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00:00Back here on WEEI Afternoons, no more possum talk.
00:04We're going to go right to the guest line for our weekly chat with Tom E. Curran from NBC Sports
00:09Boston.
00:10Tom Curran is brought to you by Drains by James, Eastern Mass's top provider of drain and sewer cleaning and
00:16repair,
00:17by your New England Chevy dealers. Together, let's drive. And Tom E. Curran is powered by Verizon.
00:23Mr. Curran, how are we doing this week?
00:27Straight up outstanding. How are you?
00:29I am tremendous after I won the battle with a possum, but we're moving on from that.
00:33So I want to ask you, you were down at Gillette Stadium today.
00:37We got a first look at the free agent class.
00:41Elliott Wolfe was having lunch with you people.
00:43So what was your biggest takeaway? What did you hear? What did you see? What did you like?
00:50Well, it's kind of more information gathering because you get an opportunity to sit across from these players
00:54and ask them specific questions, whether it's Dobbs and replacing Diggs
00:58or Elijah Vera Tucker and his injuries or Kevin Byard and chasing a championship.
01:04But I would say the one overarching when talking to the players' shared sentiment was that the Patriots
01:11have risen so significantly in the last two years from being what I called Siberia last year
01:19to a destination that I think that players look at as being one of the prime ones in the league.
01:26So to me, I think you'll look at that as being the overarching theme, whether it's because of Drake May
01:31or Mike Vrabel or the culture.
01:35All of those things, I think, were stressed time and again by different individuals
01:40as they talked about the Patriots in general.
01:42Hey, Tom, is there any common thread with the players that they've brought in
01:45like as far as personality-wise or are there connections to the coaches?
01:52Is there any kind of thread that ties all these guys that they've brought in so far in free agency?
01:59Well, Wolfe tried to stress that that was the main thing was, you know,
02:02trying to maintain that good culture fits, good personalities.
02:07Dobbs described himself as a very low-key, chill guy who's under the radar.
02:13Bayard was definitely gave the vibe of a leader, very impressive guy to talk to.
02:20You know, reminds me of somebody who Teddy would relate to very easily in your time, I think.
02:27But that's to be expected for a guy who's an 11-year veteran.
02:31Vera Tucker, same way, kind of a more low-key.
02:34He, to me, is – you can't call him boom or bust because there is that caveat that you can't
02:44expect everything.
02:45But if he plays the way he can when he's healthy, he could be a fantastic signing.
02:51But I guess that, to me, Teddy, would be the personality fits that they're still trying to maintain.
02:56Yep.
02:58Tommy, just big-picture view, did you like the free agent class to date?
03:02Do you like the week that they've had overall?
03:05I'm a fan.
03:06I think they've done a great job, and I think this makes them a better team.
03:09And is there anyone whose departure surprised you thus far?
03:16Starting with your first question, I think that they could be –
03:21I think Bayard really tips it toward them being a better team.
03:26I think that they upgraded from Hawkins, who was a good player.
03:31But I do think that they upgraded the back of the defense, and I have a secondary that really can
03:35stack up with anybody in the NFL at the upper echelon with Davis and Gonzalez.
03:41And Woodson is a young player next to Bayard, Marcus Jones in the slot.
03:45There's not a lot of teams that are going to look at that and say, oh, boy, there's somebody to
03:48pick on here.
03:50So, I think they ticked up there.
03:52I think they've treaded water to a large extent in the pass rush because Draymond Jones, it's a significant add,
04:01but they really didn't have anyone there.
04:04Landry, I think at this point, even though he's got another year left in his contract, you really have to
04:08question how great his impact can be after kind of a lost season.
04:13Had a good 20-24, but we'll see if he can rebound.
04:17Caleb on chase on, I thought, was a valuable player, but I thought a lot of his production came because
04:21of scheme and what they did together.
04:24And he really freed up and made some big plays, good player.
04:28Draymond Jones kind of brings that same thing in back, and I like Dan Franny Jennings.
04:32So, there I think they kind of treaded water with Dobbs in for Diggs.
