Tag: patriots news

Chargers named ‘best team fit’ for OL Mike Onwenu

Jim Harbaugh coached Michael Onwenu at Michigan.

The Chargers’ offensive line is in need of a revamp, and ESPN’s Matt Bowen believes Patriots’ Michael Onwenu is a player who can add some talent. 

Here is why Bowen believes Los Angeles is the best fit for Onwenu:

Besides left tackle Rashawn Slater, the Chargers are devoid of offensive line talent. Coach Jim Harbaugh would love to add a 6-foot-3, 330-pound people-mover in the run game. And Onwenu proved with the Patriots this season that he also has the ability to hold an anchor in pass protection at either guard or right tackle, which would help Justin Herbert. Los Angeles has to get better up front this offseason, so look for the club to make some cuts in order to clear cap space and address this unit.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh will want to do everything possible to improve the run game, and what better way to do so than by adding a people-mover like Onwenu to the roster? 

Additionally, Harbaugh is familiar with Onwenu, having been his coach at Michigan from 2016 to 2019.

Onwenu is coming off his rookie contract with New England, and he is a player who can offer solutions at guard and right tackle.

It’s vital that Los Angeles make changes up front to help improve the offense, and the organization will look to make some cuts to clear up cap space to pursue players like Onwenu. 

Chargers trade J.C. Jackson to Patriots

J.C. Jackson is going back to where he started his career.

J.C. Jackson is going back to where he started his career, as the Chargers traded him to the Patriots on Wednesday.

Los Angeles and New England swapped sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025. The Chargers are converting most of the $9.33 million Jackson has left in base this year into a signing bonus to facilitate the trade.

After signing a five-year, $82.5 million with L.A. last offseason, Jackson was limited to five games last season due to a ruptured patellar tendon.

Upon returning, Jackson struggled against the Dolphins and Titans in Weeks 1 and 2, thus leading to him being a healthy scratch in Week 3 against the Vikings. He was active in Week 4 but did not play a single defensive snap.

Jackson played in seven games for the Chargers, recording 18 tackles, five passes defended and one interception.

For the Patriots, they get a player who had a lot of success with them, which included 25 interceptions in 62 games.

As for Los Angeles, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t get the All-Pro level of play from Jackson, but they made the right move to deal him now, knowing the situation was not going to get any better and save some money in doing so.

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson ‘confused’ by benching in Week 3 vs. Vikings

J.C. Jackson sounded off on the Chargers’ decision to bench him.

The start of the 2023 season hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson. Jackson, who returned from a season-ending patellar tendon injury, struggled in the first two games. As a result, he was a healthy scratch last Sunday in Los Angeles’ win over the Vikings.

This happened a day after a warrant was issued for Jackson’s arrest after he failed to pay a $600 fine and attend a four-hour class on reckless driving from when he was charged with driving 100 mph in South Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 2021 while he was a member of the Patriots.

But Jackson’s benching wasn’t a result of his legal situation or health concerns related to the knee. Brandon Staley said it was a “coach’s decision” after the game and followed it up on Monday by saying, “just the overall product, from the beginning of the week to the end of the week.”

Jackson was asked about being benched and said he was confused by it.

I’m still kind of confused on why. I can’t put my opinion on it. It was a coach’s decision. It was above (me). I’m not in control. This is not my team. So that’s what I’m saying. I can tell you I’m confused, I don’t know what’s going on. But that’s not the real answer of why I didn’t play last week or why I didn’t start. That’s above me.

On Thursday, Jackson admitted that he is still not fully recovered from his knee injury.

“That’s exactly what it is, I’m not 100 percent,” Jackson said. “I know that the doctors know that. I’m not 100 percent so I’m doing my best. We’re giving the team what they want. I’m doing my best and I don’t know what they expect me to do.”

Jackson signed a five-year contract worth $82.5 million with the Bolts last offseason after earning All-Pro honors in his final season with New England. They have yet to see him play at that caliber, but he remains confident that he can get there.

