to me and a pleasant surprise if you're a Patriots fan. So just a little bit on your reaction to the news. What does this mean for the Patriots? And are there some roster moves corresponding that might be related to what we've seen thus far from New England here on Wednesday? Yeah, I think we're going to see some roster shakeup, as we always do this time of year. And of course, the initial 53 is far from the final 53. We know that, especially covering

this team. Nobody likes to work that transaction wire more thoroughly than Bill Belichick so with Malcolm Perry hopping aboard that to me is an interesting fit in a number of different ways first of all where do they consider him most valuable is it as a running back is it as a receiver I would say the area where they need more help is at wide out uh and especially given his build you know he really he looks more like the traditional slot receiver that the patriots have had in terms of being sort of a low cut low center of gravity short area quickness type of player but is that where they view him or is he just better with the ball in his hands? Do they like him as a potential fill-in for, you know, James White as a sub-back

or a backup to the backup in J.J. Taylor? You know, I think that's number one. Where do you want to use him? Number two, how do you make room? Because what I was told on Tuesday, now that I have my days straight, what I was told on Tuesday was that, you know, Nikhil Harry, the expectation was Nikhil Harry would go to injury reserve after being placed on the initial 53. That way you have him available to you later in the year.

Whereas if you put him on IR, obviously before you make that final cut down, he's done for the season. So you get him onto the initial 53, 24 hours later, you put him on IR, that opens up a roster spot. And what I was told was that Brian Hoyer would be the guy who would be making his way back. Okay. Well, Malcolm Perry is now taking a roster spot. Is that going to be Nikhil Harry's roster spot? Was that supposed to be Brian Hoyer's roster spot? Does Hoyer just kind of sit at home and hang

out in the area here in New England until the last few days before week one, before, you know, once all these roster maneuverings have kind of settled, where the dust has settled on all these moves? Maybe. I think that's one of the benefits of having Hoyer available to you is that he's obviously best veteran and he's not he's a free agent so he's not subject to waivers so you know the risk of losing him to another team is very low so you can kind of make all the transactions you want and keep that 53rd spot open perhaps knowing that okay once you get to week one, you can kind of reopen that spot if it's taken by someone based on injury or some other factor, and you can get Brian Hoyer back on the roster and get him in uniform for game day.

So all of this stuff, this team-building stuff, we haven't even talked about Cam Newton and Mac Jones yet, Mike, but this team-building stuff, especially this time of year, is just fascinating to me, even though these guys are occupying really, you know, roster spots, probably 50 through 53 on the roster. Yeah, it really is. And I'm glad that you shared that insight on Hoyer. And that is an interesting development. I know a lot of us were surprised not to see Brian at practice yesterday and thinking, well, what are the Patriots doing here? They have one quarterback on the roster. You take a couple of minutes and you realize what they're doing. They're actually utilizing that 53-man roster to their advantage,

and it actually is a smart move. But at what point does he come back? And I think you make a good point. The advantage the Patriots have with Hoyer are twofold. One is age and probably the lack of interest that you're going to see throughout the league. I know the Jets were interested earlier this year, so it's not a situation where Brian will not have any suitors,

but he has roots put down in the New England area, and it's highly unlikely, I think, that he would choose to go elsewhere. You always take that risk, but ultimately he probably will be here. So if the Patriots do have some more roster moves to make, even if Brian is not signed immediately upon those roster moves being made, still a likely bet that he'll end up back in Foxborough. But excellent insight, and the Patriots never cease to amaze. They always make interesting moves, and Malcolm Perry coming in is definitely one.