04:35You actually have to project that Dobbs will be able to elevate to the level that Diggs was.
04:40I don't think that he can't, but it's an ask.
04:44So, to me, I guess overall, yeah, they've done a good job not getting worse, but I don't think anywhere
04:49I can look at it except at that safety spot, Fitzy, and say they're appreciably better.
04:55So, I'm not mad.
04:57If you're a Patriots fan, I wouldn't say you have reason to be mad, but I also wouldn't look at
05:02this team and say,
05:03whew, wow, we are a lot better than the team that left the field February 8th.
05:07Tom Curran, NBC Sports Boston, here on WEI Afternoons.
05:11Tom, I was listening to you the other day with Jones and Keith, as I always do, and you said
05:18A.J. Brown or bust, and then they got Romeo Dobbs, which is a nice signing.
05:23I think we all agree, nice signing.
05:25But where do we stand with A.J. Brown?
05:27I know Giardi and others have said that, you know, there could still be a really good chance the Patriots
05:32get A.J. Brown.
05:33What do you think of that possibility?
05:34I think they've left the light on for him.
05:37Nice.
05:37That was my – that's what I inferred?
05:42Do you infer from someone else?
05:43Yes, that's it inferred.
05:44That was what I took away from the comments made by Elliott Wolfe, who really needs to, in these instances,
05:52toe the line between tampering and speaking about a specific player on another team.
05:57So I understand that.
05:58But he did make a comment when asked about when will you close up shop?
06:02When is it too late to trade for a player?
06:04Chris Gasper asked him that question.
06:06And he said there's really no time.
06:08It's just when you run out of cap space to fit a player in that you might be desirous of.
06:15And unless all of the cap is wrong, they still have about $50 million in cap space,
06:19and that's not going to evaporate.
06:20Free agents are pretty picked over right now.
06:23And I also asked, you know, what's your priority here with renegotiations versus free agents,
06:30which really didn't elicit a direct response.
06:33But if you have $50 million in cap space and you're not ruling out trades until your cap space is
06:41gone,
06:41it kind of feels like they're leaving the light on for him.
06:45Boy, wouldn't that be something?
06:47Oh, my goodness.
06:49That would be something.
06:50Tom, I'm just curious.
06:52Teddy, it's such a – it's such a – not a juggle.
06:56I mean, you can get it done, but to release him before June 1st would cost them $27 million more,
07:04the Eagles in dead cap, than releasing him after.
07:10So it makes zero sense for them to do that.
07:14Why did I used to think that you could release him now but still designate him after?
07:19You can release a guy and do that.
07:21You can't trade him.
07:22You can't trade him and do it.
07:23Very good.
07:23You could designate it a post-June 1 but not via trade.
07:27Yeah.
07:27I probably should have asked that in private.
07:29But, yeah, okay.
07:30Okay.
07:31No.
07:31I get that confusing.
07:32Teddy, that's –
07:33It does.
07:34It gets confusing.
07:35It absolutely does.
07:36Things overlap.
07:37So, no, it's reasonable.
07:40Tom, I guess, you know, look, as the roster is currently constructed, we're – you know,
07:46and just – you've got the draft next month.
07:48What do you say – where do you go, okay, this is the position they need to really – you
07:53know, okay, this is the one they need to target.
07:55So, let's just say that for the sake of argument, they're not getting any more free agents.
07:59It now is up on the draft.
08:00Who are they taking with that 31st overall pick?
08:02What position?
08:03Who are they taking?
08:04I don't know who they're taking.
08:05Or what position?
08:06Tyler Warren.
08:07Say it with me, Teddy.
08:08Tight end.
08:08Tight end, baby.
08:09Oh, Jesus.
08:10You guys are doing this.
08:10Yeah, let's go.
08:11Stop it.
08:12I kind of held his hand right to that point.
08:14Yeah.
08:15I mean, it's Julian Hill and Hunter Henry right now.
08:20They need to get better at that position for a young quarterback.
08:23They need to get better at Julian Hill.
08:24I spoke to him.
08:25He's a restricted free agent to the Dolphins did not tend to the Patriots picked up.
