Jerod Mayo has been announced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots. He replaces Bill Belichick, who left the Patriots after 24 seasons with the team, delivering six Super Bowls to the franchise. Mayo will be officially introduced as the Patriots’ new coach at a press conference on Wednesday.

A month younger than Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, the 37-year-old Mayo will be the youngest head coach currently in the NFL. “I feel like I’m prepared. I feel like I’m ready,” Mayo said following his appointment. “I coach out of love. Once you build that relationship with a guy, you can be tough on the players.”4

During his playing career, Mayo was a linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 until 2015, named as team captain during his second season with the Patriots. Following his retirement, Mayo served on Belichick’s coaching staff in 2019 as the Patriots’ linebackers coach.

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Free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott made his way to Massachusetts on Saturday to visit the New England Patriots, sources revealed to ESPN. This comes as the Patriots are reportedly looking to recruit someone in Elliott’s role as they prepare to perfect their running game when training in full pads next week.

Elliott was released by the Dallas Cowboys on March 15 after managing just 876 rushing yards in 2022; a career low. Still, Elliott was able to score 12 touchdowns while remaining a top short-yardage back and pass protector.

While this is Elliott’s first free-agent visit, he is not the first unattached player that the Patriots have hosted in recent times. Fellow free agents Leonard Fournette and Darrell Henderson visited the Patriots’ practice facility last week, while Dalvin Cook has also been linked with the team. Cook is also expected to visit the New York Jets in the coming days.

“Dalvin’s another player, this is a really, really unique situation — you don’t typically have players of this caliber available at this time,” director of player personnel Matt Groh explained, exhibiting an interest in the player.

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The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stated that he and his team will not look back at their past championship success while preparing for the upcoming NFL season. Belichick has been coaching the Patriots for the past 23 years.

“We’re not resting on our past laurels; that’s not the message to the team or the fans,” Belichick stated. “We have never operated that way and aren’t now.”

Belichick clarified his stance after he held a Q&A session with a large group of reporters at the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. During that session, Belichick referred to his history with the team when asked about reasons for why fans should be confident about the Patriots’ prospects this season.

During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick has led the team to six Super Bowl Championships and nine AFC division titles. His record is 292-120 during the regular season and 30-12 during the playoffs.

Currently put at 70-1 to win this season’s Super Bowl by Caesars Sportsbook, these are the lowest odds that the Patriots have faced since the 100-1 in 1993. In 2001, however, the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI despite facing over 50-1 odds.

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Free agent tight end Mike Gesicki has agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, sources revealed on Friday. His deal is expected to be worth $9 million.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick expressed his admiration for Gesicki before the tight end’s arrivial, saying of him: “He’s a hard guy to cover. Long. Crafty route runner. He can get down the field. Very good hands. Makes some acrobatic catches, has enough quickness to separate. He’s really, I would say, more of a big receiver than a true tight end, but he functions a little bit in that spot.”

Gesicki had his best season in 2021, which was followed by an underwhelming 2022, where he appeared to struggle to fit in with the Miami Dolphins’ setup. He was able to catch just 32 passes for 362 yards, his lowest totals in both categories since his 2018 rookie season.

Upon joining the Patriots, Gesicki is expected to line up with veteran Hunter Henry to create the tight-end duo the Patriots hoped for when signing Jonnu Smith alongside Henry. Smith was traded to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

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The New England Patriots always seem to find ways to win close games under Bill Belichick. That was the case on Sunday when the Pats beat the division rivals New York Jets thanks to a punt return touchdown in the dying seconds of the game.

The game itself was a defensive standoff that saw no team managing to come up with anything that would seem like a functional offense. Both the Pats and Jets managed to only get a field goal apiece in the second quarter and entered the final 30 seconds of the game tied 3-3.

The Jets had the ball at the point, but their drive didn’t go anywhere so they sent their punter Braden Mann to the field. New England’s punt returner Marcus Jones got the punt at the 16-yard line and proceeded to dash and slice through the tackles to deliver the ball in the end zone and give the Pats a memorable win.

