March 2018 - New England Patriots Wiretap

Rob Gronkowski Restructures Contract With Patriots, Adds $4.3M

Aug 30, 2018 4:03 PM

Rob Gronkowski has agreed to an improved deal with the New England Patriots adding $4.3 million to his contract.

Gronkowski can make up to $13.3 million in 2018.

Gronkowski considered retiring in the offseason.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Signing

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Rob Gronkowski Focused On Season, Not Contract

Aug 30, 2018 8:17 AM

A number of players have received lucrative contract extensions this offseason, but Rob Gronkowski isn't one of them.

"I'm always open for that," Gronkowski said.

The 29-year-old has two years remaining on his current contract with the New England Patriots, which has base salaries of $8 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019. He is currently the fourth-highest paid tight end in the NFL.

"I mean, it is what it is," Gronkowski said. "That's not really my focus. I got a long season ahead, and just trying to focus on what I need to really do and just let everything else play out."

Herbie Teope/NFL

Tags: New England Patriots, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor

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Patriots, Shaq Mason Agree Upon Five-Year, $50M Extension

Aug 28, 2018 8:34 AM

The New England Patriots have agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract extension with guard Shaq Mason.

The pact carries $23.5 million in guaranteed money, according to a source.

Mason will make $30 million over the first three years of the contract.

The 25-year-old was entering the final year of his rookie agreement.

Herbie Teope/NFL

Tags: New England Patriots, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Signing

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Report: Tom Brady Wouldn't Have Minded Being Released In Offseason

Aug 28, 2018 12:06 PM

The situation between Tom Brady and the New England Patriots reached a point this offseason where he reportedly wouldn't have minded being released.

Mark Leibovich writes that Brady had become “fed up with the Belichick culture.”

Brady believes he's earned more deference and gratitude than he's received from Bill Belichick.

“My sense is — informed by talking to some people close to him — that it wouldn’t kill Brady if the Patriots were to release him into free agency, allowing him to control his next move,” Leibovich wrote.

Brady has since signed an extension with the Patriots, essentially securing his future with the team.

Nik DeCosta-Klipa/Boston Globe

Tags: New England Patriots, Misc Rumor

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Tom Brady Hangs Up On Interview After Questions About Alex Guerrero

Aug 27, 2018 8:02 AM

Tom Brady hung up during his weekly live interview with WEEI on Monday morning after getting questions about longtime personal trainer Alex Guerrero.

Guerrero's rocky relationship with Bill Belichick has been widely reported.

When Brady was asked about Guerrero being on the New England Patriots' last week, he gave only a brief answer.

"He was with me this last week," the quarterback said.

Asked why Guerrero was allowed with the team when he hadn't been allowed to fly with the team last season, Brady answered, "I'm not getting into all that."

When Brady got one more question about whether Guerrero was on the sideline, he answered, "Yeah. Alright, guys, have a great day. I'll talk to you later," and then hung up.

WEEI

Tags: New England Patriots, Misc Rumor

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Ten-Year DVOA Rankings: New England Patriots

Aug 27, 2018 2:10 PM

Beyond strictly looking at wins and losses, DVOA by Football Outsiders gives a clear picture of team performance.

The following Infographic shows the past 10 years of DVOA rankings (2008-2017) for the New England Patriots.

The crazy part of this outlook is that it doesn't include the first seven seasons of Tom Brady's career as a starter with the Patriots ranking 11th, 7th, 4th, 2nd, 12th, 3rd and 1st. Brady was injured in Week 1 in 2008 when the Patriots finished 11th in DVOA despite having Matt Cassel at quarterback.

Ten-Year DVOA Rankings: Arizona CardinalsAtlanta FalconsBaltimore RavensBuffalo BillsCarolina PanthersChicago BearsCincinnati BengalsCleveland BrownsDallas CowboysDenver BroncosDetroit LionsGreen Bay PackersHouston TexansIndianapolis ColtsJacksonville JaguarsKansas City ChiefsLos Angeles ChargersLos Angeles RamsMiami DolphinsMinnesota VikingsNew Orleans SaintsNew York GiantsNew York JetsOakland RaidersPhiladelphia EaglesPittsburgh SteelersSan Francisco 49ersSeattle SeahawksTampa Bay BuccaneersTennessee TitansWashington Redskins

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: New England Patriots, Infographic, IQ, Stats

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Eric Decker Announces Retirement From NFL

Aug 26, 2018 4:52 PM

Eric Decker has announced his retirement from the NFL.

