The New England Patriots announced on Sunday that they have agreed to a contract extension with safety Kyle Dugger. Dugger was previously set to play in 2024 on a transition tag.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Dugger signed a four-year deal worth $58 million. It comes with $32 million in guaranteed money and the total value maxes at $66 million.

Dugger started all 17 games in 2023, finishing the season with 109 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, and seven passes defended. In order to avoid losing the 2020 second-round pick in free agency, the Pats decided to place a transition tag on him.

The transition tag allowed Dugger to negotiate with other teams and afforded the Pats to match any contract offer he received. It also guaranteed him a 2024 salary based on the average of the top 10 salaries at his position, which came at $13.8 million.

However, both sides seemed to have been more motivated to hammer out a long-term deal. The Pats get to keep a young and valuable player who can still improve. Dugger, on the other hand, gets a bigger base salary compared to the transition tag while also receiving security.

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Aside from a new head coach, the New England Patriots will also have a new quarterback in 2024. The Patriots confirmed on Sunday that they are trading last year’s starter, Mac Jones, to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to reports, the Patriots discussed Jones trade with four teams in recent days, but the Jags were the only ones to make a firm offer. New England will receive a sixth-rounder from Jacksonville as part of the deal.

Mac Jones was drafted 15th overall by the Pats in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama and was named the starter in his rookie year. Jones led New England to a 10-7 record in his rookie year while making the Pro Bowl as an alternate.

However, Jones failed to replicate his rookie campaign in the following two seasons. He particularly struggled in 2023, being benched multiple times after bad performances.

Jones will now have an opportunity to resurrect his career as a backup to Trevor Lawrence with the Jags organization. He also gets to play for his hometown team.

The Patriots, on the other hand, will likely start fresh at the QB position. They have the second-overall pick in the upcoming draft and are projected to take either LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

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Cornerback J.C. Jackson’s second stint with the New England Patriots has come to an end. The Pats released Jackson on Friday, confirming the move on their social media.

Jackson re-joined New England in October in a trade from the Los Angeles Chargers. He played in eight games for the franchise in 2023, contributing with 25 tackles and six passes defended.

Jackson was set to enter the third year of the five-year, $82.5 million contract he signed with the Chargers in 2022 free agency. However, he reworked his contract as part of the trade to the Pats, lowering the financial hit on the team’s cap. As a result, releasing Jackson will create $13.5 million in cap space for New England.

 J.C. Jackson signed with the New England Patriots in 2018 as an undrafted free agent and spent his first four years as a pro with the franchise. During that time, he developed into one of the league’s best corners and earned Second-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nod in 2021.

Despite being an integral part of their secondary, the Pats let Jackson hit free agency in 2022. This resulted in a bidding war for his services, and the Chargers emerged on top. However, Jackson never managed to justify his big contract. He struggled with injuries in his first season in LA, playing only five games. Then, in 2023, despite being healthy, Jackson struggled to make an impact, causing the Chargers to bench him and then trade him back to New England. 

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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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Bill Belichick, considered one of the greatest football head coaches of all time, is leaving the New England Patriots. According to multiple reports, Belichick and Pats’ owner Robert Kraft had a series of meetings in recent days and concluded to head their separate ways.

Belichick will leave the Patriots after coaching the franchise for the past 24 years. During that time, he won six Super Bowls and made three more Super Bowl trips while compiling a 266-121 record in the regular season and 30-12 in the playoffs.

Rumors about the 2023 season being Belichick’s last in New England have been circulating for a while now. The Patriots played poorly throughout the campaign and finished with a 4-13 record, missing the playoffs. This was only the sixth time that the Patriots didn’t make the playoffs under Belichick, but three of those six times came in the last four seasons.

Belichick is expected to continue his coaching career, looking to catch Don Shula as the winningest head coach in the history of the NFL. Belichick has 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs, trailing Shula’s 347 wins.

Several franchises are expected to make a move for Belichick after he officially leaves New England. The current favorites for his services are the Atlanta Falcons, who might appeal to Belichick due to their talented roster, and owner Arthur Blank, who doesn’t meddle in the day-to-day dealing of the franchise.

