Patriots slammed in NFLPA survey about facilities, working conditions
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 other Patriots news, the team has cut back on the number of coaches at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Most years, the Patriots coaching staff has joined front-office executives to help scout draft prospects.
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.
Waiting on Jones: With the official start to free agency is two weeks away, the Patriots still have time to lock up several of their in-house free agents. To this point, there’s been little movement on cornerback Jonathan Jones, who along with Jakobi Meyers, stand as the top Patriots set to hit the market on March 15.
According to a source, the Patriots have indicated they’d like to have Jones back. At this stage, however, there have been no substantive talks to that end.
Jones had long been a fixture as a slot corner, but moved out to the boundary this past season, posting career-highs in passes defensed (11), and interceptions (four). There’s an expectation of the two sides meeting this week at the NFL’S Scouting Combine with player agents also in Indianapolis.
Giants: Flores can sue team
A U.S. District court judge ruled Wednesday that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores can take his discrimination cases against the NFL, Giants, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans to an open federal court in front of a jury.
“Plaintiffs’ descriptions of their experiences of racial discrimination — which allegedly are only the most recent chapter in the NFL’S long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers — are incredibly troubling,” U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni wrote in her decision.
Caproni’s ruling means plaintiffs’ attorneys will have the ability to conduct depositions under oath of relevant parties, potentially including the likes of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Giants head coach Brian Daboll in answer to Flores’ allegations against the Giants.