NFL Notes: Cardinals, Colts, Patriots

Cardinals

According to Darren Urban AzCardinals.com, “few have been around the Cardinals’ training facility more” than 2016 first-round DL Robert Nkemdiche.

Nkemdiche explained that while his rookie year was disappointing, there were some obvious lessons to learn from moving forward.

“Frustrated means that you’re not aware of the lesson you are being taught,” Nkemdiche said. “I wasn’t frustrated. Of course I think things could have gone differently, but they didn’t. That’s what this world set up for me. Last year wasn’t my year to be ready. So I took a step back, learned from it, and got a better understanding about how to be a professional football player.”

Colts

• While Colts owner Jim Irsay has said that Chuck Pagano will remain the team’s head coach for the 2017 season, Mike Wells says that there are no guarantees beyond this season.
• The Colts have hired a new GM in Chris Ballard, which usually opens the possibility of the team moving on after a disappointing season.
• Even so, Wells points out that the Colts should be able to get off to a better start this year, as their early schedule includes some favorable matchups.
• The real test for Pagano will be improving the team’s struggling defense, especially given the investment made by the front office on that side of the ball.

Patriots

According to Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald, Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (back) was a “full-go” during OTAs.

While that’s obviously good news for the Patriots, HC Bill Belichick stressed that Gronkowski still has a “long way to go.”

“I mean, we’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said. “We’ve only practiced a couple days. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ll see how it goes.”

In case you missed it, the Patriots and Gronkowski recently agreed to a restructured contract that could make him the highest paid tight end in the NFL. (NFLTR)