Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Turmoil: Patriots Seek Protection as Gabe Jacas’ Injuries Hinder Talks

Starting point is 00:00:00 Gabe Backus remains unsigned, and now the latest Intel reveals a concerning injury history. 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. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. The biggest stage in world soccer is here.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Let there be goals on Fandul. Visit Fandul.com. started now on today's show projecting the top 10 paths of 2026 including two new names in the top five but first the start of the Gabe Accus era not off to an ideal start in New England Gabe Accus's situation has gotten a little bit messy folks you know last week we talked about Gabe Agus not being at mandatory minicamp and I wondered during one of those episodes last week whether or not Gabe Accus's contract being unsigned with was tied to the procedure that Mike Vrable discussed with the media last week.

Starting point is 00:01:11 We did not know that Gabe Accus was having a procedure. We had no idea that Gabe Accus had a procedure. So I wondered that that procedure have something to do with the contract situation. Now, I know, I've said, Trebionn Henderson signed in the middle of July last year. So I'm not really worried about Gabe Accus signing his contract just yet. second round picks are tougher to sign in 2026 than 2016 because of the guaranteed money that's involved. Well, now Gabe Accus is the only second round pick that has not signed his contract. Mike Reese has the latest.

Starting point is 00:01:48 And according to Mike Reese, Gabe Accus's injury history might be more disturbing than we knew. Here's Reese. Gabe Accus reported to the Patriots facility for rookie minicamp May 7th. and was watching from the sideline when media members were present for the second day of rookie minicamp on May 9. At that time, Gabe Accus and Caleb Lomu were the Patriots lone unsigned draft picks. But Caleb Lomu, like the majority of other unsigned picks across the NFL, participated in practice anyway. Accus didn't, which reflects that he was not medically cleared to practice. The reason, which remains unknown, seems to hit at the bull's eye of why the Patriots have yet to sign ACCAC

Starting point is 00:02:32 to a contract when every other second rounder in the NFL is under contract. Accus had a hamstring injury in the pre-draft process that led him to not participate in the NFL Combine on February 26th and Illinois's Pro Day on March 12th, but he was healthy enough to work out at his personal pro day April 2nd and ran a 469 in the 40-yard dash with a 10-yard split of 1.59. Two sources from different NFL teams said their clubs gave Accus a passing grade on his physical exam, although both noted a laboral tear in his shoulder that could eventually require medical attention and noted a stress fracture in his foot that could potentially worsen overtime. Oh, boy. So up until this point, all we really knew was that Gabe Accus had a hamstring, injury,

Starting point is 00:03:29 hamstring issue, hamstring tweak that kept him from the combine, right? That kept him from, you know, working out on February 26th. But then we also knew, even though Gabacus did not participate during Illinois's pro day in the middle of March, he did have his own personal pro day in early April and the Patriots had met Gabacus multiple times. But all we heard was the hamstring. Now we have the hamstring. Then we have this laboral tear in the shoulder, and we have a stress fracture in the foot that could potentially get worse over time. But wait, that's not all. Back to Mike Reese, a source familiar with Accus's recovery said he underwent a knee procedure that was described as a

Starting point is 00:04:22 cleanup. It is not known whether something happened after Accus's physical exam and subsequent recheck at the combine or when the Patriots had him in for a pre-drafts visit the week of April 20th, and that information was not disclosed to the team. Hamstring, laboral tear, stress fracture that could get worse, and now a cleanup to his knee. My freaking goodness, the list continues to grow. We find out about even more injuries that Gabe Accus is dealing with before we get to the season kicking off. this growing list.