08:31And he should be a good blocking tight end.
08:33He says he concentrates on his ability as a blocker and is improved in that way.
08:38But they need a, you know, a dual threat complementary tight end, if not a successor to Hunter Henry,
08:45who has been really, really a good signing for going on five years now.
08:50But you have to start looking toward that spot being filled around the NFL.
08:55Well, I'm a big safety and tight end guy, and I really think the Patriots did a terrific job bringing
09:00in Kevin Bayard
09:02because elite teams have great safeties, and Kevin Bayard can be that.
09:06I'm not saying he's a great safety now, but I like tight ends and safeties.
09:12And the good thing is, in this draft, there's some offensive line depth so the Pats can hopefully get a
09:17swing tackle or such,
09:18and there's definitely safeties and tight ends or so the Combine told us.
09:23Tom, who do you think stands to benefit, like, of all, like, the rookies or second-year players,
09:28given the way that the Patriots have approached free agency, sort of, like you said,
09:31treading water and, like, trying to improve what they did last year a little bit,
09:35who from the current roster stands to benefit from the way they've approached free agency the most?
09:42I think Booty and Kyle Williams would be the easiest answers,
09:45and I think most people would agree just observing the team.
09:48If you've taken out a guy who was targeted, I think, 105 times and caught 80 of them,
09:53and that means 105 targets are going to now be spread between players.
09:57I think Booty was targeted, like, 47 times last year.
10:00He should be a 70 or 80 target guy at least.
10:03I'm just allowing for the fact that Dobbs has come in,
10:06and he'll probably be a, you know, an 80 to 90 target guy himself.
10:11So I think that that would be the logical place.
10:15And then only 10 catches last year for Kyle Williams,
10:19but significant impression made by him in terms of explosiveness.
10:23Three of them went for touchdowns.
10:26There's a void, I think.
10:29I mean, he's so frigging fast.
10:30The only drawback is he's 5'10", but as an outside guy, he and Booty as outside guys,
10:37and Booty isn't necessarily perfectly cast as an outside guy either
10:43because he's just not the burner that he was when he was an unbelievable player
10:47as a freshman at LSU.
10:49But they have a lot of guys who can do myriad things, so I think that's helpful.
10:55Tom, it just sort of hit me, and correct me if I'm wrong.
10:58So a year ago when they did This Day, it was Mike Vrabel that introduced, like,
11:03Milton Williams, Morgan Moses, that whole thing.
11:05And today, Vrabel did not speak.
11:07Today it was Elliott Wolfe, right?
11:10Yep.
11:11Any thought on that, reaction to that?
11:14Does that mean anything?
11:15Is that interesting or is that important?
11:21That's a good question, the way to phrase it.
11:24I think it's interesting but not important.
11:26I think that just to draw the distinction, it was still in a period where I think the
11:32Patriots were interested in representing who they were and what they were about,
11:36and Vrabel being out there with those players on that day to kind of, you know,
11:41break the bottle across the bow of the new ship was important to him and to them
11:46and to the media and to the fans to see more important with fans.
11:50I mean, I tend to jam the media in there.
11:53We ought to be an afterthought in what impressions are being made.
11:57But for fans to see, okay, well, we have these players, Mike's out there talking about
12:01each of them, and he's showing what the marching orders and the direction of the team is.
12:06And I think we've now gotten that pretty well established, what the direction of the team
12:11is and what their personality is.
12:12So it wasn't necessary for him to be out there, I would guess.
12:16TC, I'm curious just your thoughts on free agency in general.
12:19You know, you have the legal tampering period, you know, to start kind of kick things off
12:23on Monday, and then you have that botched Max Crosby trade.
12:27I'm curious what you think about that whole trade that didn't go through.
12:34And is there any way to fix this system so that that doesn't happen again?
12:41Kenny, you were on the team when Jamal Anderson was, you know, locked and loaded and ready to come.
12:48And the Patriots failed his physical or whether it was a contract impasse or whatever it was,
12:53and he didn't join the team.
12:55And this, to me, reminded me of that.