Well, Phil, we've danced around. I'm sorry. Mike, just to jump in on that, you know what's kind of interesting is he's like the third or fourth dolphin that I thought might make his way to the Patriots roster this week. They released Bernardrick McKinney, who Bill Belichick has expressed love for in the past. Big old SEC linebacker, off-the-ball guy that seems like their type. They also released Craven LeBlanc, former Patriots corner. And i think the patriots could use some help with that position too so i figured you know one of those two guys might have a shot at ending up here in new england but it turns out it's a navy guy it's always the navy guy mike we always got to keep our eyes on those guys absolutely bill loves his navy boys he'll definitely do anything he can to to get him

up here but you know it's football related with Bill Belichick. It's always about making the moves that he feels is best for the football team. And we'll see how the signing of Malcolm Perry does pan out from New England in the coming days and weeks, especially with Miami looming large in the season opener. Well, Phil, we've kind of danced around it long enough. We've talked about some preliminary entertainment. Let's get to the main event. And yesterday, the big news of the day, really the big news in the NFL, was the Patriots' decision to release Cam Newton from his contract and go with Mac Jones as the starter for 2021 right out of the gate. And Cam had performed pretty well during training camp.

There had been some ups and downs, but for the most part, he looked like his shoulder strength was a little bit stronger. He had looked better in his footwork. It seemed like he had a little bit more comfort of the Patriots' playbook and the reason why they do things. We heard Josh talk about that a couple of weeks ago, that Cam was understanding the why better. But ultimately, the Patriots make the decision to go with the rookie here. And I don't know about you, but for me, for all of the discussions surrounding New England's desire to change their passing game, Phil, they're still operating under that timing-based system predicated on the vertical routes, the completions from quick and accurate throws. And if we're being honest, at least in my opinion, I think Mack did that either as well or better than Cam did during training camp.

And I ultimately think that's the reason why the Patriots made this decision. But when you saw the news yesterday, when the news hit you, first of all, what was your reaction? And second of all, what does this mean for the Patriots in the grand scheme of things? So I'll tell you, Mike, I was surprised initially only because what we had seen and based on what we've all seen for decades depending on how long you've been watching pro football what you see when it comes to the preseason is that at some point in time generally most teams like to have a little bit of a dress rehearsal and I thought that that third preseason game was an opportunity for the Patriots to have their dress rehearsal and Cam Newton was out there for the Patriots to have their dress rehearsal.

And Cam Newton was out there with the starters, and he was the only quarterback who was out there with the starters. Now, I never slammed the door shut on the opportunity for Mac Jones to be the week one guy. And I actually believed really right up until we saw who was out first in that game on Sunday, I really believed right up until then pretty strongly that Mac Jones would be the guy week one, simply because he does everything that they want at that position. And he certainly has the potential to do everything they want at that position at a pretty high level. But it was the reps that kind of threw me off the scent, I would say, a little bit in that preseason finale. When you go back, Mike, and you look at what Bill Belichick wanted in a quarterback all the way back to the early nineties, when he's the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and we have Daniel Jeremiah of NFL media to thank for this.

He was able to pass along a couple of years ago, basically a scouting checklist of what Bill Belichick wanted from his scouts to find in players in the early 90s there. Jeremiah worked for the Ravens, obviously, who were once the Cleveland Browns. And so sort of through that scouting tree, Jeremiah had gotten his hands on these notes from Bill Belichick's head coaching days. And what Belichick wanted in a quarterback back then, all the way back in the early 90s, was someone who's smart, someone who's a good leader, someone who's tough, but accuracy was always more important than having a cannon. There's nothing mentioned in the scouting checklist in terms of athleticism,

foot speed, mobility. It's all about decision-making, timing, and accuracy. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. The quarterback has to be able to deliver the football accurately. Mack Jones, we know, was maybe the most accurate quarterback in college football before the draft. He was certainly the most accurate quarterback that the Patriots had this summer. And so you put it all together and he basically passes every test that the

Patriots try to throw at him, whether it's how much can he handle in terms of scheme. We saw him execute out of basically every personnel package that they have. We saw him play well in the hurry up periods. We saw him execute on third and fourth down in practice. We saw him really on third and fourth down in practice. We saw him really, I thought, show good command at the line of scrimmage in red zone situations and fit it into tight windows inside the 20. So the situational moments where he was able to

show what he could do, and I think even behind the scenes in terms of when he had a bad moment, whether it's on the practice field or in the facility, he had a bad moment, he's able to bounce back from it. All of those things factor in, and I think it makes Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels feel really comfortable with this decision. And even though it was surprising to a lot of us, I think it makes sense that not only Mac Jones will be the starter, but that once you make that decision, it really does make sense.

