Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Weekend Wisdom: The League’s Impact on the New England Patriots in 2021 — 3/5/2021

Episode Date: March 6, 2021

2020 was a season like none other in the NFL. As such, its impact will continue to be felt in 2021. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Russell S. Baxter. The duo discuss the recent roster trimming in the NFL, and how it will impact player movement throughout the league. They also discuss the 2021 roster-planning prognosis for the New England Patriots, including the areas of the roster most in need of improvementSupport 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 “LOCKEDON20” and you’ll get 20% 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. 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 in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Friday, March 5th, 2021, and it's time for a little weekend wisdom here 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. Pats fans, it's Friday.

Thank football and Foxborough. It is Friday here on the pod. And I thank you so much for joining me here today and helping to close out your week in style with Locked On Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, 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.

Share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there giving the weekend nod and saying, how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, we've done it. Made it to the end of the first full work week in March, and 12 days from today is the start of the new NFL league year for 2021. And it's going to be an interesting year to say the least, folks.

We're already seeing a ton of player movement and so much more still to come. It's going to be an intriguing roster-building season throughout the NFL, but most of all, right here in New England. Patriots have a lot of problems to solve and they need serious people to solve them. Yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, John Sapochnetti joined me on the hot seat

and we talked about some of the holes that the Patriots need to fill on the roster. And I know, John can be a little pessimistic at times in his viewpoints, but the one thing we definitely agreed on is that the Patriots have a lot more holes to fill on this roster than just at the quarterback position. And the way they go about filling those voids will be determined first and foremost by the Patriots' own plans,

but it'll also be determined by what happens throughout the league. And when we need a little national perspective on things that happen throughout the NFL, as well as a little national perspective on your New England Patriots, we welcome an expert with one of the most objective points of view you'll find anywhere in sports media, my good friend Russell S. Baxter. And without hesitation, I tell you that Russell is among the best in the business at what he does, and that's taking an objective but analytical look at all 32 NFL teams. And today, as he joins me on the hot seat,

we'll not only delve into Russell's opinion on the NFL as a whole, but also what the offseason might have in store for your New England Patriots. Folks, Russell is an encyclopedia of knowledge, a lot to talk about on the pod today. So sit tight, settle in, and close out the week in style, as Russell S. Baxter will join me here on Locked On Patriots in just a moment. But first, Locked On listeners, football on the field might be over for the year, but

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Subscribe to Locked On Today wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, my guest today to help close out the week in style here on Locked On Patriots is among the most well-respected journalists in sports media. He's a dear friend of mine, and you know his amazing work and objective analysis from outlets such as ESPN, Fansided, SI Football Maven, NFL Spin Zone, and of course, most recently, a full press coverage. That's just to name a few folks.

He is the co-founder of PFG Vibe, along with the great and talented Julie Boyd, and he is the founder of Pro Football Guru. It is my honor to welcome Russell S. Baxter back to Locked On Patriots. Russell, thank you so much for joining me today. Well, you're welcome. We haven't spoken in a while. I believe since the last time we did this, somebody was on the stairway to seven. Yeah, somebody was on the stairway to seven and he climbed it. And I guess you could say

he maybe tossed a little over the bow. And it actually landed on the bow of the other ship, thankfully. But no, he was climbing a stairway to seven. And Tom Brady does have that ring now to start the next hand. And it really, really is amazing. You know, that type of success is just mind boggling. And it's still a little sore subject here for the fans in New England, but most were happy to see him do it.

And we're definitely happy to see you back here today because you bring that level-headed approach, that level-headed analysis to anything and everything in the NFL. And I think it's something that we all need in not only professional sports coverage, media, but also in life in general. It's always good to take an objective approach to things and look at it from both sides. You have the ability, my friend, to look through the NFL through that national lens that I admire so much. And that's exactly what we're going to do here today.

