NFL Notes: Chiefs, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens

Chiefs

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce said it is going to be “awkward” playing with QB Patrick Mahomes next season, but that he is excited to see what the quarterback can do.

So it’s going to be awkward going into a huddle, like I said, with anybody but Alex, but I know Pat is ready for the opportunity,” Kelce said, via the Rich Eisen Show. “He’s taken a lot of mental reps and a lot of notes from Alex on how this thing should be run. Alex ran it to an absolute T this past season and, obviously, everyone’s excited to see what [Mahomes] can do.”

Panthers

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on Wednesday that he believes it is in the best interest of the league and owners for the Panthers to remain in Carolina.

I think all of us and the owners believe Carolina is a great market,” Goodell said, via ProFootballTalk. “It’s a market we would like to stay in and we hope that the franchise owner that’s eventually selected will have that view. As you know, that is subject to review by the ownership in the ownership process and I’m sure that will be a question that many owners will ask, and I think that will clearly be the intent of our ownership.

  • Albert Breer mentions that he wouldn’t get too worked up about the Panthers leaving Carolina with the sale of the team.
  • Breer writes that Jerry Richardson is still the one selling the team and he cares deeply about his legacy that has already been tarnished, so he’ll almost certainly do what he can keep the team in his home region.

Patriots

Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said during an interview with Andrea Kramer that he believes Tom Brady has earned the right to decide when he should retire, as opposed to them telling him it’s time to move on.

I think Tom Brady’s earned the right to have that be a decision he makes when wants to make it,” Jonathan said, via Patriots twitter account.

Robert Kraft explained that their goal as an organization is simply to have the best possible people in place and retain them for as long as they can.

“Our intent is we have the best people in their respective positions, and we keep them here for a very long time,” Robert added.

Ravens

  • Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun mentions that the Ravens clearly need to add a veteran quarterback at some point with Ryan Mallett set to be a free agent in the coming months. The Ravens have recently worked out QBs Ryan Nassib and Matt McGloin.
  • While there has been some speculation connecting the Ravens to Wyoming QB Josh Allen, Zrebiec says that using a first-round pick on Allen “would be a tough sell to the number of Ravens coaches and executives whose jobs will probably be on the line in 2018.”
  • According to Zrebiec, this should be a “huge” offseason for Ravens OLB Tyus Bowser, who hit the rookie wall both mentally and physically last year. Zrebiec adds that the Ravens are still extremely high on Bowser, but he’ll need to take the next step in 2018.

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