This is something that I've said really since the draft. And I thought he would be the starter really once he was drafted. I remember saying that night that I felt like it was likely, just for all of these reasons. And I wasn't surprised, you know, once you kind of get through that logic, I wasn't surprised that they, you know, at the end of the day that they released Cam Newton because do you really want that shadow looming over Mac Jones even if Cam Newton decides he wants to be a mentor even if he's open to being the number two even if he's uh all good with being a sort of a gadget type of player a Taysom Hill kind of of role and being thrust into that position for the first

time in his life. Even if he's okay with that, think about how it's going to play when Mac Jones inevitably has a bad game as a rookie, or he inevitably throws a bad pick that costs them a game or throws multiple picks in a game. What's going to happen? The cameras are going to pan to Cam Newton. We're all going to be asking Bill Belichick about Cam Newton in a game. What's going to happen? The cameras are going to pan to Cam Newton. We're all going to be asking Bill Belichick about Cam Newton after the game. We're going to be asking Mac Jones if he feels comfortable, you know,

with his standing as Patriots starter. It's a lot. You know, a rookie quarterback's job is already hard enough. And even though on paper Cam Newton would give you a weapon that you don't have right now, great in short yardage, great at the goal line. The guy's one of the most productive red zone runners ever, regardless of position. And that works on paper.

But the game's not played on paper. We know that. And there are emotions involved, and there's a lot of complicating factors in a decision like this. And so at the end of the day, I really – once you make that move to go to Mac Jones, it's not a shock that they would decide to part ways with Cam Newton. Even though, Mike, I could tell you, talking to people in the building yesterday, there were plenty of surprised people at one Patriot place that Cam Newton was no longer with the team once the cutdowns were made. Yeah, interesting.

Always interesting and always eye-opening, especially when a move like that sends shockwaves the way it did, not just through Foxborough, but all throughout the NFL. Cam Newton obviously coming in with a tremendous resume, and you're surprised to see things like that. But when you actually take a look at it, and you look at it from a logistical standpoint, which is what Phil and the Patriots always do, you've articulated that very nicely. This is exactly how they do things and to have that shadow of cam newton looming large over mac jones is probably a bad idea and at this stage of the game i think cam probably figures he does have maybe a little bit more to offer than being a situational option or maybe even a backup this gives him an opportunity to try to catch on

somewhere whether he does or whether he doesn't time Time is thin, but it still does give him the option if he wants to join a team before the opening kickoff for the NFL season. So ultimately, it's going to be interesting to see how all the dominoes fall in its weight. But Matt Jones is the quarterback here in New England, and it looks like the Jones era has begun here in New England. Very quickly, before we vacate this subject and we move on to others, Bill's comments this morning are being heavily scrutinized throughout the media nationally and locally about vaccines and about the impact that it can have on a locker room, but specifically to Cam Newton situation factor in, but you and I both saw Mac Jones come in, step in and play very well in just the three days that he was absent from the practice field. In your opinion, do you think that this could have been a factor here or is this really a moot point? Is this more just a football decision at its core?

And let's leave it at that. Well, Mike, I do think it's a football decision, especially at that position, right? It's just such an important spot that if you feel like one guy is clearly better than the other and he's not vaccinated, are you really going to go away from him because he's not vaccinated? I don't think so. But you make the great point.

The reason this is relevant in this situation is not just because Cam Newton's at greater risk of missing time than Mac Jones if Mac Jones is fully vaccinated, but it's because he missed time already, and he opened the door for Mac Jones to take all those snaps Monday Tuesday Wednesday and then he splits the first team snaps with Cam Newton on Thursday in that second joint practice with the Giants had it not been for all of those snaps which would not have been available to Mac Jones had Cam Newton not missed time. Had it not been for all of those snaps, I'm not sure we see the decision made yesterday that we saw made, if that makes sense.