But fair not, folks, because this is Locked On Patriots. And we're going to bring it back to a patriots perspective as well but i thought we'd start on a national level today but uh russell two moves at the quarterback position that might have an impact league-wide hit within 24 hours of each other and in the past um you know recent media cycle and that is ben roethlisberger's contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2021 at least. And of course, the Washington football team officially announcing on Friday morning that they were parting ways with Alex Smith. Now, both of these moves, Russell, were somewhat expected. We heard the rumblings about Alex Smith

earlier this week, even a little bit last week. In Ben's case, there was just seemingly too much money to be left on the table for both sides. He still wanted to play. Pittsburgh's going to get some much-needed cap relief to try to help bolster their roster this year. In Alex's case, he's going to get a chance to continue his career and really getting the choice of choosing a destination in which he can either start or he might want to choose a destination where he can be a platoon option or maybe even a mentor for a young quarterback. Russell, what are your thoughts on these moves? And do you think that either or both could have an impact on the moves to be made around the NFL in the coming days and weeks? Well, we'll start. First, we'll start with the irony of it's these two guys,

because if you were going to ask people midway through the season, who were the two leading candidates for NFL comeback player of the year? It would probably be Ben Roethlisberger and Alex Smith. And for a while there, maybe more Ben Roethlisberger because he was actually playing before we really saw Alex Smith on a steady basis. OK, we saw him kind of early in the year and relief and so on. But then later in the year where they had all the issues with Kyle Allen got hurt and Dwayne Hopkins was released by the team. And, you know, just an amazing story. As for Ben Roethlisberger, you know, the cap issue

was what held this up. And they still have some work to do and so on. If they want to bring back some of their, you know, standout players, mostly Juju Smith-Schuster and James Conner, as far as the class of 2017, and also Bud Dupree. And I'll get to that in a second because his situation is now a little different. But I also look at this as this is a huge year, not only for, but more for Mike Tomlin than it is Ben Roethlisberger, and I say it for this reason. The Steelers have been playing a style of football for two and a half years that is not conducive to winning.

And I know they went 11-0 this year. But you cannot throw the ball literally on every down and absolutely ignore the run. Earlier in the season, they ran a little more. Later in the year, they just completely abandoned it. And this is, you know, it wasn't like they were in comeback mode all the time, Mike. You know, I know the playoff game, et cetera, et cetera. But this was a team that came out of the gate throwing on every down. And it just doesn't work that way. work in 2021, there has to be some sort of semblance of balance. Now, what's very interesting about this is I've heard and read the, well, this is what Ben wants to do, and this is how, you know, this is Ben calling the plays, et cetera, and I get all that, okay? But Mike,

in 2019, Ben Roethlisberger played six quarters. They still didn't run the ball. And now they don't have the same offensive coordinator. Randy Fichter is now gone. And now Matt Canada has been promoted. So, you know, the thing about this is what Ben wants to do, that's all fine and dandy. But is that what Mason Randolph wanted to do? I'm sorry, Mason Rudolph wanted to do. Or Devlin Hodges wanted to do. Did

he want to throw all the time? Just the lack of balance for the last two and a half years has been very odd. Some people will say, you know, no more Le'Veon Bell. But James Conner was running the ball pretty well a couple of years ago, and he's had some injury problems. I understand that their offensive line has also fallen off. But again, Ben Roethlisberger coming back, they don't really have an option. They don't have a quarterback that's developed. Okay, Rudolph has played okay when he's been in there, and he's also been spotty. So they haven't necessarily planned for the future in terms of developing

the quarterback, and maybe this year they finally did it. But if they're going to be any kind of threat to be in the playoffs, even with the expanded 17 field, their defense is good. But if they don't have a running game, they're in trouble. As for Alex Smith, as you alluded to, this is not a major surprise. And it'll be interesting to see where he heads. Obviously, he's not a young man anymore. It's hard to believe he was the first overall pick 16 years ago. It was 2005 when he

was the first overall pick in the draft. And, you know, even heard at the end of the year, remember Taylor Heineke was the one who started the playoff game against Tampa Bay. It was not Alex Smith. So I am curious to see where he could wind up. Could he step away? Could he, you know, do the Ryan Fitzpatrick where, you know, I'm not saying he has to play for every team in the league, but that combination of mentor, flash, start when called upon, you know, Ryan Fitzpatrick had been doing this an awfully long time. And he's been up and down and up and down.

There's times where he's phenomenal and there's times where he's horrible. But now that begs the question of what Washington's going to do at quarterback. I know Heineke just resigned. I don't know what the Kyle Allen prognosis is because that was a pretty nasty injury that he suffered last year. So, but very, and ironically enough, again, this all kind of started for kind of for Alex Smith in a way, and definitely the decline of the Steelers, is when Washington beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh and knocked them from the ranks of the undefeated.

