By John Sarianides Bill Belichick just threw all of us a 12 to 6 curveball and we took it looking for strike three. In a stunning signing that has left a lot of people scratching their heads, the Patriots signed free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a deal worth $14 million per season. The Patriots don’t normally dive into free agency head first on day one but for whatever reason,…

By John Sarianides The Patriots acquired tight end Dwayne Allen along with a 2017 sixth round pick from the Indianapolis Colts for a 2017 4th round pick.  Allen became available after the Colts re-signed tight end Jack Doyle to a three year, $19 million dollar contract yesterday.  The Colts chose to sign Allen over Coby Fleener last off-season and a year later they picked Doyle over Allen. It simply comes…

By John Sarianides It is that time of your ladies and gentleman. Spring football practices are kicking off across the country. There are several major stories to keep an eye on as spring ball gets under way. 1. Brian Daboll’s Debut at Bama: Former Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll is making his debut as the new offensive coordinator at Alabama this spring. Daboll has plenty of weapons to work with…

By John Sarianides According to league sources, free agent running back Adrian Peterson has told those close to him that he is willing to take less money to play for the Patriots. Here are three reasons why he would be a bad fit for the Patriots. 1. He’s 31 and Beat Up: Peterson missed most of last season with a knee injury. He only carried the ball  37 carries for 72…

By John Sarianides According to Ian Rapopport of NFL.com, the Patriots offered the 32nd pick in the draft to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Saints rejected the offer because they want a higher pick in the first round. If I were Bill Belichick, I would continue to have conversations with Saints general manager Micky Loomis and head coach Sean Payton. Cooks is the perfect fit…

By John Sarianides  Brandon Marshall and the Patriots are rumored to have mutual interest in each other after the veteran receiver was released by the Jets last week. My initial reaction to that rumor? No thanks! Marshall is not a good fit for the Patriots on or off the field. On the field, the Patriots have four receivers in Julien Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell that are…

By John Sarianides ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this morning that the Patriots will not be trading back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this off-season. The Patriots were rumored to have been listening to offers for the fourth year quarterback but apparently they didn’t get an offer that was good enough to entice them to trade him. If the report is true, I don’t see how it makes sense to hold onto…

By John Sarianides The Patriots have decided not to place the franchise tag on inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Had they placed the tag on Hightower, he would have made over $14.7 million dollars in 2017. So what does this mean? It means that Hightower is going to hit the open market and if the Patriots want to retain him, they are going to have to compete for him. New England…

By John Sarianides 1. The Patriots are going to once again ask wide receiver Danny Amendola to take a pay cut again. I can’t say I’m surprised. Amendola is scheduled to make $6 in 2017. That’s way too much money for a receiver who only caught 23 passes last season. 2. The Rams are debating as to whether or not they should franchise cornerback Trumaine Johnson. The answer. YES! He is…

By John Sarianides The Patriots will have an interesting decision to make this off-season regarding the future of back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. With one year left on his rookie deal, Garoppolo is scheduled to become a free agent next off-season. Conventional wisdom would suggest that with 39 year old Tom Brady still playing at a high level, the Patriots would be looking to trade Garoppolo. That may or may…