So are they looking at their board in Bill Belichick's office and saying, well, man, these two quarterbacks are, even though I don't feel this way, maybe they look at it and they say, hey, these two quarterbacks are relatively close. One guy's vaccinated, one guy's not. We just got to release the unvaccinated guy. It's just that that's the deciding factor. Let's just go with it that way and call it a day. I don't believe that's what happened.

But do they say because of the evaluation with Mac Jones that we got over the course of the last week with all of those snaps, we feel comfortable with it. I could certainly see them leaning in that direction after the week that Mac put together. Yeah, without question. And I think at its core, and I agree with you wholeheartedly, this was a football decision. If this had been a more difficult decision to make on a football level, maybe, you know, this could have been either less in play or more in play. I mean, there's all different kinds of speculations that can be made, but ultimately, Matt Jones is the quarterback here in New England for the foreseeable future because he won the job. So I think that's, in this area, that's probably the best way to move

forward for it, for Patriots fans, media, and obviously the team. And we'll continue to see what happens. But it'll be interesting to watch the preparations the team makes over the course of the next week, especially with Miami coming up on September 12th in the season opener. Pats fans, you are listening to the amazing insight of Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. And we've talked Cam Newton, Mac Jones, even thrown in a little Malcolm Perry talk. But when we return, Phil will offer his insight on Stephon Gilmore being placed on the reserve physically unable to perform list. Stephon will now be forced to miss the first six weeks of the season.

What does this mean for the relationship between he and the Patriots? And what does it mean for an already thin defensive backfield in New England? Last but certainly not least, Phil will give us his story of the day from Tuesday that did not involve either Mac Jones or Cam Newton. More with Phil Perry when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, when it comes to repairing or maintaining your vehicle, why would you spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same auto parts at a chain store or a new car dealership. It's still possible to take pride in your ride and even save a little in the process.

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And Phil, in the previous segment, we talked the big ticket item, the Patriots releasing Cam Newton, bringing Mac Jones in as the starter. And there was also another piece of information that was relatively eye-opening yesterday for the New England Patriots. And that was Stephon Gilmore being placed on reserve pup. He will, in fact, miss the first six weeks of the NFL season. And it's not so much that his injury was a eye opener. Stephon had been on puppy, hadn't seen action during mini camp, during training camp, or during the preseason. So we've been accustomed to not seeing Stephon on the field, but conventional wisdom kept telling all of us that eventually they're going to get something done

here. Stephon coming now into a situation where he's going to miss the first six weeks of the season, first of all, it allows him the health to heal from, or the time, I should say, to heal from off-season surgery on his quad, but also it does give the Patriots an opportunity to maybe address the contract situation there. When you look at Stephon Gilmore's situation as a whole, first of all, what does it mean for his relationship between he and the Patriots? And what type of impact does this have on the outside cornerback position, which is still a little thin in Foxborough? Yeah, it's interesting when it comes to the

relationship between Gilmore and the team. It's a business relationship, right? And it really is for all these players and the team. It's how it always, right? And it really is for all these players and the team. It's how it always is, and it's really how it should be. It's how it should be perceived. And players are within their rights to pursue whatever it is that they feel like is just for them to pursue contractually, and that's what Stephon Gilmore is doing here. And I don't blame him for that. This is one of those situations though, Mike,

where I also don't blame the team for handling it the way they've handled it. And let's just be upfront about this. I mean, Stephon Gilmore is on the record with Josina Anderson saying before training camp started that if he needed to be, he could be on the field and he could play. And given his injury, given the procedure that he's gone through, talk, talking to, for instance,

