AFC East Notes: Tom Brady, Jets, Patriots

June 18, 2018

Tom Brady

During a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Patriots QB Tom Brady was asked about the reported tension between himself and HC Bill Belichick.

“Um, no. I mean, I love him. I love that he’s an incredible coach, mentor for me, and he’s pushed me in a lot of ways,” Brady said, via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “And, like everything, we don’t agree on absolutely everything.

“That’s relationships.”

Jets

Jets HC Todd Bowles said last week that right now, he shouldn’t be considered a very good coach based on the team’s record during his tenure. However, he’s hoping to get things moving in the right direction this season.

“We get judged on wins and losses and, right now, I’m not a very good coach,” Bowles said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “Hopefully, we can win a lot of games and I can become a very good coach.”

While there will likely be speculation over the next few months about the Jets trading QB Teddy Bridgewater, Cimini says that the reality is the Jets probably need him this season. With this in mind, Cimini’s gut feeling is that the Jets keep three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster to open the season.
The one caveat noted by Cimini is the chance that rookie QB Sam Darnold has a lights-out preseason and wins the job outright.
Some under-the-radar players who impressed during offseason workouts, according to Cimini, include WR ArDarius Stewart, LB Dylan Donahue, CB Rashard Robinson and FB Lawrence Thomas.

Patriots

Mike Reiss of ESPN writes that Patriots G Shaq Mason, who is entering the final year of his contract, could make the case that to be in the financial neighborhood of Cowboys G Zack Martin and Jaguars G Andrew Norwell. In fact, Reiss says that even in the event he doesn’t get the $14 million per year Martin just received from Dallas, Mason should still come away with around $10 million per year if he can stay healthy in 2018.
Reiss says he’s skeptical the Patriots will be willing to pay Mason this kind of money as part of a long-term deal.
Other 2019 free agents worth watching for the Patriots, according to Reiss, include DE Trey Flowers, K Stephen Gostkowski, WR Chris Hogan, CB Eric Rowe, OT Trent Brown, DT Malcom Brown and DT Danny Shelton.