“I know what I can do,” Jackson said. “I know that I can help the team so it kind of frustrates me that I’m not starting and that coach has me sitting out, and I’m one of the best players on the team. I’m one of the best [defensive backs] that we have.”

It remains to be seen if Jackson will play this weekend or what his role will be when the Chargers host the Raiders.

“It is going to be determined by what happens in practice this week,” Staley said.

Stock up, stock down for Patriots heading into preseason Week 2

Who is trending up and who is trending down for the Patriots in Week 2 of the preseason?

With the New England Patriots beginning joint practices on Wednesday, we got to see some of the starters in live reps against opposing competition. For the most part, training camp battles only go so far, as the Patriots typically want to keep everyone healthy.

Against real opponents, the Patriots got a sneak peek at their new-look offense with Bill O’Brien, along with the new offensive line combinations under Adrian Klemm.

The Patriots ended their two joint practices with the Packers on a high note on Thursday. In this piece, we’re going to take a look at three players trending up and three players trending down in preseason Week 2 for New England.

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson looking forward to ‘revenge game’ vs. Patriots

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson has one game this upcoming season circled on his calendar.

Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson has one game he anticipates the most this upcoming season.

Jackson has the matchup with the Patriots in Week 13 circled on his calendar. This will mark the first time he faces his former team since he departed in free agency last year.

“It’s a revenge game for me,” Jackson said. “I’m excited to go back and pick Mac Jones off and show them why they should’ve never let me go.”

Despite not returning to New England, Jackson ended up signing a five-year contract worth up to $82.5 million with L.A.

Jackson’s first season with the Bolts wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows as he struggled to find his footing in Brandon Staley’s defense, leading to getting benched. However, once he did start to acclimate to the system, Jackson suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury.

Since then, Jackson has steadily been working his way back to full health. Recently, he said the goal is to be 100% when the season gets here.

“My No. 1 goal for next year is to have a healthy season,” Jackson said. “To remain healthy this season, that’s my goal. I’m just excited to be out there and compete with the team.”

If he can get back to live-game shape and play like the All-Pro corner he once was, Jackson could really boost the Chargers’ defense and cause problems for his former team.

Mailbag Monday 5/15: Will Kendrick Bourne be on opening day roster?

Kendrick Bourne’s future and Tom Brady’s return are both featured in this week’s mailbag.

We’re kick-starting this week’s mailbag with questions regarding the regular season roster, most notably with wideout Kendrick Bourne’s future with the New England Patriots.

Another fan touches on the Tom Brady return news, as well as the current state of the cornerback position in New England.

Be sure to follow @CamSGarrity on Twitter and submit questions to be answered on Mondays.

This is a chance to get some of your questions answered and generate good discussion across Patriots nation. Let’s get into this week’s submitted questions.

Breaking: Patriots releasing 4-time Pro Bowl CB Stephon Gilmore

In a shocking move, the Patriots are releasing four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

In what is sure to be the most surprising move of the season thus far, the New England Patriots are cutting ties with four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore. As first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Patriots are releasing Gilmore.

He’s spent the first four weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list after having surgery to repair a torn quad. He was eligible to come off the PUP list in Week 7, but the Patriots aren’t going to wait around for him to get healthy.

This likely has to do with his contract situation, too. Gilmore has been seeking a raise from New England, but the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. He was in the final year of his contract and by releasing him, the Patriots will now gain about $5.8 million in cap space.

As a vested veteran, Gilmore is not subject to waivers. At 4 p.m. ET, he will be free to sign with any team in the NFL. As one would imagine, there should be a huge market for the two-time All-Pro and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.

In four seasons with the Patriots, Gilmore played 56 games. He picked off 11 passes and returned two for touchdowns, recording 52 total deflections in coverage. He also made 161 tackles and forced three fumbles, making the Pro Bowl three times in his four years in New England.

Julian Edelman welcomes TE Jonnu Smith to Patriots with Instagram post

The Patriots agreed to a 4-year deal with Jonnu Smith, and Julian Edelman seems excited about it.

