Joe Murray: Jerod Mayo makes me miss Bill Belichick
Tim McKone and Joe Murray are taking over for Zolak and Bertrand Tuesday, reacting to Jerod Mayo’s press conference ahead of his first training camp as the Patriots’ head coach.
Murray: I’m sorry that I’m not giving them a chance. I know that there’s probably some fans that are like, ‘Come on, Joe. Like, give them a chance.’ This is the NFL. This is a league where you need to score. You need to score points and keep up. One crucial decision could literally change the outcome of a game.
McKone: Yeah, for sure.
Murray: And now we don’t even know if this guy is the guy making the decisions.
McKone: One crucial decision, by the way, can change your trajectory as a head coach. Again — I keep going back to it — I know it’s extreme, but Nathaniel Hackett Week 1 when he was the head coach in Denver, and the end-of-game situation there when he completely mismanaged the clock, he never recovered from that. We’ve never seen Jerod Mayo in this situation before. We don’t know how he’s going to handle the in-game situations that come up for the New England Patriots. Say what you will, but Bill Belichick — it completely went off the rails with him. I understand that it did. But you also knew that you had somebody that was in control in terms of in-game operation and putting things together when it came to the week-to-week aspect of this for New England. We no longer know what that’s going to look like for the Patriots. We have no idea how this whole operation is going to go week-to-week for the Pats.
Murray: Yeah, it’s going to be something to watch. Seeing now Evan Rothstein’s [new role].
McKone: Evan Rothstein is the new Ernie Adams.
Murray: It is noted he would lean on Rothstein for situational football, challenges and clock management. Great. So he’s not making any of his own decisions. He’s leaning on some guy that Matt Patricia brought in. Cool.
McKone: Again, I will say this though. I mean, the theme again was clearly, this is a different era than the Bill Belichick era. Now they only brought up Bill once in that press conference. There was only one Bill Belichick name-drop, so at least we’re getting fewer and fewer of those, Joe. But the fact that Belichick still came up in that press conference, and on top of it, clearly going out of your way to establish the fact that this is a new sort of era in terms of how we’re handling things.
Murray: They gave the PR team — did you see that? ‘We love your coverage.’ I’ll tweet that out in a minute here. The Patriots PR gave the cutest gift to everyone entering training camp, ‘Let it be known, we are big fans of your coverage, wishing you the coolest camp this summer.’ And it came with one of those portable fans, which I like.
McKone: Those are nice.
Murray: I have one that hooks. It hooks on. Yeah, I like that. That’s good. No, it’s a cool gift, but like now you’re kissing the Patriots’ ass, the reporters? So what they say good things about you? Oh, it’s cool. They gave us a fan. Hey, the team doesn’t know who’s making the decisions. But yeah, we got a fan out of it. I did not like this today. I missed the Bill Belichick tell us nothing. I missed the grunts, the snorts, I don’t want to hear about the Double Dutch days. I don’t want to hear the giggles and the laughs. What else did he say? Oh, he’s got a personal circle. What’s the personal circle now? Like, who is in it? Who’s in his personal circle? Do you know? He said too much today. He said too much. And really what’s clear is he is not in control. He’s the coach. But what control does he have?
LISTEN: Reaction to the first Jerod Mayo press conference of the season
Which players will make a surprise push for a Patriots roster spot?
IOL Michael Jordan
Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots guard Michael Jordan (74) works with guard Ryan Johnson (75) at minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots have a lot to figure out at guard, especially with Cole Strage expected to miss the start of the season due to injury. Sidy Sow will likely get one of the two spots, but pending Mike Onwenu moving back inside the other is up for grabs.
Veteran Nick Leverett and fourth-round pick Layden Robinson most of the reps this spring, but Jordan worked in the rotation as well along with 2023 fifth-round pick Atonio Mafi. What Jordan has going for him is experience. He’s only 26, but his 29 career NFL starts (and 55 games played) are among the most of the Patriots’ current guard group. If the team wants more experience up front, he could angle his way into a backup spot with a solid summer.
