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Bill Belichick offered his thoughts on Patriots’ roster decisions during the offseason
Belichick discussed who New England re-signed in the offseason, and also "the guy that's not on that list."
Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia’s thoughts on the Patriots’ offseason: A new dynamic for Patriots fans in the post-Bill Belichick era is getting to see what the former head coach thinks of his now-former team.
This will be especially prominent in 2024 given the plethora of jobs that Belichick has taken in media. One of them, working for Underdog Fantasy, includes offering analysis on teams’ moves during the offseason.
As a result, Patriots fans are now officially starting to get Belichick discussion (alongside surprising guest and former New England coordinator Matt Patricia) of what has now become Jerod Mayo’s team.
Patricia pointed out that Mayo and executive vice president of player personnel Elliot Wolf brought back a number of players from the 2023 team.
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“You can really see [that] they did re-sign a lot of the players that we had brought there, and had there as they obviously like those guys,” said Patricia, also identifying that there were “a couple players that they didn’t re-sign.”
Belichick noted that the Patriots decided to re-sign or extend wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, offensive lineman Michael Onwenu, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and tight end Hunter Henry.
“He’s been a solid leader for them,” Belichick added of the 29-year-old Henry.
After cycling through the additional names that the Patriots opted to keep in New England, Belichick highlighted one name that was missing.
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“The guy that’s not on that list, of course, is Matt Judon,” he said. “Matt Judon was traded down to Atlanta, and so that will provide an opportunity for [Josh] Uche, [Jahlani] Tavai, and [Anfernee] Jennings to take that spot that, you know, Judon would’ve had a lot of playing time at. So we’ll see how those guys do, but a lot of guys came back.”
“The additions were mainly draft choices,” Belichick added.
Patricia kept the spotlight on Judon.
“Obviously Judon [is] a guy that we really liked and enjoyed being around a lot,” said the ex-New England defensive coordinator. “Good football player. A very productive football player, so these guys are going to have to step in and try to fill that production out on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Patriots traded Judon to the Falcons in mid-August as the contract dispute continued. The terms, according to a team announcement, included a third-round pick heading to New England. He was originally signed by Belichick in 2021 on a four-year deal.
Trivia: Can you name every former Bill Belichick-Patriots assistant coach who went on to become an NFL head coach?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: Nine in total (the list does not include Nick Saban or Al Groh, as they weren’t Patriots assistants under Belichick).
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Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox lost to the Mets 7-2 on Tuesday, Boston’s fourth consecutive loss. The two teams conclude the three-game set tonight in New York at 7:10 p.m.
Also on Tuesday, the Connecticut Sun lost to the Seattle Storm 71-64. The Sun host the Las Vegas Aces on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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Outrageous velocity: Angels reliever Ben Joyce came within 0.3 MPH of Aroldis Chapman’s all-time MLB record for pitch velocity set in 2010.
Bill Belichick adds another media role: The former Patriots head coach will also join the 33rd Team as a “strategic advisor.”
On this day: In 2000, the Red Sox welcomed back Carlton Fisk to Fenway Park for the retirement of his No. 27. It marked the public reconciliation of a relationship between the inimitable Hall of Fame catcher and his hometown team (which famously fractured in a bizarre 1980 feud that resulted in both Fisk and Fred Lynn departing in the offseason after their contracts were mailed late).
Boston marked the occasion with 5-1 win over the Mariners. Pedro Martinez led the charge, striking out 11 in eight innings (allowing just one run). He lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.66 in the process.
Elsewhere, a first-year Patriots head coach prepared for the upcoming season with questions on the offensive line (in a topical nod to 2024).
Daily highlight: A nice sliding catch from Rob Refsnyder on Tuesday.
Trivia answer: Bill O’Brien, Brian Flores, Brian Daboll, Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel, Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, Jerod Mayo
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