Starting point is 00:04:58 Look, I would certainly understand the team being very upset if any of these injuries were not disclosed. If any of these injuries that Accus is dealing with were not disclosed to the football team, that is a problem because trust matters. And that trust between the team and the player, that trust between the coaching staff and the player, the front office in the player, the training staff, the medical staff, and the player. That trust is immediately hurt if Accus did not act with full transparency and let the Patriots

Starting point is 00:05:36 know what exactly was happening to him physically. And if you were wondering, yes, this likely hampered the negotiation between Accus and his representation and the Patriots. Mike Reese wrote, one high-ranking NFL executive hypothesized that the Patriots are likely seeking a level of financial protection in the contract based on the medical procedure, which would explain the holdup. The medical procedure isn't one that should threaten Accus's availability for the 26th season, and there is hope he will be ready for training camp according to a source. So the Patriots wanting protection, if that's the case, justified. Completely and utterly justified. Wouldn't you want protection if you were the Patriots?

Starting point is 00:06:30 If you found out, wait a minute. There's a hamstring problem. Maybe we knew about that. There's a laboral tear. Maybe we knew about that. There's a stress fracture. Maybe we did not know about that. He needs to have a cleanup of his knee.

Starting point is 00:06:47 Maybe we didn't know about that. of these four or five injuries, how many of those did the Patriots have knowledge of? And if any of these injuries, especially the knee, if any of these injuries happened post-meeting, then were the Patriots notified of the injury? And if not, wouldn't you want that protection? If they had no knowledge of one or multiple of these injuries,

Starting point is 00:07:18 I mean, if you knew you had the litany of injuries that you now know dealing with Gabe Accus, would you have moved up and drafted him in the second round? Would you have drafted him at all? I don't know. More from Reese. Accus has not been with the Patriots since May, according to a source. So he has not been at the facility. He hasn't been in the playbook.

Starting point is 00:07:43 He hasn't been watching film. He hasn't been talking to coaches. He hasn't been standing there watching guys work out and go through all of this stuff. has not been at the facility since May. We're now in the middle of June. His absence is tied in part to not being given a standard participation agreement from the Patriots, according to a source. Most draft picks receive such an agreement, which states that if they were to sustain an injury

Starting point is 00:08:09 prior to signing their first NFL contract, the team would still be obligated to sign him to a contract based on the slot he was drafted. This, this more than anything, tells us that it's a little bit messy. It is standard operating procedure. Apparently, according to the source, it is standard operating procedure for a team to agree to this participation agreement with the player that you drafted. So that player gets on the field, can start getting things done and practicing and all of that. but that player is protected in case of injury because he signed this participation

Starting point is 00:08:53 agreement that would lead the team to still be obligated to sign said player to a contract based on where he was drafted. So if you sign this participation agreement, it's not a contract, but if you go out there and you tear a muscle, you still get a contract with that team because of that participation agreement. And according to Mike Reese's source, this. participation agreement, which again is standard operating procedure, was not done between ACUS and the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:09:27 That tells me there is a little bit of issue rumbling between the two sides and that it could be slightly acrimonious. And that's why ACUS did not get this participation agreement because the Patriots don't trust ACUS are concerned. with what they've heard or found out, or really want to have a come to Jesus meeting, as they say, between the player and the representation to figure out what in the world's going on. Now, I do think things will eventually get done. But you don't want this to get in the way of Gabe Accus's development in his rookie year, and it already has. He's well behind, and now we know that he has

Starting point is 00:10:11 an accumulation of injuries, and some of these injuries could be significant. A laboral that's a significant injury. A stress fracture that could get worse in your foot over time is a significant injury. In the knee getting quote unquote cleaned up, is that the first cleanup, the second cleanup, the third cleanup, what's wrong with the knee? So I think it'll eventually get done and Gabacus will be playing in 2026. But none of this is necessarily great to hear. It's not great to hear for me or for you or for anybody.

Starting point is 00:10:47 So hopefully he gets on the field sooner. rather than later. Hopefully we get to camp and he's out there. All right, we get into our top 10 paths of 2026 next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. Support for today's episode comes from Square, the business platform that helps sellers become neighborhood favorites, whether you're gearing up for a busy season or just trying to keep up with everyday demand, Square keeps your business running smoothly, from payments to online, orders, inventory staff, and more, all in one place so you can focus on your customers,

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Starting point is 00:12:13 You know, I was thinking about this going through the exercise of compiling the top 10 Patriots for the 2026 season. And I was thinking about what if we compiled a list of top 10. 10 paths for the years of 2023 and 2024. It would have likely been a very depressing exercise. But thankfully, that's not the case for this 2026 roster. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Get your daily Patriots fix completely ad free by joining the Everydayer Club today.