The Patriots, on the other hand, are embarking on only their third head-coaching search in the past 30 years. Linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is considered the favorite for the gig, while Kraft might also consider Mike Vrabel following his departure from the Tennessee Titans.

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The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick earned the 300th career win in the regular season on Sunday as his team beat the Buffalo Bills 29-25 at the Gillette Stadium. Despite having led for much of the game, the Patriots almost allowed the Bills to leapfrog them to victory. It took a touchdown drive led by quarterback Mac Jones in the final minute of the game to secure the win.

“I want to continue to do that and make people believe,” Jones said after his eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive with just 1:58 left on the clock. Aside from his game-winning drive, Jones impressed throughout the match, finishing 25-of-30 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Belichick’s 300th regular season win comes at a crucial time for his team, following what has been the Pats’ worst start in the past 24 seasons. The long-time Pats coach becomes the third coach in history to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of Don Shula and George Halas.

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The New England Patriots have signed rookie quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham to a three-year deal. Cunningham spent the early part of the 2023 season on the team’s practice squad. 

The Louisville product reportedly received a contract worth $2.725 million that comes with $200K in guaranteed money.

Cunningham played 56 games during his five years at Louisville, throwing for 9,660 yards and 70 touchdowns. He joined the Pats as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft before being released and re-signed to the team’s practice squad.

New England is struggling on the offense throughout the first five games of the season, ranking last in the league in points per game. By adding Cunningham to the roster, the Pats are likely hoping to install some plays that will allow them to use his speed and catch some teams off guard.

Cunningham isn’t expected to dethrone Mac Jones as the team’s starting signal-caller but might get the opportunity to play meaningful snaps either as a situational quarterback or a wide receiver.

Earlier this week, Pats’ head coach Bill Belichick praised Cunningham and hinted he might see the field at some point this season.

“Malik has really worked hard and made a lot of improvement,” Belichick said at the time. “Anybody that keeps improving, eventually you’ll probably get an opportunity to play.”

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The New England Patriots have filled up their backup quarterback spot by claiming second-year signal-caller Matt Corral on waivers. Corral was waived by the Carolina Panthers earlier this week.

Corral has yet to play in a regular-season game since being drafted by the Panthers in the third round of last year’s draft. He missed the entire 2022 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury he suffered during the preseason.

Corral played in all three preseason games for Carolina in 2023, completing 28 passes in 47 attempts and throwing for 249 yards. The Panthers ended up deciding to have starter Bryce Young and veteran backup Andy Dalton as their only quarterbacks on the 53-man roster but hoped to bring Corral on the practice squad. However, New England jumped in and claimed the former Ole Miss to bolster their depleted QB room.

Prior to claiming Corral, the Pats had last year’s starter, Mac Jones, as their only quarterback on the active roster. The team previously waived second-year player Billy Zappe and undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham and then signed both to the practice squad.

The interesting thing about the Pats’ move is that they originally held the 94th overall pick used to draft Corrall. They traded the pick to the Panthers, receiving a 2022 fourth-round selection and a 2023 third-round pick. They drafted Zappe with the former and used the latter on Sacramento State’s linebacker Marte Mapu.

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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 have reportedly agreed to a new deal with veteran wideout DeVante Parker. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Parker inked a three-year contract that could be worth up to $33 million.

Parker had one year left on his previous deal that came with a $5.7 million base salary. Under the new contract, his base salary will reportedly be lower, but he will be able to reach and surpass that number through bonuses and by meeting certain incentives. The contract also gives him $14 million in guaranteed money.

Parker started his NFL career as Miami Dolphin’s first-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent seven years in Miami, where he had one season with 1,000+ yards receiving, before being traded to New England ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Parker played 13 games for the Pats last season, including 11 starts and 31 catches for 539 yards and three touchdowns. While these are not eye-catching numbers, New England valued Parker’s veteran presence and his ability to make tough catches.

This upcoming season, Parker is expected to remain a major component of the Patriots’ offense. He will likely share targets with newly-acquired JuJu Smith-Schuster and second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton.

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The New England Patriots announced on Sunday that they have agreed to a contract extension with safety Kyle Dugger. Dugger was previously set to play in 2024 on a transition tag.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Dugger signed a four-year deal worth $58 million. It comes with $32 million in guaranteed money and the total value maxes at $66 million.