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots opened free agency with a bang on Monday when the legal tampering period began, agreeing to terms with several impact players on both sides of the ball. Their biggest splash came when they landed tight end Jonnu Smith, who spent the first four years of his career with the Titans.

Smith is an athletic and dynamic pass catcher at tight end, joining a receiving corps that lacked talent for Cam Newton last year. He’s a major upgrade at a position that contributed very little in 2020, immediately becoming one of the top targets on offense.

After news broke of Smith’s deal with the Patriots, Edelman welcomed him to New England with an Instagram post that featured the young tight end in a Pats uniform.

In his career, Smith has caught 114 passes for 1,302 yards and 16 touchdowns. Those aren’t spectacular numbers, but they’re significantly better than any tight end New England currently has on the roster.

The Patriots clearly want to gather weapons for Newton, or whoever will start at quarterback come September.

Two Georgia Bulldogs among 25 modern era semifinalists for Hall of Fame

Two former Georgia football players are among 25 modern era semifinalists for the NFL Hall of Fame.

Three Georgia Bulldogs are among the 25 semifinalists of modern-era players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.

Steelers legend Hines Ward and three-time Super Bowl winner Richard Seymour are the two Dawgs who are semifinalists.

Between the two of them, they have five Super Bowl rings.

To be considered for selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nominated individual must not have participated as an active player for five consecutive seasons.

Ward had an incredibly successful NFL career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ward is currently a Hall of Fame candidate. Over fifteen seasons in Pittsburgh, Ward accumulated 1,000 career catches and over 12,000 receiving yards. Ward is the Steeler’s all-time reception, receiving touchdown and receiving yardage leader. He won two Super Bowl titles including a Super Bowl MVP award. Not too bad for a third round pick out of Georgia.

Seymour was a force to be reckoned with not just in college, but in the pros as well. The 6’6, 317 lb Seymour attended Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, South Carolina and won first-team all region honors his senior season.

Seymour played for the bulldogs from 1997 to 2000. In 41 games (25 starting), he finished his UGA career with great stats. He tallied 226 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, 25.5 tackles for loss, and 35 quarterback pressures. He was named to the All-SEC first team in 1999 and 2000 and first team All American in 2000.

Seymour was taken 6th overall in the 2001 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He became one of the Patriots best defenders of all time and was the leader of their defense for eight seasons. He helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls and was named to five different all-pro teams. In the ladder of his NFL career, Seymour played a few seasons with the Oakland Raiders.

Randy Moss says Patriots’ offense will ‘have more fun’ with Cam Newton as QB

Hall of Famer Randy Moss believes the New England Patriots’ offense will have more fun playing with QB Cam Newton.

Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans had his sixth-straight 1,000-yard season in 2019, tying him with Hall of Famer Randy Moss for the most ever to begin a career. With Tom Brady under center for the Bucs in 2020, Evans has a great chance of taking the record for himself, and doing it with the quarterback who once threw 23 touchdowns in a single season to Moss seems like a great way to do it.

While Moss had one of the most memorable years of his career in 2007 with Brady, the year the Patriots went a perfect 16-0 in the regular season, the Hall of Fame receiver believes that the new-look Patriots, led by Cam Newton, will have more fun on the field than with Brady.

Per Moss:

“Not discrediting anything Tom accomplished because he accomplished some great things, but I think being able to have a guy like Cam Newton that can run the ball, they are able to spread guys out, and then being able to be that viable threat in the passing game that he can just tuck the ball and run. I just think what we have seen coming out of New England for the past, let’s say 20 years, there is going to be a change in New England. But I think we are going to see them have a lot more fun out there and Cam Newton is going to give them that opportunity for the fans, not just the New England Patriots fans, but the football fans around the world to really see how fun this offense can really be.”

The Patriots’ offense never hinged on Brady’s ability to run the ball, so having a guy like Newton will certainly bring a new dimension to this team that hasn’t been seen before. Whether or not that’ll translate over into the win column remains to be seen, but there’s no denying the Patriots will be fun to watch if Newton manages to win the starting job.

[lawrence-related id=35859,35857,35849,35839]