Decker signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots on Aug. 3.

On Saturday, coach Bill Belichick had been asked about Decker's acclimation to the Patriots' system and said, "I think Eric's learned everything well. Again, he had a background in this system in Denver with Josh [McDaniels] and he's played multiple positions in the offense since he's been here. We used a couple new formations [Friday], so I don't think learning is really a problem for him and he has a lot of experience of some of the more sophisticated routes, option routes and things like that are all things that he's done and it's just really a question of getting the timing and the exactly how you want to do it and seeing enough looks on it so that you and the quarterback know exactly what it is."

The Patriots had signed Decker after releasing Jordan Matthews.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Misc Rumor

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Garoppolo's Brief Audition During Brady's Suspension Encouraged 49ers

Aug 25, 2018 6:30 PM

Jimmy Garoppolo's 59 passes during the Deflategate suspension of Tom Brady in 2016 was critical in the San Francisco 49ers' evaluation of whether to trade for him.

“It makes you want to trade for him,” Kyle Shanahan said. “Because you saw exactly the ability that you saw in college that made him a [2014] second-round pick. But then, when you see it in an NFL game, nothing changed. He didn’t get in there and panic. He still showed his ability and played at a high level.”

When Shanahan and John Lynch took over the 49ers, they evaluated potential quarterbacks they could acquire with Garoppolo being on the list and the other being Kirk Cousins.

The Patriots weren't interested in trading Garoppolo during the 2017 offseason.

“We made a call, and it was, ‘He’s not available, don’t waste your time,’” Lynch said.

New England reached out to let Lynch and Shanahan know that Garoppolo might be available at the deadline, and the pair rushed to meet with Niners executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe. 

The 49ers were hesitant to commit to an unproven player long-term.

“We made that commitment to each other,” Lynch says. “We [weren’t] saying, ‘Come hell or high water, this is our guy.’ We think it’s a worth a second-round pick to have a great look at a guy that we think is really talented. And then we learned everything else about him.”

Robert Mays/The Ringer

Tags: New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Misc Rumor

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Patriots To Allow Alex Guerrero To Travel With Team

Aug 24, 2018 9:34 AM

Alex Guerrero, personal trainer for Tom Brady, was on the New England Patriots' team plane to Charlotte on Thursday.

Guerrero was reportedly a source of friction between Brady and Bill Belichick last season.

While Guerrero won’t be on the sidelines during the Panthers game, or any other game this season, he will be allowed to travel with the team during the regular season.

Brady’s mood in recent days has been very upbeat and positive, perhaps a nod to having Guerrero around.

Karen Guregian/Boston Herald

Tags: New England Patriots

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Patriots Release Kenny Britt

Aug 23, 2018 9:02 AM

The New England Patriots have released Kenny Britt.

Britt hadn't taken part in a full practice in training camp after injuring a hamstring in June's mandatory minicamp.

He signed with the Patriots back in December.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Tags: New England Patriots, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor

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Patriots Lose 1st Round Pick Isaiah Wynn With Torn Achilles
Isaiah Wynn was expected to be the Patriots' starting right tackle.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Tom Brady Expects To Be With Patriots 'Next Year And Hopefully Beyond'
Tom Brady wouldn't discuss his contract during an appearance on Massachusetts sports radio on Tuesday morning, but he did briefly touch on his future.

WEEI

Tom Brady Sits With Sore Back
Tom Brady has had a noticeably lighter workload during recent practices.

Nicole Yang/Boston Globe

Patriots Add $5M In Incentives To Contract Of Tom Brady
Tom Brady is scheduled to make $15 million this season and the incentives will bring his contract up closer to the market.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Patriots Release Malcolm Mitchell
The Patriots were reportedly shopping Malcolm Mitchell prior to training camp, but couldn't find a trade partner.

Kevin Patra/NFL.com

Roger Goodell Sought Admission Of Guilt From Tom Brady
A new book reports that Tom Brady offered to pay a $1 million fine to avoid his four-game "Deflategate" suspension.

ABC News

Patriots Sign Eric Decker To One-Year Deal
The Patriots brought in Eric Decker for a workout this week.

Adam Schefter/ESPN

Patriots Place Jordan Matthews On Injured Reserve
Jordan Matthews had signed a one-year, $1 million contract with $300,000 guaranteed.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Eric Decker Works Out For Patriots
The Patriots have a number of injuries at wide receiver.

Mike Reiss/ESPN