Starting point is 00:12:47 Start your seven day free trial right now and get closer to your team without the interruptions. I have not been good with the Discord. I know. I need to improve. Self-scouting. Well, over the weekend, past few days, I jumped into the Discord. I am going to be much more involved with the Discord moving forward. So check out the link in the show notes or go to lockdownpatriots.com to claim your free trial. Also, don't forget if you're watching us on YouTube to give us that thumbs up, give us the like. Always appreciate the likes.

Starting point is 00:13:21 Helps us with the algorithm, as you know. don't forget to comment your thoughts on Gabe Accus and all of these injuries we're now hearing about doesn't make me feel great. I want your comments and don't forget to subscribe. We are now getting closer and closer to 10,000 subscribers. We have climbed to about 9,900. 10,000 is the next goal. Don't forget to like, comment, and sub. Appreciate every single one of you. And a quick note, because of the AJ Brown trade and because of mandatory minicamp, the plan was to do three podcasts a week until July 13th. Go through June.

Starting point is 00:14:01 You get to July 13th or so. And then we go back to five days a week. Of course, because of the AJ Brown trade and mandatory minicamp, we did more than the three episodes per week, which is good. You got some bonus episodes. And if something breaks, we will continue with the bonus episodes. But moving forward, three pods a week until July 13th, you will be getting those podcasts. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The plan is to release those podcasts early in the morning.

Starting point is 00:14:29 So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday until July 13th. Camp kicks off July 25th. But July 13th, that's when we really start to, you know, middle of July. We get back to that five days a week. We appreciate every single one of you, but it is to take a little bit of a breath, take a step back slightly for a month or so, before going full bore into camp,

Starting point is 00:14:53 joint practices, and of course, the season. All right, let's project the top 10 of the 2026 roster. And I'm going to start with 10 because everybody knows who number one is. So we'll start from the bottom and go up, okay? Like Drake. All right, let's start with number 10.

Starting point is 00:15:12 Michael Wenu. I'm going to put Michael Wenu as the 10th best patriot on this roster of 2026. I thought Michael Wenu's second half last year was his best football, the best football we've ever seen him play in a Patriots uniform. I thought it was clear. And Michael Wenu is only 28 years old. So it's not like he's in his mid-30s.

Starting point is 00:15:36 He's not battling age like Morgan Moses. He's 28, which is smack dab right in the middle of your prime. Coming off of his best football, he is also in a contract year that should motivate Big Mike to have his best season. If Michael Wenu could put a season from week one to week 18 together like he did in the second half of last year, he will be known as one of the best guards in football in 2026. Pro football focus had Michael Wenu ranked as their seventh best guard in all of football last year. Seventh best.

Starting point is 00:16:12 Michael Wenu, number 10 on my list. Number nine, let's stick with the offensive line and let's stick with the guard position. Now I know. Elijah Vera Tucker, the list of injuries, they have stacked up throughout his NFL career. Okay? I get that. You get that. But I can't predict injury.

Starting point is 00:16:36 Even if somebody has been injury prone, I can't predict injury. injury. I'm looking at this optimistically. So I am confident. I am confident that if Elijah Verit Tucker is healthy in 2026, he is absolutely one of the 10 best players on this team. And I would argue if he does stay healthy throughout the year, he will probably end up being higher on this list than 9th overall. He is a top 20 guard when he is right. He was a top 20 guard from 2020 21 through 2024. If you look at pro football focus and other analytics, and I think his ceiling is even higher than that

Starting point is 00:17:18 because he has dealt with injuries throughout that time of being a top 20 guard. If he can fully put it together, he turns 27 this week. So happy birthday to Elijah Vera Tucker. He is strolling on into his prime. If he can stay healthy, walking into his prime,

Starting point is 00:17:38 his skill, his technique, his athleticism, he's got all the tools. He could be a top five to tang guard in football. He's got all those tools, but he's got to stay healthy. But right now, I'm going to say, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, which he has not deserved, frankly. But again, we're being optimistic on today's episode. I'm going to put Elijah Verit Tucker ninth overall in this roster. stay healthy, solid, solid football player.