Dugger started all 17 games in 2023, finishing the season with 109 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, and seven passes defended. In order to avoid losing the 2020 second-round pick in free agency, the Pats decided to place a transition tag on him.

The transition tag allowed Dugger to negotiate with other teams and afforded the Pats to match any contract offer he received. It also guaranteed him a 2024 salary based on the average of the top 10 salaries at his position, which came at $13.8 million.

However, both sides seemed to have been more motivated to hammer out a long-term deal. The Pats get to keep a young and valuable player who can still improve. Dugger, on the other hand, gets a bigger base salary compared to the transition tag while also receiving security.

The post Patriots Sign Safety Kyle Dugger to 4-Year, $58 Million Contract appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Aside from a new head coach, the New England Patriots will also have a new quarterback in 2024. The Patriots confirmed on Sunday that they are trading last year’s starter, Mac Jones, to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to reports, the Patriots discussed Jones trade with four teams in recent days, but the Jags were the only ones to make a firm offer. New England will receive a sixth-rounder from Jacksonville as part of the deal.

Mac Jones was drafted 15th overall by the Pats in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Alabama and was named the starter in his rookie year. Jones led New England to a 10-7 record in his rookie year while making the Pro Bowl as an alternate.

However, Jones failed to replicate his rookie campaign in the following two seasons. He particularly struggled in 2023, being benched multiple times after bad performances.

Jones will now have an opportunity to resurrect his career as a backup to Trevor Lawrence with the Jags organization. He also gets to play for his hometown team.

The Patriots, on the other hand, will likely start fresh at the QB position. They have the second-overall pick in the upcoming draft and are projected to take either LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

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Cornerback J.C. Jackson’s second stint with the New England Patriots has come to an end. The Pats released Jackson on Friday, confirming the move on their social media.

Jackson re-joined New England in October in a trade from the Los Angeles Chargers. He played in eight games for the franchise in 2023, contributing with 25 tackles and six passes defended.

Jackson was set to enter the third year of the five-year, $82.5 million contract he signed with the Chargers in 2022 free agency. However, he reworked his contract as part of the trade to the Pats, lowering the financial hit on the team’s cap. As a result, releasing Jackson will create $13.5 million in cap space for New England.

 J.C. Jackson signed with the New England Patriots in 2018 as an undrafted free agent and spent his first four years as a pro with the franchise. During that time, he developed into one of the league’s best corners and earned Second-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nod in 2021.

Despite being an integral part of their secondary, the Pats let Jackson hit free agency in 2022. This resulted in a bidding war for his services, and the Chargers emerged on top. However, Jackson never managed to justify his big contract. He struggled with injuries in his first season in LA, playing only five games. Then, in 2023, despite being healthy, Jackson struggled to make an impact, causing the Chargers to bench him and then trade him back to New England. 

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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.

The post Jerod Mayo Hired as New Patriots Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Bill Belichick, considered one of the greatest football head coaches of all time, is leaving the New England Patriots. According to multiple reports, Belichick and Pats’ owner Robert Kraft had a series of meetings in recent days and concluded to head their separate ways.

Belichick will leave the Patriots after coaching the franchise for the past 24 years. During that time, he won six Super Bowls and made three more Super Bowl trips while compiling a 266-121 record in the regular season and 30-12 in the playoffs.

Rumors about the 2023 season being Belichick’s last in New England have been circulating for a while now. The Patriots played poorly throughout the campaign and finished with a 4-13 record, missing the playoffs. This was only the sixth time that the Patriots didn’t make the playoffs under Belichick, but three of those six times came in the last four seasons.

Belichick is expected to continue his coaching career, looking to catch Don Shula as the winningest head coach in the history of the NFL. Belichick has 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs, trailing Shula’s 347 wins.

Several franchises are expected to make a move for Belichick after he officially leaves New England. The current favorites for his services are the Atlanta Falcons, who might appeal to Belichick due to their talented roster, and owner Arthur Blank, who doesn’t meddle in the day-to-day dealing of the franchise.

The Patriots, on the other hand, are embarking on only their third head-coaching search in the past 30 years. Linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is considered the favorite for the gig, while Kraft might also consider Mike Vrabel following his departure from the Tennessee Titans.