So Ben Roethlisberger and Alex Smith are somehow tied together for some reason. It's true. I mean, it's really, it's unbelievable how life can imitate art. And I'm going to take this to a Patriots perspective in just a moment, my friend, and really bring things full circle and show how a lot of these pieces kind of fit into the Foxborough puzzle. But I agree with you on what you said with Ben Roethlisberger. than it is for Ben, because in a lot of ways, the style that they've been playing, the kind of flaming out toward the end of the season that we've seen in Pittsburgh as of late is something that will fall back on the coach. Obviously, Ben needs to be better in the second half. We saw him last year struggle, and there's no question about that. But at the same time, it is going to be, I think, a referendum now on Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers front office.

How do they build this team into a contender, especially when you've got teams in the AFC that are making strides and will continue to make strides? And we'll talk about the league in a moment. Washington. Well, just like this, Mike, sorry to interrupt you. That thing you said about the AFC in stride. We forget that 10-6 wasn't good enough to get in the playoffs necessarily in the AFC last year. Okay? And that was Miami. Okay? I mean, 7-9 and 8-8 were good enough in the NFC.

That's true. You're absolutely right. And it is, I think, in a lot of ways, putting a great deal of pressure because there are a lot of teams this year that will be in the thick of things. We saw teams make moves. We've seen teams make moves already. And we're going to continue to see teams make moves into this offseason to help build into a contender to knock the Kansas City Chiefs off of their conference championship throne, and that's not going to be an easy task. We know that. Kansas City will be back this year, and they'll be reloaded and focused and ready to try to make another run at a Super Bowl championship. I did want to bring it back to a Patriots perspective with Washington for just a moment,

because a couple of things that you said kind of triggered me a little bit. I mean that in a good way, Russell. Don't worry. You didn't trigger me in a bad way. You never do that. But it got the creative thoughts thinking in my head. And Alex Smith has been someone that a lot of people have been mentioning as a possible fit in New England. I think it's a little bit of a stretch. I think coming here to New England right now may not be the move that might be best for Alex. Now for the

Patriots, I think they could do a lot worse than have Alex Smith under center. I think Alex played very well down the stretch. But he did have statistically a subpar year when you take a look at the other quarterbacks in the league. Zach Cox of Nesson outlined earlier this week, and I shared this earlier this week on the airwaves, that Alex threw more interceptions than he did touchdowns. He was near the bottom of the league in pass attempts, passer rating, interception percentage. So those types of things are what the Patriots are trying to get away from. Alex now being available and on the market could mean that if they did bring him in, that he might be a mentor to a younger quarterback that the Patriots are going to draft. So if they make a move like this, it might indicate that Bill Belichick might end up being aggressive in the

draft and we're going to get to bill belichick in just a minute folks i promise but uh the other shoe to drop or the other domino to fall is cam newton cam newton has been rumored to be coming back to new england but there have been a lot of rumors out there that the patriots would look to upgrade or look to move on if cam finds himself in need of a job, and Taylor Heineke is playing now in Washington, you mentioned Kyle, you mentioned the difficulties that he had with the injuries. All of a sudden, a reunion with Ron Rivera might make some sense. So with Alex Smith now being jettisoned from Washington, if they're not going to be aggressive in the draft, and they may want to see what they have in Taylor or they want to, or Tyler, they may want to see what they can do

next year or the year beyond. If they don't think the fit is in this year's draft, maybe bringing in Cam as a bridge might be a suitable way to get through 2021. So this could all have a ripple effect on so many different teams. And again, I always think through a Foxborough lens, but I had to bring it back to that. I hope you don't mind, but that did trigger those thoughts. Listen, we need to remember, not me and you necessarily, but we need to remember the situation with Cam Newton last year at this time. Last year at this time, I don't believe he was with the team okay cam newton was coming off shoulder surgery in 2019 and then a foot injury in which he only played two games in 2020 all of a sudden were hit with a pandemic nobody can see him okay he is basically interviewing for an nfl job on instagram by showing himself working out in videos and so I firmly

believe if he had been people thought he was healthy he would have wound up in Washington okay remember Washington traded for Kyle Allen it was almost if it was like a consolation and I don't mean that the demeaned Kyle Allen I mean that I I got the sense this is just my own theory, that the preference would have been Cam Newton, who was cut loose fairly quickly by the new regime in Carolina. But no one knew how healthy Cam was for an awfully long time. I think that's one of the reasons he got the contract that he got from New England. It was very, very limited and so on. And slowly but surely, he started to look okay.

