Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 67 jersey number.
The New England Patriots are officially 67 days away from their regular season opener.
So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 67 jersey.
Two names that jump out in the Bill Belichick era are Dan Koppen and Ted Karras. Koppen was a reliable center for New England for nine seasons and helped the team win two Super Bowls. He also earned his one and only All-Pro nod in 2007, when helping the Patriots go unbeaten in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Karras also has two Super Bowl wins under his belt with the Patriots, before jumping ship to help anchor the offensive line for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
With those two names in mind, here’s every Patriots player that has worn the No. 67 throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):
Elflein spent last season at left guard. In 2019, he’ll fill the role that Josh Kline started in.
The Vikings are mixing things up on their offensive line heading into the 2020 season.
After releasing Josh Kline in the offseason, the Vikings are moving Pat Elflein from left guard to right guard.
Elflein, a 2017 third-round pick out of Ohio State, is excited about the move.
“I feel good. I’m excited to compete. Versatility is a big thing in this league, so being able to play multiple positions will be good,” Elflein said via Vikings.com. “I’m just excited to get out there and be able to compete at the right guard spot.”
Last season, Elflein finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.3, more than a 20-point increase from a not-so-great 2018 season.
With about three weeks to go before the regular season starts, it appears as if the left guard starting spot will be a competition between Dakota Dozier and Aviante Collins, but second-round pick Ezra Cleveland appears to be in the mix as well.
Here are three ways the Vikings can spend the money left in their 2020 salary cap
Minnesota has a new-look roster and some money to spend for the 2020 NFL season.
Over The Cap reported that the Vikings have just over $12.7 million in cap space. So what should the team do with the remaining money for the 2020 season?
Michael Pierce opted out of the 2020 NFL season. Minnesota terminated Josh Kline’s contract. The Vikings traded Stefon Diggs. The defense has plenty of younger, more inexperienced players.
The deadline has passed for teams to work out long-term deals for players under the franchise tag, so safety Anthony Harris will have to play under the tag.
There are a plethora of options when it comes to the remaining cap space. Here are a few things Minnesota can do:
After three reserves along the Browns offensive line chose to opt out of playing in the 2020 NFL season, the depth chart at guard looks perilously thin in Cleveland. New Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is acutely aware of the shortage of bodies after Drew Forbes, Malcolm Pridgeon and Drake Dorbeck all opted out.
Stefanski strongly hinted that the team will be making a move or two in order to bolster the roster for training camp and perhaps even the upcoming season. Coach Stefanski addressed the dearth of OL depth in a Zoom teleconference with reporters.
It’s certainly something that we’ll continue to look at,’’ the rookie coach said. “As it pertains to practice reps, you have to get your starters ready. You also have to get your backups ready this year. We have to be very mindful of how we divvy up those reps. I’ve sat down with the coaches already and we have a plan for that, but I don’t think it is a season where you just say, ‘Hey, I’m just getting my starters ready.’ I think that may not be smart.”
Stefanski later added that they’re not just looking for players that are easily disposed of after training camp usage.
“I think we need good players,” Stefanski stated. “I think (GM Andrew Berry) and his staff are going to work really hard at all of these positions. If we should have a need somewhere, we want to get a good player in here. We want to make sure that we are bringing guys in who have a chance to develop.”
There aren’t many players available who fit that criteria. One who is: former Vikings and Titans starter Josh Kline, who played under Stefanski in Minnesota last season. Other veteran options include Cordy Glenn, Ron Leary and Jon Halapio.
The Minnesota Vikings lost Stefon Diggs and Josh Kline this offseason, but could the team still improve?
Minnesota traded Stefon Diggs this offseason, but that doesn’t mean the team will necessarily take a step back.
The Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson in the first round, who can go about replacing some of Diggs’ production. He doesn’t have to replace all of it, though.
The team could see improvement from players like Bisi Johnson and Irv Smith Jr., which could also be a big help for preventing any regression in the passing game.
Besides Diggs, the Vikings terminated Josh Kline’s contract, so there will be a new player at right guard so long as the team doesn’t re-sign Kline.
Other than that, the offensive group is relatively the same. Let’s see where ESPN ranked the Vikings among other NFL teams when it came to offensive position groups:
Who could replace Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Jon Feliciano?
Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Jon Feliciano will miss a chunk of the upcoming 2020 season. The team’s starting right guard from 2019 suffered a pectoral injury which could require up to three months or more to heal.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have continuously harped on the importance of continuity on their roster. After re-signing Quinton Spain earlier this offseason, the Bills were slated to return all five of their starters on the O-line in 2020.