The post Bill Belichick is Leaving the New England Patriots appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick earned the 300th career win in the regular season on Sunday as his team beat the Buffalo Bills 29-25 at the Gillette Stadium. Despite having led for much of the game, the Patriots almost allowed the Bills to leapfrog them to victory. It took a touchdown drive led by quarterback Mac Jones in the final minute of the game to secure the win.

“I want to continue to do that and make people believe,” Jones said after his eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive with just 1:58 left on the clock. Aside from his game-winning drive, Jones impressed throughout the match, finishing 25-of-30 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Belichick’s 300th regular season win comes at a crucial time for his team, following what has been the Pats’ worst start in the past 24 seasons. The long-time Pats coach becomes the third coach in history to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of Don Shula and George Halas.

The post Bill Belichick Earns 300th Career Win as Pats Stun Bills appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots have signed rookie quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham to a three-year deal. Cunningham spent the early part of the 2023 season on the team’s practice squad. 

The Louisville product reportedly received a contract worth $2.725 million that comes with $200K in guaranteed money.

Cunningham played 56 games during his five years at Louisville, throwing for 9,660 yards and 70 touchdowns. He joined the Pats as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft before being released and re-signed to the team’s practice squad.

New England is struggling on the offense throughout the first five games of the season, ranking last in the league in points per game. By adding Cunningham to the roster, the Pats are likely hoping to install some plays that will allow them to use his speed and catch some teams off guard.

Cunningham isn’t expected to dethrone Mac Jones as the team’s starting signal-caller but might get the opportunity to play meaningful snaps either as a situational quarterback or a wide receiver.

Earlier this week, Pats’ head coach Bill Belichick praised Cunningham and hinted he might see the field at some point this season.

“Malik has really worked hard and made a lot of improvement,” Belichick said at the time. “Anybody that keeps improving, eventually you’ll probably get an opportunity to play.”

The post Patriots Sign QB/WR Malik Cunningham to 3-Year Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots have filled up their backup quarterback spot by claiming second-year signal-caller Matt Corral on waivers. Corral was waived by the Carolina Panthers earlier this week.

Corral has yet to play in a regular-season game since being drafted by the Panthers in the third round of last year’s draft. He missed the entire 2022 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury he suffered during the preseason.

Corral played in all three preseason games for Carolina in 2023, completing 28 passes in 47 attempts and throwing for 249 yards. The Panthers ended up deciding to have starter Bryce Young and veteran backup Andy Dalton as their only quarterbacks on the 53-man roster but hoped to bring Corral on the practice squad. However, New England jumped in and claimed the former Ole Miss to bolster their depleted QB room.

Prior to claiming Corral, the Pats had last year’s starter, Mac Jones, as their only quarterback on the active roster. The team previously waived second-year player Billy Zappe and undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham and then signed both to the practice squad.

The interesting thing about the Pats’ move is that they originally held the 94th overall pick used to draft Corrall. They traded the pick to the Panthers, receiving a 2022 fourth-round selection and a 2023 third-round pick. They drafted Zappe with the former and used the latter on Sacramento State’s linebacker Marte Mapu.

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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.

The post Free Agent Ezekiel Elliott Visits With Patriots on Saturday appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a new deal with veteran wideout DeVante Parker. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Parker inked a three-year contract that could be worth up to $33 million.

Parker had one year left on his previous deal that came with a $5.7 million base salary. Under the new contract, his base salary will reportedly be lower, but he will be able to reach and surpass that number through bonuses and by meeting certain incentives. The contract also gives him $14 million in guaranteed money.

Parker started his NFL career as Miami Dolphin’s first-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent seven years in Miami, where he had one season with 1,000+ yards receiving, before being traded to New England ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Parker played 13 games for the Pats last season, including 11 starts and 31 catches for 539 yards and three touchdowns. While these are not eye-catching numbers, New England valued Parker’s veteran presence and his ability to make tough catches.

This upcoming season, Parker is expected to remain a major component of the Patriots’ offense. He will likely share targets with newly-acquired JuJu Smith-Schuster and second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton.

The post Patriots and WR DeVante Parker Agree to a New 3-Year Contract appeared first on SportzBonanza.