Patricia won’t take bait on Goodell
FOXBORO — It’s no secret Patriots fans can’t wait for Roger Goodell to make his way to Gillette Stadium for the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After all, the NFL commissioner is viewed as an arch enemy for leveling the Patriots with a fine, loss of a first-round draft pick and a four-game suspension of Tom Brady in the Deflategate case from the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
That sentiment is reflected in a T-shirt sold by Barstool Sports that depicts Goodell with a red clown nose. It’s the same shirt Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was spotted wearing as he exited the plane at Logan Airport following the team’s Super Bowl LI win in February.
Earlier this month, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Goodell remains furious at the show of disrespect. When asked about the topic yesterday, Patricia dodged the issue.
“I mean right now it’s all about training camp,” he said. “We’re here, we’re getting ready to go, so . . . my focus is our guys, getting ready, making sure we have some good meetings here this afternoon and making sure we have a productive day.”
Don’t expect to hear much more publicly from Patricia on the Goodell subject, as he typically plays it close to the vest on even more benign topics. But he has become a hot name as it relates to possible head coaching positions, so it would benefit him to smooth things out with Goodell.
Perhaps Patricia will take that opportunity when Goodell comes to Foxboro. Or, as he did yesterday, Patricia could avoid the issue altogether.
Either way, it remains one chapter of Deflategate that’s still unresolved between the Pats and Goodell.
Age no concern
Brady turns 40 next week, and his teammates are just about done doubting whether he can defy the bonds of time that have limited most quarterbacks before him and play well into his 40s.
“Kevin Garnett said, ‘Anything is possible,’ so I mean that’s not for me to say,” Matthew Slater said. “Tom does more than anybody on this team to get himself prepared, to do what he needs to do mentally and physically to play this game, but again, we’ll just all take it one day at a time, and I know that’s Tom’s approach.”
Added Devin McCourty: “Obviously I don’t know what’s possible, but I just keep watching him and trying to learn different things from him, see what he does because the guy has been able to have such longevity at a high level so I don’t see a reason why he would slow down.” . . .
The Pats appeared to fill one of their two open roster spots yesterday by adding undrafted rookie free agent defensive end Caleb Kidder, whose agents at Reign Sports said he signed a deal. Kidder initially was with the Minnesota Vikings but was released last Friday.
Kidder played college football at Montana, where he totaled 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for losses in three seasons.
Scar not done yet
At 69, offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is entering his 34th NFL season. He returned to the sidelines last season after a two-year retirement. When asked yesterday if he thought of calling it quits again after Super Bowl LI, Scarnecchia was direct.
“No,” he said. “I knew (I’d come back). (I’m) happy to be back. Really feel like there’s a lot to do. We have a lot of things that we have to work at, really a lot of things to work at. Never as good as it seems, never as bad as it seems.” . . .
The Patriots will add a third opportunity to practice against an opponent next month, Bill Belichick said. The team will hold a joint walkthrough with the Lions in Michigan before the teams’ preseason game Aug. 25. The Patriots already have joint training camp practices scheduled with the Jaguars (Aug. 7-8 in Foxboro) and the Texans (Aug. 15-16 in West Virginia).