Morning sports update: NFL insider thinks Patriots will use a ‘premium pick’ on a quarterback
"I would say the Patriots are very firmly in the quarterback mix."
Tonight, college basketball star Sabrina Ionescu is expected to become the first overall pick by the New York Liberty in the 2020 WNBA draft. The event will be held virtually due to COVID-19.
And Broncos pass rusher Von Miller announced that he’s tested positive for COVID-19, the second confirmed case among NFL players.
Ian Rapoport on the Patriots’ quarterback situation: With the NFL draft now less than a week away, the Patriots remain “in the mix” to get a quarterback.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport explained that while he thinks New England will pursue a third quarterback for the team’s depth chart, it’s difficult to say how Bill Belichick will move up in the first round. The Patriots currently hold the 23rd overall pick.
“I would say the Patriots are very firmly in the quarterback mix,” Rapoport said. “They’re just so far back, so I’m having trouble figuring out, like, what are they actually going to do? Because they’re up in the 20s. Jordan Love sliding into the teens and them grabbing him is a scenario that I’ve thought a lot about. They also had some success with Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round, so maybe they try to repeat that.”
Rapoport, while less sure on where the Patriots will pick, is certain that a quarterback will be selected.
“The Patriots are going to take a quarterback, probably with a premium pick,” Rapoport explained. “I would just imagine it’s not at a pick they currently have.”
After the Top 4 QBs are selected, where do the rest shake out? And could the #Patriots make a move for Eason, Fromm or Hurts?@nflnetwork @RapSheet shared what he’s been hearing just 9 days before the #NFLDraft: pic.twitter.com/Z1wC4whKzH
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 14, 2020
Regarding the team’s starting quarterback for the 2020 season, Rapoport isn’t so sure it will be Jarrett Stidham.
“I don’t think they’re going into the draft saying, ‘alright, we got [Jarrett] Stidham, we are good,’ like the Chiefs did with [Patrick] Mahomes,'” said Rapoport. “It’s not like that.”
“My guess right now is Brian Hoyer is the starting quarterback of the Patriots in 2020, but I think that is something that will be ever-evolving as we get through next season,” Rapoport concluded.
Trivia: Who is the only Red Sox batter to ever strike out six times in one game?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He became a five-time All-Star after he was traded from the Red Sox to the Brewers in 1976 for Bernie Carbo and George Scott.
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Joe Kelly explained the backstory behind his window-breaking wild pitch
:
Here is your broken window explanation (courtesy the @Bradfo_Sho) … https://t.co/z6LESHaYPv pic.twitter.com/CN36InaHxD
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) April 16, 2020
Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is “out of Netflix” to watch:
Terry Francona: “I’ve watched every Netflix program there is. I’m out of Netflix. I admit, I miss baseball.”
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) April 16, 2020
On this day: In 1934, “New” Fenway Park opened after extensive renovations. A sellout crowd of 32,336 watched the Red Sox lose to the Senators in 11 innings, 6-5. The game was played only months after a fire — the second in a series of early 20th century disasters to beset the ballpark — destroyed what had been an ambitious rebuild.
But the renovations were restarted following the fire, and completed in time for the season. The most prominent new feature made during that time was the addition of a 37-foot wall in left field. While it wasn’t until 1947 that the “Green Monster” officially became a feature, its birth was in the post-fire remodeling of 1934.
Classic rewind: Enjoy your Friday with some Michael Jordan NBA Finals highlights.
Trivia answer: Cecil Cooper
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