Bill Belichick always has a plan.
After defenders Dont’a Hightower, Marcus Cannon, security Patrick Chung, Brandon Bolden, full-backs Danny Vitale and Lineman Najee Toran decided against the 2020 NFL season, things looked bleak for the Patriots season. However, a league manager who spoke to Adam Schefter from ESPN on Tuesday remains confident that Belichick will find a way to improve the situation for his team.
“Bill somehow does it all,” said the source Schefter via SMS.
A growing list of NFL players has left the season – coincidentally, as MLB is concerned with the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak – although the trend has hit the Patriots organization disproportionately. According to CNN, the opt-outs from New England make up about a third of all players who sign out of the entire league.
“I dont know [what the reason is]! That’s why he is who he is! “Added the source.
Without further details, one possible interpretation (which many concluded on social media) is that Belichick sees his team’s declining star power as an organic way to find a successor to six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady who over the free agency joined the team in March without deliberately refueling.
The logical goal – not just for the patriots – would be Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But since the Heisman leader is likely to be in high demand and a favorite to be number 1 in the 2021 NFL draft, the team would have to end the season with a miserable record in a soft AFC East to stand a chance at the elaboration.
Losing on purpose would normally be anathema to the strict head coach, and the tank for trevor theory was quickly rejected by current and former players alike.
“No way in hell Belichick tanks this year,” ex-Patriots cornerback Darius Butler wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Anyone who says that has never been near the guy!”
Chung intervened and tweeted Butler: “Whoever said that is stupid.”
Belichick-ian or not, the reality is that the calculation has shifted significantly this off-season. The troubled coach and de facto general manager has to rebuild the dynasty he and Brady built together in their 20-year run with a quarterback room made up of Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.
The team was unable to pursue a high-ticket quarterback during the free agency due to salary restrictions, and eventually signed Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP and former number 1 overall selection, for a minimum veteran contract in June.
If it’s healthy, the 31-year-old dual threat could do a lot to the patriots’ offense, but Lawrence offers a more attractive long-term solution.
20-year-old Lawrence led the Tigers to a national championship in 2019 as a freshman and has received numerous awards so far, including today’s U.S. high school player of 2017, ACC rookie of 2018, and Cotton Bowl MVP 2018, 2018 CFP National Championship MVP, 2019 First Team All-ACC and 2019 Fiesta Bowl MVP.
