While there has been no shortage of instant impact rookies in the NFL in recent seasons, there are others who take time to transition into the pro game from the college level. To that point, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has said in the past that many players experience the greatest development during their NFL careers between their rookie and sophomore seasons.
Former Patriots tight end Ben Coates will be in Boston this weekend to be presented the Humanitarian Award at the Pop Warner All-American Scholarship Banquet. It's a trip he enjoys making. "I don't get back to town often, but I'm looking forward to coming back," Coates said Friday in an interview with ESPNBoston.
Texas Christian receiver Josh Boyce, whom the Patriots selected with the early fourth-round pick acquired in a trade with the Vikings, signed the standard four-year deal with the team today, a source confirms.
Veteran offensive tackle Will Svitek, who signed a one-year contract with the Patriots this offseason after spending four seasons with the Falcons and three with the Chiefs, has changed his jersey number.
The Patriots came to terms on a one-year free agent contract for Julian Edelman on April 11, but on Thursday, Edelman's contract was slightly re-negotiated. The original terms of the deal included a $50,000 offseason workout bonus (details here), but under the new deal, $40,000 of that offseason workout bonus has been converted to a roster bonus for being on the 53-man roster for Week 1, according to a league source.
Brian Hoyer, who served as the Patriots' No. 2 quarterback from 2009-2011, has landed with the Browns. After an organized team activity this week, Hoyer answered questions from the Cleveland media for the first time, and he touched on what life was like as Tom Brady's backup.
Some leftovers from Thursday's weekly Patriots chat: Shamarko (Boston, MA): What impact can a healthy Ras I Dowling make to the Pats secondary? Could he challange for a starting position? Shamarko, there was a play in Tuesday's organized team activity where a ball was thrown to the sideline and a cornerback made a sharp break on the delivery to break it up and nearly pick it off (it would have been an easy touchdown).
NFL rosters are expanded to 90 players during this portion of the offseason, making it far from uncommon to see multiple players from one school trying to make the same team at the professional level. The Patriots have a trio of players from Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois and Florida too, but those totals are largely overlooked because the team currently employs eight -- yes eight -- players from Rutgers.
On Wednesday, longtime Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher announced he would be retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons. It capped off what was a sensational career, as Urlacher made eight Pro Bowls and provided outstanding leadership and play for the Bears, helping to lead them to a Super Bowl XLI appearance.
Every Thursday on ESPNBoston.com, there is a Patriots chat in the early afternoon. Today's chat kicked off at noon, can be recapped here, and included some of the following topics: 1. Outside wide receivers -- Michael Jenkins, Aaron Dobson and more.
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