Latest news with #TheNewEnglandPatriots
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Patriots rookie WR torched Travis Hunter on this one-on-one route
Patriots rookie WR torched Travis Hunter on this one-on-one route The New England Patriots drafted Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams with the 69th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft on Friday night. Williams was a big-time playmaker at the collegiate level, and he proved it with multiple highlight reel plays, including winning a one-on-one matchup against top-two draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Williams can be seen selling an inside route, cutting back outside and running right by Hunter for an easy touchdown reception. It was plays like that one that add to the narrative that Williams is one of the best pure separators in this entire draft class. Williams recorded 70 catches for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He was a dynamic playmaker for the Cougars, and the expectation is that he'll be the same for the Patriots and second-year quarterback Drake Maye. At the very least, he'll be a solid No. 2 option across from four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs. The wide receiver position in New England that has long been considered a major weakness for the team is beginning to show signs of life once again. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
05-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
NFL executive has bold Patriots prediction after Stefon Diggs signing
NFL executive has bold Patriots prediction after Stefon Diggs signing The New England Patriots made a splash at the end of March by signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Many around the league have weighed in on the move, including an NFL executive who recently spoke with The Athletic's Mike Sando. 'That is not an accident,' an NFL executive said, via Sando. 'The number for Diggs is not problematic. That is the difference in having a coach like Mike Vrabel, who is not going to be scared off by a player like Diggs. You watch, they will make a mark this year and be a tough out. They will beat a Buffalo or someone like that.' Diggs has been one of the most consistent receivers in the NFL for years. He went six straight seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving. However, his production was limited last year due to a torn ACL injury cutting his season short. He still managed to rack up 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots signed him to a three-year, $69 million contract with $26 million in guaranteed money. Time will tell how things play out for Diggs and the Patriots. Nevertheless, the potential for production is certainly there for the four-time Pro Bowl receiver. A healthy Diggs will be an asset for a Patriots team that struggled to find consistent production from the wide receiver position last season. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
New York Times
25-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Patriots, Stefon Diggs agree to 3-year deal: Source
The New England Patriots and wide receiver Stefon Diggs have agreed to terms on a three-year contract worth $69 million with $26 million guaranteed, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. 🚨 BREAKING: The Patriots are signing WR Stefon Diggs, per source. Drake Maye has his receiver as the four-time Pro Bowler returns to the AFC East. — Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 25, 2025 Diggs, 31, was the second-best available wide receiver (behind Chris Godwin) and No. 12 overall player on The Athletic's updated top 150 NFL free-agent rankings. He saw his 2024 season with the Houston Texans cut short after eight games due to a torn ACL. He suffered the non-contact knee injury while running a route against the Indianapolis Colts in late October. Prior to going down, Diggs remained a favorite target for C.J. Stroud, but his counting stats lagged behind his lofty career averages amid Houston's crowded wide receivers room. He finished with 47 receptions, 496 yards and three touchdowns on 64 targets — his first sub-1,000-yard season since 2017. Diggs renegotiated a one-year, $22.5 million deal last April after being traded to the Texans from the Buffalo Bills. He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons with Buffalo from 2020-23. This story will be updated.