“How that game ended was phenomenal,” said Patriots captain Deatrich Wise Jr. “I think it was almost like a movie script in a sense. I think of all the football movies — “Rudy,” “Any Given Sunday” and “Remember the Titans” — this beats it.”

Interestingly, this was the first punt returned for a touchdown in the 2022 NFL season. It was also New England’s first kickoff or punt return TD in the fourth quarter since 2002.

The Patriots improved to a 6-4 record win the win and look in good shape to fight for the playoff spot. The New York Jets are also 6-4 but now have their work cut out for them since New England owns the tiebreaker.

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Jake Bailey has agreed to sign a new four-year deal with the New England Patriots worth $13.5 million. The contract includes $6.5 fully guaranteed.

Prior to signing the new contract, Bailey was entering the final year of his Rookie contract, carrying a salary cap of $4.05 million, which happened to be the second-highest of all NFL punters. The new contract will see his cap drop to $1.85 million, thereby raising the Patriots’ overall cap up to $4.75 million.

The decision to sign Bailey on a new contract comes as no surprise given his 49 punts and 47.3-yard average; the eighth best in the NFL overall. He is widely renowned for his powerful left leg which has come to the Patriots’ rescue especially during the colder and windier weather conditions in New England during the later stages of the NFL season.

A first-team All-Pro in 2020, this was a breakthrough season for Bailey, during which he punted for a 48.7 average and 45.6 net and conceded just five touchbacks.

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The New England Patriots are going old school this season. The franchise just announced that they would bring back their old red uniforms and white helmets with the “Pat Patriot” logo at some point in 2022.

The Pats made the announcement via video shot in the style of the popular movie franchise Back to the Future.

“Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me the red uniforms are back?” wrote the Patriots’ social media team in the caption.

This may come as a surprise for some people, but red was the dominant color for the New England Patriots until the early 90s. Change of ownership in 1993 resulted in a look overhaul that included adopting the royal blue as the team’s home jersey color. Navy blue and silver followed in 2000, while white kept its place as dominant for the away jersey. Finally, the team adopted the “Color Rush” edition of their jersey as the primary uniform starting in 2019.

This won’t be the first time the Pats did the red uniform since changing colors. The team wore them occasionally since 1994, with the last time being in 2012 in a game against the New York Jets. After that, the league imposed the one-helmet rule, and New England decided not to mix red uniforms with their standard silver helmets. The rule was abolished last year.

“We wanted to stay pure to that original throwback, and so that’s why we waited and kept lobbying the league to change it back,” said the Patriots on the team’s official website.

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The New England Patriots are struggling this season and look far from the dominant force they were in the NFL for the past two decades. This Pats’ slip isn’t sitting well with the franchise legend Julian Edelman who recently decided to call out his former team for bad performance in 2021.

“The Patriots just aren’t the Patriots right now, and it hurts me to say this,” Edelman said during his appearance as a panelist on Inside the NFL. “They are not the Patriots. We are so used to seeing the last 20 years. I know there’s different players and this, that, but there’s still a group of guys in there that know how they should play.”

Edelman added that New England players need to be held accountable and start playing “mistake-free” football. To his point, the mistakes were the story for the Patriots so far in the season as they turned over the ball 11 times and had several special teams errors, including two blocked punts.

If anyone can speak like this about the New England Patriots, it’s Julian Edelman. He was there for the franchise’s glory days and knows how to win football games. Edelman spent 12 years with the Patriots and helped them win three Super Bowls while also claiming Super Bowl LIII MVP honors. He retired from football following the injury-plagued 2020 NFL season.

The Pats are currently sitting at a 2-4 record and may not see the playoffs for the second straight year. This would be the first time for the franchise to miss out on the postseason in consecutive seasons since 2000.

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The New England Patriots’ QB room became a bit more crowded on Tuesday. The organization decided to re-sign veteran Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal, adding a fourth quarterback to their roster ahead of the training camp. Hoyer’s agency JL Sports announced the news on social media, with the Pats later confirming the move as well.

Hoyer opened the 2020 NFL season as Cam Newton’s backup but was dropped to No. 3 on the depth chart behind Jarrett Stidham as the campaign progressed. The 35-year-old player got one start last season, throwing for 130 yards and having one interception against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.