And then COVID hits in week four the Kansas City game and he was never the same yeah absolutely and in a lot of ways it's cast doubt I think on a lot of Patriots fans uh when it comes to Cam's ability to be able to lead this team this year and his ability to throw the football we saw him run it effectively and I think a lot of people are looking at it and saying he's still got it when it comes to the zone read or it comes to the rpo he can take off he can move the ball with his legs but can he throw it effectively and can he throw it enough on a consistent basis to be the leader of this football team some will tell you with better weapons and maybe a full off season of workouts that he can. Some may tell you that the arm is just too far gone or may not be what it used to be and he's not capable anymore.

Ultimately, bud, it's all going to shake out in the wash. We're going to find out whether Cam hits the practice fields here in Foxborough, whether he does it elsewhere. We'll find out what he has left in the tank. But I think it's interesting that this Alex Smith story where he's been possibly tied to the Patriots and now all of a sudden Cam could be tied to the Washington football team. It really does show you how everything's connected. And speaking of everything being connected, bud, we continue to wait for the NFL to announce its official cap number. But educated estimates, including that of my good friend Miguel Benzón, the Pats cap himself,

who I refer all knowledge of the cap. I defer all knowledge of the cap as well. I refer all questions to him and I defer all knowledge to him. The league is expected to announce a cap approximately at about $180 million. That's sort of the consensus. And Russell, so many teams are cap strapped this year as a result of the pandemic most effectively, but we're seeing teams make early cuts this year. You mentioned some of the roster trimming that's going on. Some teams are working out restructured deals with some of their stars, all in the hopes of freeing up cap space. perspective, Russell, what do you believe this means for both teams and players throughout the league? And do you think this signifies an amount of player movement that maybe we haven't seen in quite some time? Well, the players are going to have to understand that the big contracts aren't necessarily out there this year. Now, I'll be curious to see what the cap is as well. And the thing that now plays a factor into this, and I think it's one of the

reasons they haven't announced the cap, which they did say would be a minimum of 180. Okay. They did come out and say that, but this, these new TV deals, Mike, that are in the process of being worked out and this 17th game on the season, which will generate more revenue, that is going to play a factor in what the cap is going to be. That's going to be how they can bounce back. At one time, we thought it was going to be 175. Now it's a minimum of 180. So like you said, maybe a little north of 180. And I don't think it's going to be lower than that. They've basically already said that. I don't know that as far as player movement goes. You know, these players that have been cut loose already can sign now.

We already saw that with J.J. Watt. Some people are under the impression they have to wait until March 17th. No, these are terminated contracts, not contracts that are set to expire. And to me, though, always the fun of free agency is what I refer to as the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. Six degrees. I'm sorry, what did I go, seven? The cap went up, so I added a number. The six degrees of Kevin Bacon is you watch the coordinators, you watch the head coaches, you watch two of the great teammates is what we saw in arizona you you saw what jj watt said uh i'm basically here because of kyler murray deandre hopkins and vance joseph who was an assistant with the texans for a brief time what jj was there

you'll notice that the lions have us just about every one of their wide receivers is slated for unrestricted free agency. Kenny Galladay, Danny Amendola, Marvin Jones, you know, take your pick. And lo and behold, when the Raiders let go of Terrell Williams, the Lions grabbed him. Now, why did that happen? Well, guess who the Lions' new offensive coordinator is? It's Anthony Lynn, who was Williams' head coach for a couple of years while with the Chargers. So that's the stuff to watch out for. We're going to see these, you know, these are the cap cuts, but you can grab these guys and sometimes you'll wind up getting an early bargain. We saw that to a degree last year with Seattle.

Carolina cut loose Greg Olson. They snatched him up, I think, in less than a week. And we're able to get him, you know, under wraps and so on. But there's going to be more cutting because I think NFL owners and NFL teams are playing it safe. You know, they understand it's going to be lower than they thought maybe a couple of years ago, okay, because the cap usually goes up, but doesn't usually go down and so on. But I know we're going to talk about New England, who didn't have a lot of cap room last year. That's kind of the opposite direction this year. Yeah, it is certainly the opposite direction.