New York Times
13-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Patriots brought home bacon in free agency, but this isn't a time for any victory laps
The New England Patriots have scheduled a news conference for Thursday at 1 p.m. to discuss the organization's decision to rip open the cash drawer in pursuit of free-agent talent. If Patriots owner Robert Kraft and incoming head coach Mike Vrabel take part in the session — and even if they don't — here's some unsolicited advice for those swashbuckling, daredevil spenders: • Do not say anything that even suggests a victory lap. • Do not, under any circumstances, talk about 'getting back to the Super Bowl,' though the temptation is always great, what with all the banners, trophies and celebratory photos that are festooned throughout Gillette Stadium. GO DEEPER At long last, the Patriots made some big-time moves to kick off free agency Now make no mistake, the Patriots have done a good job shopping for the groceries (© Bill Parcells 1997) this week. Not only were the Patriots big spenders right out of the legal tampering gate, but also they spent more than any other team. It marked the first time the Pats have been No. 1 in anything since Feb 3, 2019, when Tom Brady took a knee to close out their 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. Advertisement Yes, the Pats have gone big on defense this week. Coincidence or not, Vrabel made his bones playing defense (when he wasn't moonlighting as an occasional touchdown target for Brady, which was always tremendously entertaining), and the Patriots bulked up in that department. The Pats have already paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $280 million in free agency, most of it going to defensive tackle Milton Williams, inside linebacker Robert Spillane, cornerback Carlton Davis and outside linebacker Harold Landry. .@brockvereen is a fan of the @Patriots Free Agency moves so far🫡 — Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 11, 2025 Some big questions: What about getting some help for second-year quarterback Drake Maye? What about left tackle? What about a big-time, just-throw-me-the-damn-ball type of wide receiver whose athleticism and route-running know-how will have shirts flying off the shelves at the Patriots ProShop? You could walk front to back at any sports bar within 100 miles of Boston and hear a nonstop whirl of those questions. And that's fair. It's also pretty early in this process. We'll get to that when the Patriots get to that. For now, let's get back to the Kraft family, and to Vrabel, and to every employee in football ops, from executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf on down. It's too early to even entertain the idea of the Patriots being back in the Super Bowl business, because that's wildly optimistic. What matters is that what the Patriots have done since the end of the 2024 season — the painful decision to part with coach Jerod Mayo after just one year, recruiting Vrabel to come back to Foxboro, and, now, an aggressive pursuit of talent — indicates they are back in the football business. NE Patriots so far in free agency… — Jason McCourty (@JasonMcCourty) March 10, 2025 That's what's been missing. The Patriots won a TOTAL of eight games over the past two years. They haven't made the playoffs since 2021 or won a playoff game since Brady took that knee at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They will enter the 2025 season with their third head coach in three years. Mixed in there are all kinds of calamities and mistakes, including draft picks who couldn't play, the Matt Patricia-Joe Judge running-the-offense experiment, the mixed messaging on when Maye would take over at quarterback, and on and on. It wasn't just the losing that resulted in all those empty seats as the 2024 season was staggering to the finish line; it was the hopelessness. Advertisement In the old days, when Bill Belichick was on his game and Brady was on the field, the unveiling of the Gillette Stadium Lighthouse, with its 360-degree observation deck and a former Patriots hero standing up there to wave hello to the masses before each kickoff, would have been treated with applause. Instead, it became a punch line. There appears now to be hope. There appears to be a plan. But all plans, all good plans, come in phases. If Phase 1 was reimagining the coaching staff, Phase 2 is being played out in these early stages of free agency. Next will come the draft, not just the much-discussed No. 4 pick but that chancy lower-round pick that might pay off bigly and quickly. The Pats landed Matthew Slater in the fifth round in 2008. James White was selected in the fourth round in 2014. Julian Edelman, a quarterback out of Kent State, was a magnificent seventh-round gamble in 2009. OK, there's also Brady in the sixth round in 2000 (199th overall, just before the New Orleans Saints scooped up wide receiver Sherrod Gideon), but what New England did was a miracle on a par with the '69 Mets. (Props to the late Dick Rehbein, who championed the Brady cause.) Victory laps? Not yet. But to repurpose an old line from the playbook of Ronald Reagan, the former lineman from Eureka College who then played George Gipp in the movies en route to calling plays at the White House, are Patriots fans better off than they were a year ago? That's a yes. That's a start. Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
USA Today
05-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Josh McDaniels reportedly had major role in adding this coach to Patriots staff
The New England Patriots have made several coaching staff moves since Mike Vrabel took over as head coach. However, at least one of those moves reportedly came at the hand of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. According to the Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard, McDaniels is believed to be behind the decision to hire Todd Downing as the Patriots' new wide receivers coach. Downing most recently coached with the New York Jets as their quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. He took over the offensive playcalling duties following Nathaniel Hackett being fired by the team. 'They went through extensive searches, specific to the wide receivers position, they talked to a lot of college receivers coaches,' Bedard said on the 'Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast.' 'But from what I understand, Vrabel was not going to force anybody on McDaniels. From what I understand, Vrabel wasn't even involved in the Todd Downing interview. 'He wanted to make sure that if it was Todd Downing, that McDaniels really wanted him. From what I understand, that is true. McDaniels really wanted him, really liked him. McDaniels, he didn't even need a former receivers coach. He just wanted a really good coach.' There's hope that McDaniels choosing the wide receivers coach will help with the overall cohesiveness of the offensive coaching in New England. The development and production at the wide receiver position have been a struggle for the team for years. Perhaps they'll get closer to fixing it with this latest coaching move.