Hoyer was reportedly an option for several teams earlier in the offseason and visited the New York Jets in early April. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, which opened the way for his return to New England.

This will be Brian Hoyer’s seventh season with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2009. He spent three years in his first stint with the organization before returning in 2017. Hoyer then left again in 2019 to play with the Indianapolis Colts, only to return a year later.

Throughout his NFL career, Hoyer also played with the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Chicago Bears, among other teams. He has 10,404 career passing yards with 52 touchdowns and 35 interceptions.

It remains to be seen what role the Pats have in store for Hoyer. Besides having Newton and Stidham as their QB options, the organization also took Alabama’s Mac Jones in this year’s draft.

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New England Patriots veteran safety Patrick Chung won’t go through with his plan to return to the NFL in 2021. Instead, Chung chose to retire, announcing his decision on social media on Thursday.

Chung opted out of the 2020 season but told the media earlier this year that he has every intention to continue playing. However, the 33-year-old veteran surprisingly changed his mind in recent weeks and went down the retirement route.

Posting a statement on Instagram, Chung thanked the Pats’ organization, fans, and family, and added that “it’s time to start a new life”.

While Chung would be a great veteran option for New England, his decision to retire isn’t expected to hurt the team too much. The Patriots already stocked up on the safety position, bringing in Jalen Mills in the offseason. They also have starters Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips on board, as well as 2020’s second-round pick Kyle Dugger.

Patrick Chung entered the league in 2009 as the Pats’ second-round selection and spent his entire career with the franchise aside from a one-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. As a Patriot, Chung won three Super Bowls while being selected to the New England Patriots 2010s All-Decade Team.

Chung retires with 773 career tackles, 56 pass deflections, 11 interceptions, and 4.5 sacks.

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Jerod Mayo has been announced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots. He replaces Bill Belichick, who left the Patriots after 24 seasons with the team, delivering six Super Bowls to the franchise. Mayo will be officially introduced as the Patriots’ new coach at a press conference on Wednesday.

A month younger than Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, the 37-year-old Mayo will be the youngest head coach currently in the NFL. “I feel like I’m prepared. I feel like I’m ready,” Mayo said following his appointment. “I coach out of love. Once you build that relationship with a guy, you can be tough on the players.”4

During his playing career, Mayo was a linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 until 2015, named as team captain during his second season with the Patriots. Following his retirement, Mayo served on Belichick’s coaching staff in 2019 as the Patriots’ linebackers coach.

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Free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott made his way to Massachusetts on Saturday to visit the New England Patriots, sources revealed to ESPN. This comes as the Patriots are reportedly looking to recruit someone in Elliott’s role as they prepare to perfect their running game when training in full pads next week.

Elliott was released by the Dallas Cowboys on March 15 after managing just 876 rushing yards in 2022; a career low. Still, Elliott was able to score 12 touchdowns while remaining a top short-yardage back and pass protector.

While this is Elliott’s first free-agent visit, he is not the first unattached player that the Patriots have hosted in recent times. Fellow free agents Leonard Fournette and Darrell Henderson visited the Patriots’ practice facility last week, while Dalvin Cook has also been linked with the team. Cook is also expected to visit the New York Jets in the coming days.

“Dalvin’s another player, this is a really, really unique situation — you don’t typically have players of this caliber available at this time,” director of player personnel Matt Groh explained, exhibiting an interest in the player.

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The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stated that he and his team will not look back at their past championship success while preparing for the upcoming NFL season. Belichick has been coaching the Patriots for the past 23 years.

“We’re not resting on our past laurels; that’s not the message to the team or the fans,” Belichick stated. “We have never operated that way and aren’t now.”

Belichick clarified his stance after he held a Q&A session with a large group of reporters at the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. During that session, Belichick referred to his history with the team when asked about reasons for why fans should be confident about the Patriots’ prospects this season.

During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick has led the team to six Super Bowl Championships and nine AFC division titles. His record is 292-120 during the regular season and 30-12 during the playoffs.

