Rapp, Flowers make Foxboro visits
As NFL free agency finally slowed down Thursday, the Patriots picked up their pace. Not with signings, but visits. The Patriots hosted five players on free-agent visits, a group headlined by Rams safety Taylor Rapp and former Pats defensive lineman Trey Flowers. Rapp, 26, has made 48 career starts, including some at free safety, where the team recently lost Devin McCourty to retirement. The 6-foot, 208-pounder has six interceptions over the last two seasons and brings some positional versatility.
Last year, Rapp tallied 92 tackles, six pass deflections and two picks. He entered the league as a second-round pick out of Washington in 2019. If signed, Rapp would join Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips and the newly re-signed Jabrill Peppers, a group bereft of a traditional free safety.
Flowers is coming off an injuryplagued season in Miami, where he played four games and recorded four tackles and a QB hit. Flowers last played for the Pats in 2018 before leaving for a five-year, $90 million contract in Detroit, a stint that lasted three seasons.
The Patriots also hosted exLions linebacker Chris Board, a core special teamer Bill Belichick raved about last season. Before the Pats hosted Detroit in Week 5, Belichick said of the 27-yearold: “Board, that’s the best special teams player we’ll play against all year. He’s a great player.”
Board posted 21 tackles and a forced fumble last season between his snaps on special teams and as a defensive reserve. He started his career with a fouryear stint in Baltimore, where he played from 2018-21 and started two games.
One of the Patriots’ core special teamers entering last season, safety Cody Davis, remains a free agent.
Another linebacker, Miami’s Andrew Van Ginkel, visited and left without a contract. He started five of 17 games last season, rackling up 47 tackles, four QB hits and an interception. The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder projects as a depth piece for the Patriots and is regarded as an excellent run defender. Van Ginkel is scheduled to visit Las Vegas on Friday.
According to the NFL Network, Vikings receiver Bisi Johnson flew in Thursday. Johnson is a four-year veteran who hasn’t played in a game since 2020 after suffering an ACL tear in each knee. He has 483 yards and three touchdowns for his career. Johnson started nine of 32 games over 2019 and 2020, including a brief spell where he was ahead of then rookie Justin Jefferson.
Johnson entered the league as a seventh-round pick from Colorado State in 2019. After reaching terms with JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Pats’ receiver depth includes Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton.
Source: Wilson re-signs
The Patriots have re-signed linebacker Mack Wilson to a oneyear deal, according to a source.
Wilson can earn up to $2.2 million, per the NFL Network, and drew interest from the Browns, his former team, and Houston.
Wilson returns after starting three of 17 games over his first season in New England. He totaled 36 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Wilson had his defensive role diminish as the year progressed, however, seeing zero defensive snaps over the last five weeks when it was also reported he wouldn’t re-sign.
Wilson continued to contribute on special teams, but lost his role as the team’s lone linebacker in packages with six defensive backs to defensive captain Ja’Whaun Bentley. The 25-year-old is the Pats’ most athletic linebacker, who is believed to have more upside than he’s shown through four NFL seasons.
Last week, the Patriots resigned veteran Raekwon McMillan and extended fellow linebacker Jahlani Tavai midseason. With Wilson returning, the Pats will have their entire linebacking corps intact heading into training camp this summer.
Report: Cardona back on four-year deal
The Patriots have re-signed long snapper Joe Cardona to a four-year deal with a $1 million signing bonus, a source confirmed to the Herald.
Cardona, 30, is the team’s second-longest tenured player after special teams captain Mathew Slater. The Patriots selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. Cardona is viewed as an important locker room leader.
He becomes the 11th free agent the Patriots have retained this offseason, including restricted free agents the team has tendered. The lone exceptions have been safety Devin McCourty, who retired, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who signed with the Raiders.
JuJu, Reiff contract details
Initially billed as a three-year, $33 million contract, JuJu SmithSchuster’s pact with the Patriots is actually a bit smaller.
According to reports, SmithSchuster’s new deal carries a base value of $25.5 million, which can reach $33 million total through incentives added in 2024 and 2025. His $16 million guaranteed is baked into the first two years of the deal, indicating SmithSchuster should be with the Patriots through the 2024 season but perhaps not 2025. Jakobi Meyers’ contract in Las Vegas — another three-year deal with a maximum value of $33 million — includes $21 million guaranteed, though half of that hinges on Meyers remaining on the roster through next March.
The Raiders could cut him without penalty, whereas the Patriots offered less guaranteed money to Smith-Schuster but better long-term security.
As for offensive tackle Riley Reiff, the Pats’ biggest free-agent splash before signing SmithSchuster on Wednesday, he projects as a lock to make the 2023 roster. Reiff agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with $4.15 million guaranteed. The 34-yearold might start at right tackle or could serve as a swing tackle, pending the Patriots’ selections in the NFL Draft and upcoming position battles in training camp.