New England Patriots links 3/06/24 – Roster-building 2024: Keeping the LB room strong

Daily news and links for Wednesday

TEAM TALK

• Patriots 2024 Mock Draft Tracker.
• Evan Lazar analyzes the Patriots placing the transition tag on Kyle Dugger, giving the club the right to match any offer to their standout safety in free agency.
• Mike Dussault examines the free agency forecast for the Patriots at Safety.
• Mike Dussault tackles this week’s Patriots Mailbag: Combine risers, late-round fits and the coming free agency frenzy.
• Paul Perillo’s NFL Notes: Slater’s impact reached well beyond the field.
• Patriots Unfiltered: Biggest NFL Combine takeaways, mock drafts, free agency preview. (2 hours)
• Patriots Draft Countdown: Mike Dussault and Evan Lazar talk with ESPN’s Field Yates about the possibilities for the Pats at the Draft and who the Patriots can take at third overall this year. (49 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike D’Abate talks about the Patriots attempting to keep safety Kyle Dugger for at least the upcoming season by applying the seldom-used transition tag on him.
• Alex Barth talks about what the transition tag means for Kyle Dugger and the team.
• Chris Mason gives us his predictions for all 11 of the Pats’ offensive free agents set to hit the market next week.
• Andrew Callahan previews 6 free agent wide receivers who could fit in New England.
• Alex Barth looks at how the Patriots will adjust to a thin wide receiver market in free agency.
• Sara Marshall picks 3 former Patriots she’d like to see return in 2024.
• Mark Daniels examines the Patriots roster at linebacker: The Pats have three LBs about to become free agents and they could also look at these five outside options to bolster their depth.
• Tom E. Curran examines the roster at Defensive Back: Would a Gilmore reunion make sense?
• Nick O’Malley notes Matthew Judon sure sounds like he’s ready to go after his season-ending injury in 2023.
• Nick O’Malley highlights Matthew Judon talking about how the worst part of his season-ending injury was the pain of having to take a shower.
• Matt Dolloff says New England is in dire need of a left tackle and a new report suggests they could could be in play for top tackle Tyron Smith in free agency.
• Alex Barth’s 2024 quarterback big board: Post-NFL Combine.
• Geoff Magliocchetti points to the Patriots appearing to pursue a quarterback like Jacoby Brissett as a hint that the team may draft one with the third overall pick this spring.
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike and Murph break down the QB prospects in the draft and discuss recently submitted mock drafts. (38 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com) The First Read: Five teams that must make a splash in NFL free agency. No Pats /?!?
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) NFL news roundup: Latest league updates.
• Jori Epstein (Yahoo! Sports) Winners and losers from NFL franchise tag deadline. Pats among winners.
• Matt Verderame (SI) Salary-cap space for every AFC team. The Patriots, Colts, Texans and Titans are loaded with more than $70 million to spend, while the Bills, Broncos, Chargers and Dolphins still have to dig out of big holes.
• Garrett Podell (CBS Sports) One key player each team can’t afford to lose in free agency this offseason. Patriots: Kyle Dugger. /I love Dugger but would have picked Mike Onwenu.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Top 101 free agents of 2024: Updated.
• Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame (SI) NFL 2024 Free Agency: The top 50 players available in 2024.
• Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) Top 25 free agents. No. 17 Trent Brown. No. 22 Mike Onwenu.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) Ranking best free agent crops from every team.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) Top nine quarterbacks available via free agency, draft or trade.
• Albert Breer (SI) The free agency market for Saquon Barkley, other RBs.
• Tyler Dragon (USA Today) NFL rumors: Saquon Barkley expected to have multiple suitors in free agency.
• Michael Rosenberg (SI) It’s time to find out the real key to the Tush Push. Now that Jason Kelce has retired, we might learn that he, not Jalen Hurts, was so crucial to the play in the Eagles’ offense.
• Lance Zierlein (NFL.com) 2024 NFL mock draft 2.0. Pats pick North Carolina QB Drake Maye at No. 3. “While Maye didn’t work out at the combine, the feedback from team sources was 100 percent positive regarding his interviews and work on the whiteboard. Let’s plug the QB into a QB-needy spot.”

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Andrew Bucholtz (Awful Announcing) Peyton Manning and Omaha Productions reportedly chasing Bill Belichick, possibly for alternate broadcasts with Nick Saban. /Must-see broadcast.
• Karen Guregian notes ‘Dynasty’ director Matt Hamachek doesn’t agree with the criticism that Bill Belichick is being portrayed as a villain.
• MassLive hears ‘Dynasty’ director explain Tom Brady’s absence in Aaron Hernandez episode: ‘I didn’t ask him any questions about Hernandez.’
• Chris Mason highlights the ‘Dynasty’ director on why two Patriots SBs didn’t get much screen time. /Already played out? But Hernandez wasn’t?!? Bullsh*t. He wanted scandal more than winning stories.
• Sam Neumann (Awful Announcing) Boston radio hosts refused to give Celtics credit for blowout win. This comes even though the Celtics hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 48-12 record and riding an 11-game winning streak. /Take a guess at which hosts, lol. Boston sports fans deserve so much better, but settle for this.