Currently put at 70-1 to win this season’s Super Bowl by Caesars Sportsbook, these are the lowest odds that the Patriots have faced since the 100-1 in 1993. In 2001, however, the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI despite facing over 50-1 odds.

The post Bill Belichick Clarifies Patriots’ Mentality Heading Into New Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Free agent tight end Mike Gesicki has agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, sources revealed on Friday. His deal is expected to be worth $9 million.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick expressed his admiration for Gesicki before the tight end’s arrivial, saying of him: “He’s a hard guy to cover. Long. Crafty route runner. He can get down the field. Very good hands. Makes some acrobatic catches, has enough quickness to separate. He’s really, I would say, more of a big receiver than a true tight end, but he functions a little bit in that spot.”

Gesicki had his best season in 2021, which was followed by an underwhelming 2022, where he appeared to struggle to fit in with the Miami Dolphins’ setup. He was able to catch just 32 passes for 362 yards, his lowest totals in both categories since his 2018 rookie season.

Upon joining the Patriots, Gesicki is expected to line up with veteran Hunter Henry to create the tight-end duo the Patriots hoped for when signing Jonnu Smith alongside Henry. Smith was traded to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

The post Patriots Sign Mike Gesicki On One-Year Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots always seem to find ways to win close games under Bill Belichick. That was the case on Sunday when the Pats beat the division rivals New York Jets thanks to a punt return touchdown in the dying seconds of the game.

The game itself was a defensive standoff that saw no team managing to come up with anything that would seem like a functional offense. Both the Pats and Jets managed to only get a field goal apiece in the second quarter and entered the final 30 seconds of the game tied 3-3.

The Jets had the ball at the point, but their drive didn’t go anywhere so they sent their punter Braden Mann to the field. New England’s punt returner Marcus Jones got the punt at the 16-yard line and proceeded to dash and slice through the tackles to deliver the ball in the end zone and give the Pats a memorable win.

“How that game ended was phenomenal,” said Patriots captain Deatrich Wise Jr. “I think it was almost like a movie script in a sense. I think of all the football movies — “Rudy,” “Any Given Sunday” and “Remember the Titans” — this beats it.”

Interestingly, this was the first punt returned for a touchdown in the 2022 NFL season. It was also New England’s first kickoff or punt return TD in the fourth quarter since 2002.

The Patriots improved to a 6-4 record win the win and look in good shape to fight for the playoff spot. The New York Jets are also 6-4 but now have their work cut out for them since New England owns the tiebreaker.

The post Patriots Steal the Win Against the Jets With Walk-Off Punt Return TD appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Jake Bailey has agreed to sign a new four-year deal with the New England Patriots worth $13.5 million. The contract includes $6.5 fully guaranteed.

Prior to signing the new contract, Bailey was entering the final year of his Rookie contract, carrying a salary cap of $4.05 million, which happened to be the second-highest of all NFL punters. The new contract will see his cap drop to $1.85 million, thereby raising the Patriots’ overall cap up to $4.75 million.

The decision to sign Bailey on a new contract comes as no surprise given his 49 punts and 47.3-yard average; the eighth best in the NFL overall. He is widely renowned for his powerful left leg which has come to the Patriots’ rescue especially during the colder and windier weather conditions in New England during the later stages of the NFL season.

A first-team All-Pro in 2020, this was a breakthrough season for Bailey, during which he punted for a 48.7 average and 45.6 net and conceded just five touchbacks.

The post New England Patriots Sign Jake Bailey On Four-Year Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots are going old school this season. The franchise just announced that they would bring back their old red uniforms and white helmets with the “Pat Patriot” logo at some point in 2022.

The Pats made the announcement via video shot in the style of the popular movie franchise Back to the Future.

“Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me the red uniforms are back?” wrote the Patriots’ social media team in the caption.

This may come as a surprise for some people, but red was the dominant color for the New England Patriots until the early 90s. Change of ownership in 1993 resulted in a look overhaul that included adopting the royal blue as the team’s home jersey color. Navy blue and silver followed in 2000, while white kept its place as dominant for the away jersey. Finally, the team adopted the “Color Rush” edition of their jersey as the primary uniform starting in 2019.

