Belichick not interested in discussing deadline
FOXBOROUGH — Bill
Belichick wasn’t in the mood to talk about the NFL trade deadline Wednesday.
At his media availability, the Patriots coach was quizzed multiple times about the Tuesday deadline and New England’s decision to not make a move.
“Was the trade deadline a busy day?”
“We’re getting ready for Washington.”
“Were you close on any deals?” “Spent the time getting ready for Washington.”
Pressed about the Patriots’ lack of action with trades, Belichick sounded exasperated.
“Yeah, again, we talked about this the other day,” he said. “The personnel department. The coaching department. We talked about that last week. It’s just another day of that.
“If there was anything to talk about, we talked about it. If there wasn’t anything to talk about, then I worked on Washington. The personnel people worked on personnel things.”
The Patriots did make a move early in October when they acquired cornerback J.C. Jackson.
However, they ultimately decided not to make a trade prior to the deadline, despite reported interest from other teams in outside linebacker Josh Uche.
It was the third consecutive year New England did not make a deadline deal.
Departing words
Mac Jones and Hunter Henry, who were with the Patriots during Josh McDaniels’s last season as the New England offensive coordinator, were asked about the Raiders’ decision to fire McDaniels.
“I have a lot of respect for Josh and his family,” said Jones, who had his best season so far as a rookie in 2021 when McDaniels was the offensive coordinator. “I had a great experience with him. We have a good relationship.
“It’s a tough part of the business, but like I said, I have a lot of respect for Josh and his family and what he’s done for this place and all that, too. So, definitely, my thoughts are with him.
“He has a great family and he’s a great person. And a great football coach. So I definitely learned a lot from him.
“Right now, it’s hard for me because I’m trying to get ready for a game, right? And focus on what I can do better. I always take coaching points from all the coaches I’ve worked with; you kind of carry those along with you like your workbook in your head.”
“I have a lot of respect for Josh and I appreciated my time with him here,” said Henry. “Always feel bad to see that. You never want to see that, someone you worked with and put in a lot of hours with.”
Belichick was asked about the firing of McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, another former Patriot.
“Yeah, just heard about it this morning,” he said. “Just trying to get ready for Washington.”
On the possibility of the Patriots bringing back either one to New England, Belichick again said, “Just getting ready for Washington.”
One former Patriot who believes McDaniels has an excellent chance of returning to New England is Rob Gronkowski. Speaking with Kay Adams of FanDuel TV, Gronkowski said he thinks McDaniels could end up replacing Bill O’Brien.
“I feel like Billy O’Brien may be out of there after this year,” Gronkowski said. “So if that’s the case, I think Josh McDaniels comes back as offensive coordinator in New England, that’s for sure.”
Injury report
Wide receiver DeVante Parker (concussion), offensive tackles Calvin Anderson (illness) and Trent Brown (ankle/knee), and tight end Pharaoh Brown (back) did not practice. Parker sustained his injury in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins, while Anderson was on the injury report with an illness in the days leading up to the game in Miami. The Patriots also listed seven players as limited: Ja’Whaun Bentley (hamstring), Christian Barmore (knee), Myles Bryant (chest), Jonathan Jones (knee), Vederian Lowe (ankle), Uche (ankle/toe), and Deatrich Wise Jr. (shoulder) . . . As for Washington, four players missed practice: defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (not injury-related), cornerback Kendall Fuller (not injury-related), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (toe), and center Ricky Stromberg (knee) . . . Center David Andrews’s snap streak continues; he remains the only player on the roster to play every possible snap (508 of 508) through eight games. Including last season, Andrews has a streak of 14 consecutive games without a missed snap. Safety Kyle Dugger (529 snaps) leads the defense at 95.8 percent.