Dr. Jess Deedy, Doc Flynn on Twitter and others, you know, based on the nature of the injury that he had and the procedure that he would have had to repair that he's probably physically good enough to go at this point in time, barring any kind of setback, which we wouldn't know about. So this does reek of a contractual issue. And if you're the team and you're looking at this, the player's stance is what it is, and he wants to be paid fairly. And I get that. I also get the team wanting to see more from Stephon Gilmore before being willing to shell out millions of dollars for him. I would understand the owner wanting to feel that way. The owner just spent a record number of guaranteed dollars this offseason

to improve his team, and you don't become a very good businessman, you don't become a billionaire by just sort of shrugging your shoulders at every multimillion dollar decision that comes across your table and say, well, what's a few million more? This will make the product better, and I just have to swallow that and move on. I think there's a lot of factors that go into making a call like this. And for a corner who's on the other side of 30 and coming off a significant lower body injury, I could see the Patriots playing this cautiously. And so I'm not surprised that he lands on Pup for six weeks to start the season. The question is now, are they good enough to make up for his loss?

I'm not sure they are in the secondary, but I think Bill Belichick probably looks at his defensive front and says, we might be able to get by because that group looks like it could be outstanding. Excellent point. And I'm so glad that you mentioned the defensive front because the upgrades that the Patriots have made in the offseason do point obviously toward wanting a strong secondary to support it. There's no question about that. But bottom line, when it comes to having a defense that can absorb maybe some weaknesses in certain areas, having that stout defensive front

with a defensive line and also the linebacking core really is an asset and something the Patriots didn't have last year. As for Stephon, every Patriots fan, I think, is hopeful that something will get worked out, that we'll see him back on the field when he's healthy and able to do so. But it will be interesting to see how the Patriots weather this storm, whether J.C. Jackson is up for that number one role and who emerges as his battery mate on the other side. Is it going to be Jawan Williams? Is it going to be Sean Wade? Is Jalen Mills going to take that spot? There's a lot of question marks still to come and a lot of answers to be had

and we'll get them within the course of the next six weeks without any question. Phil, before I let you go today, a lot of roster moves, a flurry of roster moves yesterday for the new England Patriots. And obviously the big one was Cam Newton and Mac Jones. We talked a little bit about the Stephon Gilmore situation, but was there a move that the Patriots made yesterday that surprised you, that raised your eyebrow and said, wow, you know what? I really didn't see that coming or not so much surprised, but maybe just intrigued you to the point where

this could be a story for, you know, days and weeks to come. What caught your eye yesterday? The kickers. The kickers, Mike. We got to talk about the kickers. I mean, I was legitimately surprised that they decided to keep undrafted rookie Quinn Nordean, keeping the streak alive, by the way. 18 years in a row now, an undrafted rookie has made the initial 53-man roster. I don't think that played into the decision here, although we know that the Patriots are proud of their history with undrafted rookies.

And I do think, I really do think that part of the culture that Bill Belichick wants inside the building there is dependent on having players with chips on their shoulders. And, you know, Quinn Nordine's not making or breaking that, but I think having a number of undrafted guys in the locker room or late-round picks that have contributed and contributed a lot to the Patriots over the years, that has helped sustain the culture that Bill Belichick wants there.

So, you know, now sort of focusing in more granularly on this specific move. But, Mike, we saw it. I mean, he just had such a rough time in Philadelphia kicking accurately that I thought that did him in. And maybe they didn't want to end their relationship with Quinn Nordean, but if Nick Folk was healthy, all that guy does is make kicks automatically, you know, within a 40-yard range. And even a little bit beyond that.

I think we've kind of sold him a little bit short in terms of his, the distance that from which he can make kicks. I saw him make a 58 yarder and warmups the other night, which was like mind blowing before the giants game, given where he's at in terms of his career. I just thought they would go with steady Eddie. They would go with the consistent guy, the veteran who's been there, done it before. We know they like Quinn Nordine's potential, his leg power,

his leg speed. These are kinds of things that you hear Kim Accord, the Patriot special teams coach talk about when he talks about Quinn Nordine. But there was one thing that I think I overlooked, you know, putting together my 53 man roster projection was, was that Quinn Nordean did make a kick at the end of that Eagles game. And he did make the majority of kicks in practice. And then in that Giants game, after that Eagles game, and they really liked the way that Nordean bounced back from that night in general. And I think that told them a lot about his makeup and how he approaches his job in terms of what's going on upstairs.