This won’t be the first time the Pats did the red uniform since changing colors. The team wore them occasionally since 1994, with the last time being in 2012 in a game against the New York Jets. After that, the league imposed the one-helmet rule, and New England decided not to mix red uniforms with their standard silver helmets. The rule was abolished last year.

“We wanted to stay pure to that original throwback, and so that’s why we waited and kept lobbying the league to change it back,” said the Patriots on the team’s official website.

The post Patriots to Bring Back Red Uniforms in 2022 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots are struggling this season and look far from the dominant force they were in the NFL for the past two decades. This Pats’ slip isn’t sitting well with the franchise legend Julian Edelman who recently decided to call out his former team for bad performance in 2021.

“The Patriots just aren’t the Patriots right now, and it hurts me to say this,” Edelman said during his appearance as a panelist on Inside the NFL. “They are not the Patriots. We are so used to seeing the last 20 years. I know there’s different players and this, that, but there’s still a group of guys in there that know how they should play.”

Edelman added that New England players need to be held accountable and start playing “mistake-free” football. To his point, the mistakes were the story for the Patriots so far in the season as they turned over the ball 11 times and had several special teams errors, including two blocked punts.

If anyone can speak like this about the New England Patriots, it’s Julian Edelman. He was there for the franchise’s glory days and knows how to win football games. Edelman spent 12 years with the Patriots and helped them win three Super Bowls while also claiming Super Bowl LIII MVP honors. He retired from football following the injury-plagued 2020 NFL season.

The Pats are currently sitting at a 2-4 record and may not see the playoffs for the second straight year. This would be the first time for the franchise to miss out on the postseason in consecutive seasons since 2000.

The post Julian Edelman Says Patriots Aren’t Themselves Right Now appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots’ QB room became a bit more crowded on Tuesday. The organization decided to re-sign veteran Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal, adding a fourth quarterback to their roster ahead of the training camp. Hoyer’s agency JL Sports announced the news on social media, with the Pats later confirming the move as well.

Hoyer opened the 2020 NFL season as Cam Newton’s backup but was dropped to No. 3 on the depth chart behind Jarrett Stidham as the campaign progressed. The 35-year-old player got one start last season, throwing for 130 yards and having one interception against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.

Hoyer was reportedly an option for several teams earlier in the offseason and visited the New York Jets in early April. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, which opened the way for his return to New England.

This will be Brian Hoyer’s seventh season with the Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2009. He spent three years in his first stint with the organization before returning in 2017. Hoyer then left again in 2019 to play with the Indianapolis Colts, only to return a year later.

Throughout his NFL career, Hoyer also played with the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Chicago Bears, among other teams. He has 10,404 career passing yards with 52 touchdowns and 35 interceptions.

It remains to be seen what role the Pats have in store for Hoyer. Besides having Newton and Stidham as their QB options, the organization also took Alabama’s Mac Jones in this year’s draft.

The post Patriots Re-Sign QB Brian Hoyer to a One-Year Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

New England Patriots veteran safety Patrick Chung won’t go through with his plan to return to the NFL in 2021. Instead, Chung chose to retire, announcing his decision on social media on Thursday.

Chung opted out of the 2020 season but told the media earlier this year that he has every intention to continue playing. However, the 33-year-old veteran surprisingly changed his mind in recent weeks and went down the retirement route.

Posting a statement on Instagram, Chung thanked the Pats’ organization, fans, and family, and added that “it’s time to start a new life”.

While Chung would be a great veteran option for New England, his decision to retire isn’t expected to hurt the team too much. The Patriots already stocked up on the safety position, bringing in Jalen Mills in the offseason. They also have starters Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips on board, as well as 2020’s second-round pick Kyle Dugger.

Patrick Chung entered the league in 2009 as the Pats’ second-round selection and spent his entire career with the franchise aside from a one-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. As a Patriot, Chung won three Super Bowls while being selected to the New England Patriots 2010s All-Decade Team.

Chung retires with 773 career tackles, 56 pass deflections, 11 interceptions, and 4.5 sacks.

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