With Feliciano’s injury, that will no longer be the case for Buffalo, and there will be a ripple-effect for the Bills because of it.
With that, here are six takeaways from Feliciano’s injury:
Bills offensive guard Jon Feliciano. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
How big of a loss?
We know Feliciano is a loss for the Bills, but let’s try to put into context exactly how big of a loss he is. As mentioned, he was a starter for the Bills in his first season with the team in 2019. At right guard, Feliciano was the No. 1 in every game for Buffalo, playing in about 89 percent of snaps.
Already stated was that continuity the Bills had along the offensive line. From last season, things were not going to change in terms of starters along the O-line, most likely, until now. From left to right, the Bills’ line was going to look, once again, like: Dion Dawkins, Spain, Mitch Morse, Feliciano and Cody Ford.
And speaking of Spain, many touted his addition Buffalo’s line a year ago. Just to put things into picture of how big of a loss Feliciano might be, he was actually… better than Spain, in at least one sense. Pro Football Focus is subjective, but per their numbers, Feliciano was the better 2019 lineman. At the end of last season, Spain ranked as their 58th best guard in the NFL while Feliciano was at No. 35 via PFF’s grade.
Looking at four free-agent options who make sense for the Kansas City Chiefs after Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s opt-out.
The most likely scenario for the Kansas City Chiefs is that they’ll go with in-house options to replace starting RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who elected to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season. There still exists a slight possibility that the Chiefs could look outside the organization for help in terms of immediate impact or depth. There are a handful of interior offensive linemen available that make varying degrees of sense in Kansas City.
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Larry Warford
Warford is probably considered the cream of the crop of free-agent guards on the market right now. The 29-year-old veteran also might be the most expensive guard on the market because as of May he was looking for a contract worth up to $7 million per year in average salary. It’s not clear if he’d take a discount to join the defending Super Bowl champions, but that number would likely price out the Chiefs.
Warford is reliable, only missing two games in the last two seasons. He only allowed two sacks during the 2019 season and earned a 73.1 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus. His fit with the Chiefs is a debatable topic as he’s not the most mobile and athletic guard, but he’s physical and a tone-setter on the offensive line. There are few teams in the NFL that couldn’t use that type of player on their team.
Minnesota is in the bottom half of Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings. Fair or foul?
Minnesota’s offensive line improved in 2019 after a system change, but now the group will have to improve again — without one of its starters.
The Vikings terminated Josh Kline’s contract this offseason. Kline started at right guard for Minnesota. Dru Samia, Dakota Dozier and others will compete for that spot.
Pro Football Focus recently compiled a rankings of all 32 offensive line units heading into 2020. The outlet put the Vikings at No. 23. Here’s what it said about the choice to do so:
“A new offensive system and play-action-heavy approach helped the Vikings move up to 19th in our final rankings last season, and they return fourth-fifths of last year’s unit. … The Vikings have a good zone-blocking line that gave their running backs the third-highest percentage of positively graded blocks per rush last season, but there are holes in pass protection that can be exploited, especially in must-pass situations against good defensive lines.”
I think much of the offensive line’s success for next season will be dependent on how quick Ezra Cleveland can adjust to the NFL. Cleveland, drafted in the second round by the team, is more of a project player.
If he can come in and play tackle, then I think Riley Reiff could move over and the unit as a whole could get better.
Are there any free agents out there in July for the Buffalo Bills to sign?
Welcome to July, can’t you just taste the football right around the corner?
Of course, that means little right now. There’s a plan in place to start training camp, as scheduled, at the end of the month… but who really knows what will happen? Assuming that goes according to plan, NFL rosters are still pretty set in stone now.
But let’s have some fun. If Bills general manager Brandon Beane were to be in the market to add another free agent or two before training camp comes around, could there be some options out there?
Here are 15 free agent options for the Bills to consider in July:
Falcons running back Devonta Freeman. Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
RB Devonta Freeman
Age: 28
Freeman could be another solid complement to their complement. Devin Singletary is the No. 1, shifty runner for the Bills. Zack Moss gets the heavy lifting done at times, while Freeman is a solid third-down option as a proven pass catcher. However, bad news could be the asking price. We’re not sure exactly what it would be, but of said in June, Bucs coach Bruce Arians said it’s too high.
The Eagles have viable replacements on the roster but if the team chooses to look outside the NovaCare Complex, here are seven options that make sense.
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Nov 17, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters (71) prepares to block against the New England Patriots at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
1. Jason Peters
The free-agent left tackle let it be known last season that he would play guard to extend his career and he’s still one of the most athletic players in the game regardless of position. Peters’s strength, technique, and versatility along with vast experience could allow such a move to make sense.