12:58You know, Jamal Anderson at the time, for folks who are listening who don't remember,
13:02he was Atlanta Falcons running back, the, you know, Dirty Bird dance, and he was a terrific player.
13:07Hell of a player.
13:09Yeah, it looked like he was coming here.
13:10Instead, they ended up getting Corey Dillon that year or the next.
13:14But that stuff happens.
13:16And I do not blame Taunton's own Eric DaCosta, one iota, for looking at the situation and saying,
13:24it's two first-round picks.
13:26I'm going to do what's best for the people who sign my checks.
13:30I'm not going to try and worry about what, you know, they're going to say about me around the agent
13:35community
13:35or what they're going to say about me in Las Vegas or what other GMs are going to think.
13:40Like, I've been doing this for a long time, and if I don't feel comfortable giving up two first-round
13:44picks
13:44for this player, I'm not going to do it.
13:46And I'm going to feel bad about it, but I'm just not going to do it.
13:50I do not blame them in the least.
13:52As for free agency in general, it's funny.
13:54The number of names that get released as the league year approaches offsets a little bit
14:00the weakness of the free agent class that you look at going in.
14:04I mean, Alec Pierce, the wide receiver group was not great in terms of free agents.
14:10Evans is a good player, obviously.
14:11Juwan Jennings, I think, is still hanging out there.
14:15But every team wants to keep its best two wide receivers virtually every year.
14:22So it's funny to see the free agent list, and then once the releases start to happen,
14:30that the whole free agent class starts to elevate.
14:33So there's still good players out there.
14:36Hey, Tom, last one for me.
14:38There's this story Danny Cannell was telling about Tom Brady just basically dissociating himself
14:45from the Patriots.
14:47Do you have any vibe or read on that?
14:51And do you think it's true that Brady would have possibly said to the Raiders organization,
14:55like, no way we're trading Max Crosby to the Patriots?
14:59I didn't see what Danny Cannell said.
15:01Do I think it's true?
15:03I don't – like, dissociating himself in terms of I'm never going to have anything else to do with them?
15:10Yeah, just sort of like not doing business with and just distancing himself.
15:14Okay.
15:16Well, if it's – okay.
15:20I don't know if he's – I would imagine he – you can't stand in the middle of the stadium
15:24last year
15:24or two years ago and say, oh, a Patriot for life, and then completely disassociate yourself from them.
15:30As far as the Jeremy Fowler report that Brady was not going to deal with the Patriots,
15:37I do find that surprising.
15:39Elliot Wolfe said that he speaks frequently to John Spitek and the Raiders,
15:44and he said he would be surprised if that was the case because he didn't get the feeling that there
15:50was –
15:51he didn't say this specifically, but I – you know, inferring,
15:54he didn't seem to show that he had the feeling that the Patriots were persona non grata
15:59in terms of deals being made.
16:01So, I don't know.
16:04I just think it's a mountain out of a molehill.
16:08All right, Tom, appreciate you joining us.
16:11How's the simulator in the garage?
16:13The swing coming together nicely as the snow melts?
16:15Simulator's good.
16:15Simulator's good.
16:16We got my home courses on it now.
16:18I shot a 73 with three birdies and eight mulligans.
16:21Atta boy.
16:22Oh, only eight, huh?
16:24Well played, my friend.
16:25Well played.
16:26All right, we'll talk to you next week, Tom.
16:28All right, guys, see you.
16:29See you, man.
16:30Tom Carr in NBC Sports.
16:31His boys can play golf too, man.
16:33Oh, really?
16:34Yeah, I play with his sons.
16:35Oh, dude, it's ridiculous.
16:37Just the hands come through, just a perfect swing.
16:41Yeah, so –
16:42Yeah, when you have a garage or basement simulator like that, Ted,
16:45then you don't basically need the end of March through early May
16:48to, like, get the swing reactivated.
16:50Like, it's in mid-season form by the time Easter rolls around.
16:54All right, up next here on WEI Afternoons.
16:56Let's see if we agree with Tom Curran's assessment of where the Patriots are
17:00after a short period here of free agency.
17:03That's next here on WEI.
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