Daily news and links for Wednesday
TEAM TALK
- Patriots 2025 Free Agent Tracker.
- Mike Dussault reports Troy Brown has been elected to the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame.
- Patriots Unfiltered: Reported roster additions and trades, NFL Draft talk, free agency. (2 hours)
LOCAL LINKS
- Phil Perry points out how Mike Vrabel prioritized culture fits for the Pats early in free agency. Day 1 offered a clue as to the types of players Vrabel wants on his team.
- Mark Daniels wonders if the Patriots will sign more free agents with connections to Mike Vrabel.
- Jerry Thornton points out how Mike Vrabel said the Patriots would be ‘aggressive’ in free agency. Promises made, promises kept.
- Nick O’Malley relays Ben Solak (ESPN+) on how the Patriots did exactly what bad teams do in free agency. “Big free agent bags can take a team from bad to average pretty quickly. … But more is needed for the Patriots to go from average to great. …“
- Doug Kyed highlights NFL sources with their honest assessments of the Patriots’ early free agency class. ‘Patriots “had to overpay for some but signed good players that are plug and play and will help them immediately.” Now, he believes the Patriots will need to hit on their draft picks, of which they have five in the first four rounds.
- NBC Sports Boston staff’s Tuesday Free Agency recap: The Patriots were were quiet on Day 2.
- Zolak & Bertrand guest Mike Reiss explained why he thinks this offseason resembles 2001 and 2021 for the Patriots.
- Phil Perry breaks down New England’s options at wide receiver, a position of critical importance.
- Andrew Callahan thinks the Patriots should pursue Cooper Kupp — they might just get him.
- Karen Guregian makes the case for bringing Cooper Kupp to New England.
- Phil Perry looks at who’s left at left tackle to assess how the Pats should fill their biggest remaining roster need.
- Luke Graham sees the Pats’ right tackle plan coming into focus after start of free agency
- Meghan Ottolini calls attention to the holes that remain on offense.
- Luke Graham references a new report that hints at the Patriots’ plan at kicker for the 2025 season.
- Alex Barth reports the NFL announced the full draft order, including all 9 Patriots selections.
- Matt Dolloff reveals the full details of Milton Williams’ free-agent contract.
- Mark Morse believes the Pats struck gold on 1st day of legal tampering.
- Lauren Campbell reports the Jacoby Brissett era in New England is over. Brissett signed with Arizona on Day 2.
- Patriots Hub podcast: Mike Reiss joins Alex Barth to recap the Patriots’ free agency moves so far while looking ahead to other potential signings. (11.16 min.)
NATIONAL NEWS
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) New league year starts Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
- Ryan Phillips (SI) NFL announces full list of compensatory picks for 2025 NFL Draft. Patriots: 0.
- Tyler Sullivan & Jordan Dajani (CBS Sports) 2025 NFL free agency team-by-team grades: Vikings, Patriots, Bears earn high marks after Day 2. Patriots: A-. /Click for the commentary.
- Jared Dubin (CBS Sports) 2025 NFL free agency Day 2 winners and losers. Patriots: Zzzzz.
- Judy Battista (NFL.com) NFL free agency winners and losers on Day 2: Vikings, Daniel Jones up; C.J. Stroud down.
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) After flurry of agreements, OT Cam Robinson is the highest-ranked free agent available.
- Eric Edholm (NFL.com) Top 100 NFL draft prospects 1.0: Ranking the best players in the 2025 class.
- Kristen Wong (SI) Comparing the franchise tag to the transition tag: What’s the difference?
- Andrew Brandt (SI) Separating fact from fiction over how the salary cap works. /From 2023, but still good.
- Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Patriots QB Joe Milton may have the league’s strongest arm. But his trade market? Probably not there yet.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Inside the Milton Williams deal.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Bills land Joey Bosa.
- Liam McKeone (SI) Chris Godwin admits he was ‘really close’ to leaving Buccaneers. The wideout left money on the table to return to Tampa Bay.
- Ryan Young (Yahoo! Sports) DeAndre Hopkins reportedly joining Ravens on 1-year, $6 million deal.
- Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) Steelers need Aaron Rodgers and Rodgers needs the Steelers.