Starting point is 00:18:11 Number eight, Ramandre Stevenson. Now, this might be a little polarizing. Ramandre Stevenson wasn't the best, you know, early last year. We know he had his fumbling issues against the Steelers, but he was very, very strong in the last month of the 2025 regular season. And this putting Ramandre Stevenson in the top 10 and putting him eighth, it's big on projection because I think with this offensive line being better, with Reggie Gilliam at fullback,

Starting point is 00:18:42 I think Ramadre Stevenson is going to have a better season than we saw even in the last month of last year, which was good to really good. I mean, Ramadre Stevenson averaged more than four and a half yards per carry last year with an inconsistent run game for the team and inconsistent blocking from his offensive line. As a matter of fact, here's an interesting stat. Ramandre Stevenson was number two in the entire NFL, rushing yards over expected. The only player in the NFL that had more rushing yards over expected than Remandre Stevenson was Josh Allen.

Starting point is 00:19:20 Also, we're talking about the complete football player here. Do not overlook Ramandre Stevenson's past protection, fantastic against the blitz, and don't overlook his ability as a receiver. Remandre Stevenson eighth on this list. Number seven, Christian Barmore. He is dominant when he is right. The question is, how often is he right? Hopefully more often this year than he was last year.

Starting point is 00:19:45 Now, I think he was good last year. But when Milton Williams went out, there was an apparent and obvious lull in Christian Barmore's play. The Patriots need Christian Barmore to be the guy he can be. He's got all the talent in the world. And yeah, you've got to deal with, you know, the injury history, the blood clots, you have to. to manage that. But he is still one of the better football players on this team. He demands double

Starting point is 00:20:08 teams when he's playing at his best. He was seventh in the entire NFL last year in ESPN's pass rush win rate on the interior defensive line. He's another guy who is turning 27 years old. He turns 27 in July. So we're taught about somebody who is in his prime. No guaranteed money left on his contract. He's got to earn his next payday. And he wants that to be a big payday. Christian Barmore is seventh and sixth on my list, Marcus Jones put some respect on his name. Really good football player, really good nickel back. And we know nickel back in this defense, nickel back in the NFL is more critical now than it's ever been, not afraid to get downhill.

Starting point is 00:20:50 And when we talk about Marcus Jones, we also have to include his ability to return punts, which is a major, major plus. Stop me if you've heard this before. He's 27 years old. and he is a consistent football player. So Marcus Jones is six. Now, there are a few guys that you could absolutely, absolutely say are a part of this conversation.

Starting point is 00:21:15 From number six through 10 on this roster, you could argue Robert Spillane, you could argue Carlton Davis, you could argue Craig Woodson, who was making a charge at the end of last year. I think all of those are reasonable names to have on this list, and you could get rid of one of the guys, that I just put out there.

Starting point is 00:21:33 I wouldn't argue with anyone if you had Robert Spillane or Carlton Davis or Craig Woodson on this list. But I'm going with a winnow at 10, Verituker at 9, Stevenson at 8, Bormor at 7, and Jones at 6. Pretty reasonable list in my eyes. Of course, I'm biased. Coming up our top five players on this team coming up this year. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team.

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Starting point is 00:24:31 your team every day. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. All right. Number five on my list, Kevin Beyer. I mean, he was a first team all pro in 2025. How can he not be in your top five if you're writing down a Patriots top 10 list? He is number five, first team all pro. He is a playmaker, seven interceptions last year for the Chicago Bears. Pro football focus tells us that Kevin Beyer was top 25 against the run and top 25 against the past last season.