We find ourselves flush with cap space up here in New England, and it's uncharted territory for the New England Patriots. And really, I think that might have been the story of the year for New England in 2020 was uncharted territory on the outside, looking in in terms of the playoffs, not having the franchise quarterback in Tom Brady that they've had the last 20 years. A lot of different things happened in New England in 2020,

but can they rebound in 2021? Russell, you always bring an objective voice to the pod, and that national perspective, always important. And I think we've set the table quite nicely because, after all, this is Locked on Patriots. And in just a moment, folks, I'm going to heat up Russell's hot seat with a bit of Foxborough fire. That's right, New England Patriots offseason talk with Russell S. Baxter when the Locked On Patriots podcast

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and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. Get daily picks, blowout specials, wrong team favorite picks, and Lee Sterling's lock of the day. Subscribe to the Locked on Bets podcast brought to you by betonline.ag wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, Russell S. Baxter joins me here today to close out the week in style here on Locked on Patriots. And Russell, we talked about the league as a whole and what type of roster building season we can expect in 2021 across the NFL landscape. But the listeners here on Locked On Patriots are focused on the Patriots, as they should be.

And in that vein, let's give our listeners a little national perspective on New England, shall we? Russell, the hot topics in New England always surround the quarterback position. It has for the past couple of seasons. Since Tom Brady announced that he was leaving, fans are clamoring for that next big thing. They want the next franchise quarterback. They want him now. And 20 years of that type of success that New England has had, that's going to cultivate those feelings.

So it's understandable that the fan base would feel like that and it didn't help that Tom Brady celebrated a Super Bowl in his first year away from Foxborough that essentially put the spotlight squarely on Bill Belichick and Russell I don't want to turn this into a Brady versus Bill narrative I think that's outplayed I think it's irrelevant and really me, it just doesn't add value to either argument anymore. But there is a narrative underlying all this. And that seems to. Nothing's really going to change that. Regardless of the type of season that he has in New England this year, Bill Belichick is headed for Canton, and we know that. There's no question about it. But at the same time, I also look at this as a pretty significant offseason for him in terms of the Patriots' future.

After all, it's in Bill's DNA to win. You've covered him for a number of years. I've had the fortune of covering him for a few. But you've seen him back in his days in New York and then coming into Cleveland and then bouncing back and forth between New York and New England and then coming back here. Russell, the decisions that Bill has to make this year are going to have repercussions for quite a while. In your objective opinion on the matter, how big of an offseason is this for Bill Belichick in terms of setting the Patriots up for long-term success? Well, I am going to backtrack one second and talk about Brady and Belichick, but in a different

vein, because I think this is very, very important. And I think this is very, very important because people have tried to make this one or the other. OK, you know, Ginger or Marianne, you know, Coker Pepsi. Why couldn't it be both of them at the same time? It was a magical time for this franchise for 20 years. OK, if you go back and look at Tom Brady's season, and especially his postseason, okay? And it's something I wrote about as a matter of fact. What Tom Brady bought to the Buccaneers was experience and a calm, okay? The man threw for what? 145 yards in the Super Bowl and won.

He threw for 505 and lost, okay? Against Green Bay, he threw three interceptions in the NFC title game and they won, okay? My point is he brought 20 years of experience or 21 seasons in the NFL, I should say, 2000, okay? He's seen everything. He's done everything. He's also learned a lot of that from Bill Belichick. And he brought that, what he learned from Belichick to the Buccaneers organization. It wasn't that he was just Tom Brady. He was Tom Brady, a student of Bill Belichick. And I'm willing to bet he'd be the first one to talk about that, okay, maybe down the road years from now and so on. And it was apparently just time.

But, you know, Bill Belichick is now kind of in the position he was in a way when he took over the Cleveland Browns with one big difference, Mike. There was no free agency in the league when Bill took over Cleveland Browns. Not the free agents we know it now, not that plan B stuff that they used to have and so on. And it took Bill a couple of years to get things together because you built teams differently. Ninety-three, there was free agency. Ninety-four, he made the playoffs. Ninety-five, in the middle of the year, they took away his football team.

And then he came back, and you were alluded to it, you know, stints with the Patriots, stints with the Jets, et cetera, et cetera. So I know a lot of people like to throw out that, you know, Bill without Tom and Bill with Tom type of thing. Bill Belichick knows how to rebuild a team. He also knows how to coach a defense, as he did with the Patriots against the Rams in the Super Bowl, as he did with the Bills, I mean, the Giants against the Bills in the Super Bowl and so on. But it is a big year. They do have a lot of cap row. And now he's going to go about the business of getting this fixed. And he's got to fix both sides of the ball. I hear an awful lot about they don't have any weapons.

