New England Patriots links 2/28/24 – Mayo says Pats not taking shots at Belichick

Daily news and links for Wednesday.

TEAM TALK

• Evan Lazar gives us his top takeaways from Jerod Mayo’s media availability at the NFL Combine.
• Evan Lazar notes Eliot Wolf sat down with Patriots.com to discuss free agency, the NFL draft, and more from Indy.
• Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Patriots Mailbag: Should the Pats pass on QB?
• Alexandra Francisco reports Davon Godchaux marries model Chanel Iman while sailing the Caribbean Sea on a yacht. /Congrats!
• Press Conferences: Jerod Mayo – Eliot Wolf.
• NFL Combine Day 1 Recap: Breaking down Eliot Wolf’s availability in Indianapolis. (8 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered: NFL Combine kicks off, Eliot Wolf interview, Potential trades. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss reports Patriots scouting director Eliot Wolf confirmed Tuesday at the NFL combine that he has been given final decision-making authority on personnel, which includes the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
• Karen Guregian hears from Eliot Wolf on what he would consider a successful season for the Patriots.
• Michael Hurley relays Eliot Wolf bluntly describing the difference from Belichick’s regime: “Less of a hard-ass vibe.”
• Sara Marshall notes Eliot Wolf spoke to the media for the first time since becoming the Patriots de facto GM this week, and he just promised fans their dream team for 2024.
• Jerry Thornton thinks that now we’ve finally heard from new GM (without the title) Eliot Wolf, it’s safe to assume we’ve seen the last of Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
• Karen Guregian highlights Eliot Wolf addressing whether he’d be willing to trade the No. 3 pick. “As we continue through the process here, we’ll determine what’s best for the team.” /Hm… sounds familiar.
• Mark Daniels explains how Eliot Wolf plans to bring the ‘Packers Way’ to the Patriots.
• WEEI guest Tom E. Curran discusses his takeaways from Eliot Wolf’s press conference. (14 min.) “Read the room a little bit. Despite the fact the Patriots haven’t been great the last few years, and I’ve been very critical of a lot of decisions they’ve made. You want to stay away from grave dancing because it was the greatest dynasty in NFL history. I think these guys feel a little bit liberated and they do want to do things a different way… but everything they say infers what the changes are. And when you say, as Eliot Wolf did at the end talking about the Packer way, which is honest and open and treating people the right way, it immediately infers that’s a departure from the Patriots way. They need to be way more cognizant of what the fanbase is feeling right now. …”
• Darren Hartwell relays Jerod Mayo insisting that the Patriots are not taking shots at Bill Belichick, in spite of them all taking shots at Bill Belichick.
• Kellen Coleman offers some way-too-early predictions for the Patriots 2024 season. 1. Rhamondre Stevenson bounces back.
• Christopher Price’s Patriots Mailbag: What were the best and worst things about ‘The Dynasty’?
• Patriots Daily podcast: Taylor Kyles and Miguel ‘Pats Cap’ Benzan talk about the NFL’s salary cap increase, how it affects the Patriots, and more. (1 hour)
• Pats Procrastination podcast: Clare and Chudders are back to discuss the NFL’s new salary cap, the combine and more! (36 min.)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike and Murph discuss the Combine, potential Patriots draft targets, the latest mock drafts and more. (36 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Conor Orr (SI) Patriots begin necessary departure from Bill Belichick; New England’s director of scouting took a big step toward the organization’s new era, toeing a delicate line of public perception following an all-time great. /Toeing a delicate line? More like boot-stomping, lol.
• Matt Verderame (SI) 2024 NFL Combine Notebook: Chiefs working to keep Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed in the fold; Plus, Eagles have decisions to make, John Harbaugh talks Lamar Jackson, and Dan Campbell admits one regret from NFC championship loss to the 49ers.
• Albert Breer (SI) Combine Notebook: The Bears are rightly addressing the QB-sized elephant in the room; Plus, what else we’re hearing ahead of the NFL combine.
• Timothy Rapp (Bleacher Report) Draft 2024 Rumors: Patriots, Commanders could trade down instead of taking QB.
• Nate Tice (Yahoo! Sports) Jayden Daniels’ draft stock has risen more than anyone, but will he live up to it? A dive into the all-22 tape and looked to see if Daniels’ late rise on the board is justified and how real the growth of his game has been.
• Andrew Brandt (SI) Business of Football: Business at the 2024 Combine means it’s time for the front office to shine.
• NFL Nation (ESPN) 32 NFL players who need a change of scenery this offseason. Patriots: QB Mac Jones.
• Matt Okada (NFL.com) 2024 NFL free agency: 15 boom-or-bust players on the market, including Baker Mayfield, Derrick Henry.
• Ryan Fowler (Bleacher Report) Identifying every NFL team’s dream draft target in 2024. Patriots: QB Drake Maye.
• Bucky Brooks (SI) 2024 NFL mock draft 2.0. Pats pick North Carolina QB Drake Maye.
• Mitch Goldich (SI) A backup quarterback quiz to remember the 2023 season. /No thanks. Really. I’m good.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Stephen Jones: Proposal to change fumble through end zone rule “died.”
• Todd Archer (ESPN) NFL Competition Committee to pitch kickoff rule change.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Browns, other teams propose pushing trade deadline back two weeks.

DEFLATEGATE

• Tim Crowley highlights retiring NFL writer Peter King discussing his biggest career regret was getting his deflategate reporting wrong.
• Michael Hurley’s story from May, 2018 notes how Peter King’s deflategate reporting error led to him offering his resignation from Sports Illustrated.