Starting point is 00:25:04 Super durable. He's returning to Mike Vrable's system. I expect Kevin Byard, even though he's going to be playing at 33 years old, I expect him to have a really good season for the Patriots. Kevin Byard fifth on my list. Number four, another newcomer to this team, A.J. Brown. Now, lots of A.J. Brown talked the last few weeks. We have discussed pretty much everything, although we do have a few more things in my back pocket we got to get to regarding A.J. Brown on this pod. But lots of A.J. Brown talked the last few weeks. He is still a top 10 to 15 receiver in football. Love is fit.

Starting point is 00:25:45 We've gone through it, right, from pillar to post, why we love this fit for the Patriots, why we love this fit for A.J. Brown, why we love the fit for Drake May. We've already seen the early chemistry between Drake May and A.J. Brown during mandatory minicamp last week. They will work together between mini camp and training camp. I would absolutely anticipate A.J. Brown and Drake May looking even better at camp with more reps under their belt as quarterback receiver. A.J. Brown is incredibly motivated to prove to the world that he is still really, really good at what he does. His frustrations with Philly now buried.

Starting point is 00:26:26 They're done. They're dead. Moving forward with the Patriots, he is somebody who with Josh McDaniels calling the plays, Drake May throw me, throw me, throw the football to him should have a very, very good year. Number three on my list. Top three now. You know who number one is. Top three now. Number three is Milton Williams.

Starting point is 00:26:47 He was seventh last year in all of football when it came to pressures from an interior defensive linemen. Now I want you all to remember how crazy that is because I want you to remember Milton Williams missed five games last year. He missed five games, and he was still number seven in total pressures from Interior Defensive Line. Mike Giardy noted a few weeks ago that Milton Williams' pass rush win rate was 14.6%, which would place him fifth in the league.

Starting point is 00:27:22 One of the best pass rushing interior defensive linemen in football. And that's not also, let's not also forget about Milton Williams' impact on the the run game. Remember how good the run defense was? I know what happened in the Super Bowl. But do you remember how good that run defense was when Milton Williams and Robert Spillane were healthy up the gut? One of the best run

Starting point is 00:27:46 defenses in football. Milton Williams, excellent against the pass. Milton Williams, really good against the run last year from what I saw. His work ethic, nonstop, nonstop motor. He's got the swag. He is dominant. Another 27-year-old

Starting point is 00:28:03 on this roster. he is in his prime. I am extremely excited to watch Milton Williams play football this year. Number two, Christian Gonzalez, legitimate outside cornerback number one. Shut down ability. Not only shut down ability and coverage, but the thing I love about Christian Gonzalez is that his downhill game has improved. Remember when he was drafted, people were wondering, was he physical enough?

Starting point is 00:28:33 would he tackle well enough? Would he want to get involved downhill? Would he be aggressive? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. He has improved downhill. He gets his nose dirty when it needs to get dirty. He turns 24 years old in two weeks, so he is still incredibly young. He has the talent to be a top five guy at his position in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:28:54 You could argue that he was already there over the last couple of seasons, but he absolutely has talent to be a top five guy at cornerback. and he is only one of a few guys, by the way, that you can say that on this team. You got talented guys, but he's one of the only guys on this team that you could say has top five talent at his position, and it's a premium position. And of course, that leads us to number one. Drake freaking May. No brainer, the best player on this football team, runner up for the MVP in 2025.

Starting point is 00:29:27 his natural talent, the arm strength, the athleticism, the frame to go along with the processing, the football intelligence. You talk about his natural talent. You talk about being in the second year with Josh McDaniels. You talk about better skill position players around him. I think an improved offensive line, even though this schedule is no doubt tougher this year than it was last year. Drake May should still improve as a football player. He is the best player on this team.

Starting point is 00:30:01 There's no doubt. He is a top five quarterback walking into 2026. And I can't wait to watch him play. Should be a lot of fun. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel.

Starting point is 00:30:21 Hit that like button. Give us a thumbs up and subscribe. and if you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Again, get Lockdown Patriots, add free, plus members-only Discord access. I'm going to be more involved with the Discord, and you can get more than that. Head to LockdownPatriots.com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more. Have a fantastic day, and we will see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Turmoil: Patriots Seek Protection as Gabe Jacas’ Injuries Hinder Talks

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