TE Mitchell Wilcox
Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Mitchell Wilcox (87) makes a catch at minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
After signing late in April, Wilcox was another player that got a good amount of attention in the spring. He didn’t have a ton of balls thrown his way, but the four-year NFL vet was on the field a good amount.
After Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, there isn’t really any clarity on the Patriots’ third tight end spot – if they keep one at all. Seventh-round pick Jaheim Bell is an interesting project player but he is more of a gadget Swiss Army Knife-type than a true tight end. Plus at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds Wilcox brings a blocking element the other tight ends don’t.
If the Patriots want to have a blocking tight end on the roster – which would make sense for a team that projects to be run-heavy – Wilcox is the best fit for that role currently on the team. Of course, he could do that initially through practice squad elevations, and be added to the roster later.
CB Azizi Hearn
Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Azizi Hearn (42) stretches before the start of minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
The battle for the final few cornerback spots is going to be a close one in training camp this year. Coming out of the spring there was plenty of talk about more well-known players like Marco Wilson, Shaun Wade, Isaiah Bolden, and rookie Marcells Dial competing for the reserve roles behind Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, and Alex Austin.
Hearn also belongs in that conversation. After spending most of last season on the Patriots’ practice squad as a UDFA, Hearn is back and showed noticeable improvement this spring. Helping his case is the fact he has experience not just on the boundary at 6-foot-1, 204 pounds, but also in the slot and a little bit at safety as well. He’s got as much competition ahead of him at his position as any player on this list, but he certainly made the most of the opportunities he got this spring.
LB Oshane Ximines
Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Oshane Ximines (93) walks to the practice fields for minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Most of the Patriots’ top edge rushers didn’t take part in spring practices, opening the door for players further down the projected depth chart to get more opportunities. One of the players who appeared to make the most of those chances was Ximines, a late free agent signing who played in 48 games with nine starts for the New York Giants over his first five NFL seasons.
While the Patriots’ top-end stand-up pass rushers are set in Matthew Judon, Joshua Uche, and Anfernee Jennings, there aren’t any clear-cut backups right now – especially if Keion White continues to play as a defensive end rather than stand-up linebacker. Ximines will have a chance this summer to prove he’s worth a roster spot to provide that depth. He’s also a likely special teams contributor, having played regularly in the kicking game while in New York.
LB Raekwon McMillan
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 12: Raekwon McMillan #50 of the New England Patriots recovers a fumble to score a 23 yard touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the third quarter of the game at State Farm Stadium on December 12, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
This will be McMillan’s fourth season with the Patriots, but in two of the first three he was on IR before final roster cuts. Last year he suffered a partially-torn Achilles tendon in late May. Still, the Patriots liked him enough to sign him to a contract extension just a few months later, re-upping him for 2024.
Now healthy once again, does McMillan have a place on this year’s team? The team lost Mack Wilson in free agency, after he played a valuable role as a sideline-to-sideline passing-down middle linebacker. McMillan has the athleticism to play a similar role – assuming he’s fully healthy. He also has plenty of special teams experience.
Free agent signing Sione Takitaki figures to play a similar role, and probably has the edge on McMillan. But given McMillan’s special teams potential, with a strong showing this summer as a depth option he could work his way onto the roster.
WR Jalen Reagor
Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Jalen Reagor (83) makes a catch at minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Reagor finished last year on the Patriots’ active roster, so maybe he’s not the biggest ‘surprise’ on this list. Still, some may not realize just how realistic his path to a roster spot is.
Assuming health, the Patriots are going to have four roster locks at the wide receiver position in Kendrick Bourne (assuming he’s healthy for the start of the season, which sounded like the plan at the end of the spring), Pop Douglas, and rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. K.J. Osborn is a near-lock as well.
Now down to the sixth wide receiver spot, any player hoping to make a run at the roster from here is going to have to contribute in other ways. That’s where Reagor has a significant advantage. Not only does he profile as an effective kick returner, but he’s taken some reps at gunner as well. None of the other wide receivers competing for this spot (mainly JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton) have near the special teams experience or upside Reagor has.
Whether or not the Patriots keep a sixth receiver will be the real question, and goes back to the idea of ‘at-large roster spots.’ If they do though, Reagor has a great chance to be the guy.
