Mills elated to meet Belichick
Pats new DB brings versatility
Patriots defensive back Jalen Mills will never forget the first time he met Bill Belichick.
Shortly after signing with the Pats last week, Mills flew to New England, where he joined the team’s other free-agent additions for a day of introductions and on-boarding. According to Mills, he didn’t speak with Belichick until his new head coach interrupted a conversation he was sharing with the Patriots’ nutritionist in the team cafeteria. When Mills wheeled around, he “lost it.”
Here is Mills’ full retelling of the encounter, as told to reporters on Monday.
“I’m about to walk out of the cafeteria, and I just hear, ‘Hey, Jalen.’ So I turned around, and it’s coach, right? In my mind, I’m saying, ‘OK, this is coach.’ But it really didn’t click that it was coach Belichick. So, he’s just talking to me, telling me, ‘(I’m) happy to have you, glad for you to be here. I’m excited for you to be here.’
“And I literally turned my back to him, and I screamed out loud, “This is coach Belichick!’ Excuse my language — but I’m like ‘This is (expletive) coach Belichick!’ I screamed it loud. And then I turned back around, and he was still monotone, regular, just having a casual conversation.”
Mills signed a 4-year contract worth up to $24 million with $9 million guaranteed. The Patriots can release him at minimal cost after two years.
Mills, 26, is expected to help fill the void left by Patrick Chung, who announced his retirement Thursday. Mills played more than 100 snaps as a free safety, box safety, outside corner and slot corner last season in Philadelphia. After his outburst, Mills said Belichick complimented his versatility and expressed excitement about how he would be utilized in the team’s defense.
Welker prepped Bourne for NE
Kendrick Bourne had no idea he would be signing with the Patriots last week until a couple hours before the rest of the world did.
Once the news broke, the former 49ers wideout heard from an old teammate and coach who knew exactly what to expect.
San Francisco wide receivers coach Wes Welker told Bourne he made a “great” decision to sign in New England, the young wideout said Monday. Bourne joined the Pats upon inking a 3-year, $15 million contract worth up to $22.5 million in free agency. He is expected to be in the starting mix, after he set career highs in catches (49) and receiving yards (667) last season.
“(Welker) told me great place, great decision I picked and how they work hard there. Everything is earned, and that was the biggest thing,” Bourne said. “When I heard that … it was a no-brainer. (Welker) had a lot of stories, man; lot of winning stories, lot of good times there. I learned a lot from that guy in San Francisco.”
Bourne also shared he spoke with 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who raved about his time as a Patriot. Garoppolo told Bourne he never expected to be traded in October 2017, but developed as a player and as a person over his three and a half years in Foxboro. Garoppolo also shared small insights into the playbook, which Bourne said he’s already studying.
According to Bourne, Belichick stressed the importance of mastering the team’s playbook when the two met last week by relaying a story about one of Welker’s former teammates: Randy Moss. Belichick said Moss, who missed his entire first preseason with the Patriots, focused all offseason and summer on his playbook while he was sidelined with an injury. When he finally hit the field, Moss set an NFL record for most receiving touchdowns in a season, his best as a pro.
Coming off his own best season to date, Bourne believes he’s more than ready to repeat the feat.
“If I can go out there comfortable, knowing exactly what I need to do, I know I’ll be successful,” Bourne said. “I believe in my game that much. It’s going to be an awesome year, man.”
Anderson crosses enemy lines
Henry Anderson admitted Monday what he never could wearing Jets green or Colts white.
He is a fan of the Patriots defense.
“I’ve admired that defense for a while now,” Anderson told reporters via video conference. “They do a lot of different things on film. A lot of smart guys that are able to handle a lot of different roles and do what they’re asked to do.”
Anderson was one of the eight players the Pats signed in the opening 24 hours of free agency last week. The 29-year-old played the last three years with the Jets after spending his first three NFL seasons in Indianapolis. Anderson said he’s long believed he would fit with the Patriots, given his career’s worth of experience playing in a 3-4 defense that dates to college.
Now, the 6-foot-7, 301pounder expects to bounce around the Pats’ multiple front and finds himself eager to help restore their run defense. Anderson started eight of 16 games last year in New York, making 42 tackles while ranking among the NFL’s stoutest run-stoppers at Pro Football Focus.
Anderson has come a long way from his first encounter with the franchise, when he worked out for the Patriots as a college prospect at Stanford in 2015. He remembered a team evaluator, possibly Nick Caserio, running his workout and nearly running him into the ground.
“I about passed out on the field I was so tired,” Anderson said. “That was one of the more exhausted I’ve ever been in my life. They put us through the ringer… that Pro Day still haunts me.”
But not enough to keep him from signing with a division rival, no longer a secret admirer.