Well, they didn't have much defense last year either. Okay. Their run defense was terrible. That Thursday night game in Los Angeles against the Rams, they were absolutely blown off the ball. And I think, I don't remember if I said it to you or I said it to John Rook, you know, at the time they were going to be picking higher, we thought, but even regardless of where they pick in the first round this year, okay, which is still early on because they were a 7-9 record, they need to find the next Richard Seymour almost before they need to find the next Tom Brady. Okay. And I think Cam Newton is going to be back with the team, unless your scenario in a way plays out with Alex Smith. But I think Cam Newton will be back there a second

year in the system, I think is something that probably appeals to the entire organization and surround him with some other people and some better players on the skill spots. But more importantly, fix that defense. You know, we talk about familiarity and this is just my own theory. Would it be out of the question, Mike, to see Kyle Van Nooy back in New England the next couple of days? I think it actually could have merit. Although we are hearing reports, Russell, that Miami right now is holding on to Kyle because they're trying to trade

him. I think that might be a little more difficult, that Miami right now is holding on to Kyle because they're trying to trade him. I think that might be a little more difficult than it sounds right now. I think they're trying to do it and maybe do their due diligence. But the cat's already out of the bag on this. I mean, there's already teams out there that know that he's going to be released or that was going to be released. It's hard for me to imagine that they would get a deal to their liking. But maybe a team bites on it and they're trying to maybe keep him away from New England and prevent that move from going back and having him bounce around the AFC East like that. But I, for one, would welcome Kyle Van Noy back with open arms. I know some fans

were a little disenfranchised with the way he left, but at the same time, I also look at what he brings to that linebacking core, And that's something they severely missed in 2020. That ability to have the versatility to move between a 3-4 and a 4-3 set. With Kyle, they usually played a typical 3-4. They will need some shoring up of the middle of that interior of the defensive line. And yesterday, I mentioned Henry Anderson's name as formerly of the Jets now. He's been a cap casualty as someone that could come in here and fit that bill quite nicely. Not the traditional nose tackle, but someone that can rush the passer,

someone that is very good, though, at stuffing the run and preventing teams from being able to run. That's something the Patriots struggled with last year. Lawrence Guy and Adam Butler did a good job, but they were missing that third man. Anderson could fill that bill nicely. I completely agree with you. They need to fix the defense. That, to me, is really, I think, priority one, even more so than finding the franchise guy this time around. I think there might be something to be said about waiting to

find that franchise guy unless the move falls on your lap or unless for some reason the guy that you covet in the draft is somewhat available to you either through trading up or happens to fall in your lap in 15 but it's not going to be an easy fix then yeah i think cam newton coming back is probably the most likely scenario for the patriots and that doesn't leave me quite regardless of the circumstances with van noy and so on um i i could even see uh bill trading for him okay even if he gave up a sixth round pick or something like that and you know turning to brian flores and saying listen you're not keeping him and you can get something for him we'll give you something for him okay and you

know what i i remember you, people you'll remember this. Originally, Wes Welker, if I remember right, was a restricted free agent that the Patriots signed to an offer sheet. And then he wound up getting dealt to New England. Yep. You're right. Sound familiar? That was exactly what I was going to say. They did the same thing with Wes Welker. And it the same team it was the miami dolphins so i understand that times change leadership ownership things of that nature have changed but it's not beyond the realm for bill to try to deal

with teams within his division most likely that aren't named the jets although he has done deals now with the jets too so apparently bill has softened his stance a little bit when it comes to the jets that was the one team for years that Bill didn't even want to hear the name, but he's done a couple. The Demarius Thomas deal a couple of years ago comes to mind to sources that I've spoken with and that several members of the Patriots beat have spoken with, he is not necessarily opposed to a New England reunion. So this one might make sense, folks. We said it earlier on this week. And again, the national insight of Russell Baxter helps to kind of shore that up a little bit. But that does lead me quite nicely into my final question for you today. And I know we're up against the time schedule, but when you taught, we mentioned Van Noy, we mentioned maybe a little bit about Alex Smith,

Cam Newton coming back. Are there any other needs other than just the defense that you've mentioned that the Patriots should prioritize? And is there a deal or two, or maybe a move to be made that you've identified that would be a great fit for New England in 2021? Well, I'm going to be curious to see what they do at the tight end position. You know, that was always something that was big with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski,

and of course, Aaron Hernandez when he was there as well, and so on. And of course, you know, Cam Newton thrived not only when he had Steve Smith, but when he had Greg Olson. And, you know, but they literally got nothing out of the tight end position this past year. So I'll be curious to see how they address that. We're already seeing, you know, Jared Cook. Very odd move. I mean, Jared Cook was slated, Mike, to become an unrestricted free agent on March 17th, and the Saints terminated his contract anyway, which I thought was very unusual.

