Source: No serious talks with Jones
INDIANAPOLIS >> With the start of NFL free agency just two weeks away, the Patriots still have time to lock up several of their in-house free agents.
Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and cornerback Jonathan Jones are at the top of the list. To date, the Patriots have indicated they’d like to have Jones back, but they have not engaged in serious contract talks, according to a source. It’s expected the two sides will meet here this week at the NFL Combine.
Jones is coming off a career year with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He moved to outside corner in training camp after a career spent covering the slot and moonlighting at safety. Jones, 29, is the Patriots’ best cornerback, though he struggled to match opposing No. 1 wideouts such as Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson down the stretch last season.
The Pats’ remaining corner depth consists of Jalen Mills, 2022 draft picks Jack Jones and Marcus Jones, and Myles Bryant, a restricted free agent.
After the team’s season finale in Buffalo last January, Jones expressed a desire to stay in New England.
“We’ll see. As an organization, they have decisions to make. We’ll see how the offseason goes,” Jones told the Herald. “I love being here. This is where I started my career. This is where I’ve been so far. It’s all I’ve known (in football) as an adult. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Last offseason, the Patriots were reluctant to pay top dollar for their best cornerback, J.C. Jackson. He ultimately landed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Chargers, an offer the Pats were never close to matching. Losing Jones would create a major hole in the secondary, which the Patriots could patch by signing an external free-agent such as Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean or the Eagles’ James Bradberry.
Pats slammed in NFLPA survey
According to an NFLPA survey of 1,300 players, the Patriots offer some of the worst working conditions in the NFL, ranking 24th out of the league’s 32 clubs.
The inaugural survey, entitled NFL Player Team Report Cards, was established to “highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards,” per the NFLPA’s web site. Players anonymously rated the quality of their teams’ facilities and their daily work experience in eight categories: locker room, travel, training staff, strength staff, training room, weight room, nutrition and treatment of families.
The Patriots’ training staff rated highest with an A grade, while their weight room received the lowest mark of a D. Overall, players expressed concerns about the team’s facility, describing it as “old, dated and in need of renovation.” Gillette Stadium is currently undergoing a $225 million renovation that is expected to rehouse the team’s football operations department by the start of the 2023 season.
Players also raised issues over staffing the weight room and training room. Per the report, only 64% of players believe club owner Robert Kraft is willing to spend the money necessary for upgrades. Kraft ranks 26th among the 32 owners in this category.
The Patriots’ nutrition program, which received a B grade, was the only other area where the team ranked above average relative to the rest of the league. Their remaining grades and rankings were as follows: locker room (C+/18th), training room (C-/22nd), treatment of families (C-/22nd), travel (D+/25th), strength staff (B+/28th) and weight room (D/31st).
In a public letter, NFLPA President JC Tretter wrote of the report cards: “We don’t want this to be a oneyear project. Our intent is to continue to field player opinions and feedback every year. As we have carefully noted, these Club Report Cards are a snapshot of opinions during one period in time, and those opinions can change if the clubs make decisions that impact the player experience in the workplace.”
The Vikings earned the NFLPA’s highest grades, followed by the Dolphins and Raiders. The Commanders ranked dead last with four F or F- grades.
Coaches scarce in Indy
Most years, the Patriots coaching staff has joined front-office executives at the NFL Combine to help scout draft prospects .
Last year, the Pats kept their offensive coaches at home, while the defensive staff traveled.
This year, only four Patriot assistants make up the team’s dwindling contingent in Indianapolis.
According to sources, Patriots wide receivers coach Troy Brown and cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino are expected to travel to the combine and join special teams coordinator Cam Achord and special teams assistant Joe Houston, who arrived earlier this week. Achord and Houston will scout kickers and punters throughout the week and run workouts on Friday. Team interviews with prospects began Monday night and will run through Saturday. The last on-field workouts will finish Sunday.
Director of player personnel Matt Groh led a small group of Patriots front-office evaluators into Indianapolis on Monday, when other scouts and organization members soon followed. The coaches who did not attend are concluding a self-scouting process and preparing for free agency. It has become increasingly common for coaches to skip the combine, with the Rams, Chargers and Packers all keeping most of their coaches at home.
The Patriots coaching staff has already had a major hand in draft preparation, working with projected Day 2 and Day 3 prospects at the East-West Shrine Bowl starting in late January. Several of those prospects spoke well of their experience with the staff during media interviews Wednesday.
Extra points
During a Wednesday morning appearance on NFL Network, Chargers GM Tom Telesco seemed to ruled out trading Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen saying, “To me, he’s our Andre Reed. He’s our Charlie Joiner. He’s an incredible football player. … There’s never been any thought of that.” Allen is a potential Patriots’ trade target considering his sizable salary and the Chargers’ cap woes … Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell, a projected mid-round pick, praised the work new Patriots offensive line coach Adrian Klemm did with the the Ducks’ offensive line last year saying, “He for sure definitely got our O-linemen right. Just the technique standpoint was on a whole different level from the previous years. I feel like he did a great job with our O-linemen this year.” … Draft prospects who said they’ve met with the Patriots at the combine include Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson, West Virginia defensive lineman Dante Stills and Texas nose tackle Keondre Coburn.