Daily news and links for Wednesday
TEAM TALK
- Patriots Unfiltered: Breaking down the roster, Pre-training camp ponderings. (2 hours)
LOCAL LINKS
- Tom E. Curran gives us six reasons why the Patriots will be better in 2025. 1. There’s an entirely new leadership council ready to ascend.
- Danny Jaillet identifies one reason for optimism for the 2025 Patriots that isn’t Drake Maye.
- Matthew Schmidt calls attention to the potential nightmare scenario of Drake Maye having a sophomore slump and Stefon Diggs not working out.
- Cameron Ellis relays an NFL analyst on why the Pats could have a sneaky-elite defense under Mike Vrabel in 2025.
- Mike D’Abate looks at whether the Patriots will see a LB renaissance in 2025; A group of agile, athletic linebackers are expected to thrive in the Patriots’ new, more aggressive style of defense.
- Mike D’Abate explores whether the Pats will retain veteran CB Alex Austin in their crowded secondary.
- Mark Daniels reports how young DT Milton Williams is already taking a leadership role. Early this offseason, Williams started to compete with Christian Barmore to see who would get to the facility first.
- Mark Daniels notes Will Campbell wasn’t allowed to wear pads this offseason, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t improve. Here’s how the rookie is making progress.
- Danny Jaillet talks about how PFF identified $36M veteran RB Rhamondre Stevenson as the player with the most to prove for New England in 2025.
- Griffin Goodwyn tells us Patriots 3rd-round pick, C Jared Wilson, missed minicamp due to an undisclosed injury.
- Ian Logue’s Patriots News: Surprise candidate at Guard; More.
- Sara Marshall explains how the Patriots may have saved themselves from a WR disaster without knowing it when they decided to skip out on trading for one of the big-name receivers available this offseason.
- Danny Jaillet tells us safety Jabrill Peppers ventured into rapping and released a new single titled “Point’Em Out.”
- Chad Finn reports former Patriots center David Andrews is joining The Sports Hub as a contributor.
- Sara Marshall says Jakobi Meyers continues to fly under the radar in his post-Patriots career.
- Elli Einset mentions the Patriots hosted its 3rd high school girls flag football championship tournament. “Hopefully, after this year, moving forward, we can sanction this as an official high school sport in the state of Massachusetts.”
NATIONAL NEWS
- Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) Patriots All-Quarter Century Team: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Rob Gronkowski headline dynastic run.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) NFL top 100 players of 2025. No. 62 Christian Gonzalez.
- Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) Where QBs land in Prisco’s Top 100. No Pats.
- Nick Shook (NFL.com) Bears, Jets, Raiders among most improved teams heading into 2025 NFL season. Patriots included. /click for commentary.
- Liam McKeone (SI) Josh Allen details how former Bills teammate Stefon Diggs can help Drake Maye.
- Dalton Wasserman (PFF) 2025 NFL running back unit rankings. No. 22 Patriots. New England possesses an interesting unit, though none of the players in it have yet to prove they can handle a starter’s workload. /Click for more commentary.
- Kyle Soppe (Pro Football Network) NFL Defense Rankings. No. 30 Patriots. “… This team thinks its franchise quarterback is on the roster, but is unsure if the defense can keep them competitive enough for it to matter. Last season, New England ranked 31st in pressure rate and had the lowest sack percentage (5% with a league average of 6.9%). This team has already hit rock bottom and is trending in the right direction. Their growth hinges as much on a rebound from this unit as it does on their young signal-caller.”
- Zoltán Buday (PFF) NFL’s best duos at every position ahead of the 2025 season. No Pats.
- Alex Kay (Bleacher Report) 5 NFL defenders who could win their first sack title in 2025. No Pats.
- Gilberto Manzano (SI) 32 Teams in 32 Days: Dolphins pointed toward rebuilding; Miami is trying to get younger, placing notable players on the trading block. Plus, it’s time for Tua Tagovailoa to live up to his massive contract.
- Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) Bust alert: Nine NFL players who are running out of time to prove themselves entering 2025 season. No Pats.
- Gilberto Manzano (SI) Coaches, execs weigh in on why the NFL needs to ‘rethink’ the Accelerator Program.