But they also let Josh Hill go, too, who's obviously not Jared Cook. He's a different type of player and so on. There's also the possibility that, you know, Jimmy Graham could be one and done with the Bears. I mean, again, we're slowly but surely getting all these cap cuts come in and so on. And with teams having to get a little to a different, when they have to get to a different number this year than they have in previous years, that's where I think it's becoming a little tough. I'm not, you know, you talked about movement earlier when we talked in the first segment and so on. I think what we might see this year that's a little different than previous years is maybe more players getting cut and then coming back on restructured contact tracks. That is interesting.

Yeah. And I'll be curious to see that. But listen, whoever's playing quarterback, you know, I did a piece not so long ago. And listen, they could do it. They certainly could afford it. Aaron Jones, to me, as a runner and a receiver, you know, that's James White. And we saw what James White was able to do in his prime with the Patriots. I think he'd be a really intriguing free agent addition for New England. From your lips to God's ears. And my colleague at Lockdown Packers, Peter Bukowski, is a very big fan of Aaron Jones and kind of has resigned himself to the fact that he may be out of Green

Bay's price range this year. New England has the cap space to be able to do it. And I agree that type of versatile runner in the backfield that can not only run the ball, but also be very adept at catching it out of the backfield. Something Bill Belichick has adored. I love James White. He's one of my favorite Patriots that I've ever covered up here.

From a personal standpoint, I just love watching the guy. I'm a fan of his, but I really, really am so admiring of what he brings to the table and the respect he has in the locker room. It would be a huge loss for the Patriots if he were to leave. But if you fill that void with a guy like Aaron Jones, that's interesting. So I like it. I like it. And I think our fans are going to like it too, Russell. And that's the type of national insight with a Patriots twist that you can bring to the table that only you can bring to the table, my friend. And I thank you so much for joining me here today. Folks, we're definitely going to have Russell back again very soon so we can talk more about the NFL offseason, more about the Patriots plans, and just more football in, because he is a true encyclopedia on the subject. But before I let you go today, please let everyone know, all of our new listeners, which we do have several, but all of our listeners, where they can find you on social media and what we can expect in the coming days and weeks from the great pen and voice of Russell S.

Baxter. Well, thank you very much. Twitter, BaxFootballGuru, PFG Vibe, and, of course, my co-host, Julie Boyt, at JulieNotedPFG. That's a place where you can get so much information. My pieces for Fan Sighted and full press coverage and NFL Spin Zone, everything I write gets sent out there. You know, ProFootballGuru.com is doing some renovations right now, but we're going to have a new look sooner than later, so keep an eye on that. And you just made me think of something. Since we did talk about Tom Brady earlier in the show and so on, today is March 5th, and that means it's exactly 12 days,

12, until the start of free agency. Excellent. And always, always great insight and things like that that you just can't hope to end the show on a better note. You provide it, buddy. And what can I say?

I thank you so much for joining me today. Stay safe, stay well. We look forward to talking ball with you again, very soon folks, Russell S Baxter, anything this man puts his name to, I recommend highly to follow and definitely take a look at it because you become a better football fan and a much more informed football fan as a

result. Thanks again, bud. Talk to you soon. Have a great weekend. You too, sir. And so Patriots fans, we put a bow on the week that was here on the Locked On Patriots

podcast. And as always, I had the great fortune of being joined by great guests such as Thomas Murphy, Steve Balistrieri, Claire, Klazzy Claire Cooper, John Sapochnetti, and of course, today's guest, Russell S. Baxter. I'm always humbled by the company I keep but I'm even more humbled and honored and grateful for the support that all of you continue to show to Locked On Patriots. And with the start of the

league year fast approaching on March 17th we'll be right back here on Monday to continue to bring you the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough so to be sure that you do not miss a single second of the action. Download and subscribe to the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, Radio.com, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts,

wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank Russell S. Baxter for his time, his insight, and his appearance on this weekend episode of the 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 Monday, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, always be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great weekend, everyone.