And so they were, you know, they're going to be willing to roll with some of the growing pains that come along with having a rookie kicker. And we'll see how far, you know, that willingness to roll with those growing pains extends. You know, I think what's nice for the Patriots is that Nick Folk was almost retired a few years ago. He's in the AAF. He's kicking, you know, in parts of the country that, you know, people have never seen on television before. And he's basically out of football, I believe, in 2018. So is he really clamoring to go somewhere else? Is he just going to head back to Texas, be with his family for a little while? And is the bat phone there somewhere in Nick Fulk's office that Bill Belichick

can pick up and give him a call, you know, in week three, four, five, if things get really sideways on Quinn Nordean and say, Hey, Nick, turns out we need you, man. Are you willing to come back? You might have that opportunity available to you with Nick Fulk and just kind of understanding that, you know, he's kind of waiting in the wings if you really need him. I think if they had let Nordin go, they might have lost him via waivers. That would have been an interesting one to track.

And so that might have factored into this decision too, Mike. Yeah, great point. And that's exactly my thought process on the situation as well. You know that Quinn and Cam Atcher talk about this this morning with the media, where you know the upside. You know what certain players are capable of, or you try to project what certain players are capable of. And you don't necessarily have that with a veteran. With a veteran who's been around as long as Nick Volk has, you pretty much know what you're going to get. Now, obviously, that means consistency. That means reliability. With Quinn, there's a little bit more of a wild card when it comes to all that, but

the leg, the ability. Obviously, you mentioned the ability for him to come back. After a difficult game in Philly, he made his final kick and really bounced back, and Cam talked about that this morning as well. Special teams coordinator for the Pats seemed to be very impressed with that. You know that impressed the rest of the coaching staff. So good choice. And think Patriots fans are well-versed enough to know that if you're interested in Patriots information, Phil Perry is a must-follow in anything the man does, whether it's voice-related, putting pen to paper, is always enrichment material and always a must-read. But just in case for our new listeners,

for anyone that doesn't know where, please let our listeners know where they can follow you and where they can catch all of your great work. Thanks so much, Mike. Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter, at Phil A. Perry, on Instagram, same handle, and at NBCSportsBoston.com. You can find all of our written content, NBC Sports Boston, every night, 6 o'clock. We're on early edition, Talking Patriots.

For pretty much the entirety of the program these days, Mike, there's not a whole lot of interest in the Red Sox these days, it feels like. You know, down times for the Celtics and the Bruins, and so we are Patriots heavy every night at 6. We've got Boston sports tonight at 10 o'clock every night as well, so you can catch all of our stuff there. And I have a feeling we're going to be talking quarterbacks pretty frequently over the course of the weeks and months ahead, my friend.

So I know I always love talking about that position. So it'd be a lot of fun. Absolutely. And we all look forward to hearing it. And the great team that you guys have up there in NBC Sports Boston from top to bottom always covers everything Boston sports related with class, with information, and with a style all their own. And, yeah, lean times in Lansdowne Street right now, no question about it.

Downtimes for the Celtics and the Bruins. So let's keep it Patriots-centric. We here on Locked On Patriots love that. Again, my friend, thanks so much for joining me today. We look forward to talking ball with you here again on the pod. But in the meantime, continue to stay safe and well, and we continue to enjoy the great work that you do for the New England Patriots. Thanks a ton, Phil. Well, thanks so much for having me, Mike. I really appreciate it. Happy to talk ball with you anytime, my friend.

Absolutely. Likewise, my friend. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are more than halfway through your work week, but fear not, because there is still plenty of action to come here on the my friend. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you are staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my friend Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.