Tag: Pharaoh Brown

Projected market value for Patriots’ top pending free agents

The Patriots have multiple in-house free agents they might want to re-sign. Here’s what it could cost them.

Big decisions loom on the horizon for the New England Patriots heading into free agency.

They’re sitting pretty right now with roughly over $100 million in available salary cap space, but they are also a team bogged down with various holes and upgrade needs on their roster.

Free agency isn’t just about paying big money to load up on outside talent. It’s also about keeping the talent you already have to ensure some continuity. Not everything was bad with the 4-13 Patriots, and this isn’t a situation where the organization is looking to throw the entire team away.

There were pieces that stood out as potential parts of an eventual solution in New England. and it now falls on Patriots executive Eliot Wolf and the front office to figure out ways to keep those pieces intact.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Patriots’ top free agents and their projected market values, according to PFF.com and Spotrac.com.

Grading the Colts’ 2023 free agent signings one year later

One year later, grading the Colts’ 2023 free agent signings.

With the benefit of hindsight, we now have a full season’s worth of information to judge the signings the Indianapolis Colts made during the 2023 offseason.

Some of them panned out better than expected. Others not so much.

Simply looking at the outside free agents brought onto the roster last offseason, we’re here to re-grade the signings the Colts made one year later. So we won’t be discussing the re-signings of players like Tyquan Lewis and E.J. Speed, both of which turned out exceptionally.

For reference, we’ll compare the initial grade we gave at the moment to how we currently feel about the signing.

Without further ado, here are our grades for the Colts’ free-agent class of 2023 one year later:

3 Patriots players that deserve larger roles in 2024

3 Patriots players should be featured more in 2024 and beyond.

There’s no question this season has been brutal to watch for the New England Patriots. They are sitting at 3-10 on the season and considered one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Yet, there are some players who have been bright spots and deserve a larger role next season.

Now, these things could change as it is likely a new regime will be in place next year, and they may move to get their own players through the draft and free agency.

But there are three players in particular that have made the most out of limited playing time and deserve a much larger role in 2024.

Patriots had a key return and welcomed newcomer at Thursday’s practice

The Patriots welcomed a newcomer and got a key player back at Thursday’s practice.

The New England Patriots were still missing several players at practice on Thursday. However, one key player was back in the fold after missing Wednesday’s practice, and that was tight end Pharoah Brown.

DeVante Parker, Trent Brown, Davon Godchaux and Calvin Anderson were all out of Thursday’s practice. There was also a debut on the field with cornerback Alex Austin, who just signed to the 53-man roster, getting in practice reps with the team.

Austin was a seventh-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills earlier this year. He was cut by the team in August, and the Houston Texans picked him up.

He was released from the Texans on November 1.

Brown has been one of the pleasant surprises in the Patriots’ passing game. The tight end’s return to practice is a positive development. The organization also needs secondary depth, and that’s where Austin can make an impact.

It has been a revolving door of Patriots players coming and going this week. We’ll see if they can put the pieces together fast enough to bounce back with a win on Sunday against the Washington Commanders.

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Patriots injuries stacking up at key positions at Wednesday’s practice

The New England Patriots were missing several key players on Wednesday.

The New England Patriots were missing several key contributors at practice on Wednesday. Wide receiver DeVante Parker, offensive tackle Trent Brown, offensive tackle Calvin Anderson and tight end Pharaoh Brown were all missing, per NESN’s Zack Cox.

Parker left Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins with a head injury, and Trent Brown has been playing through multiple injuries, including knee and ankle issues.

Parker’s absence is notable in particular, and it could pave the way for more snaps for players like rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. On top of that, Kendrick Bourne is out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Depth at wide receiver is becoming thin. So Parker’s absence will be worth monitoring in particular.

Trent Brown has also been one of the most productive players on the Patriots’ offensive line this season. He has been playing at a high level in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh Brown’s injury is notable, given that he has become a key cog in the New England offense. Brown caught two catches for 33 yards against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

New England’s season has been an uphill climb. These injuries will be worth monitoring, as they could potentially further complicate things for a 2-6 team that has already hit rock bottom eight games into the season.

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10 highest-graded players for Patriots offense vs Dolphins, per PFF

PFF’s top-10 offensive players for the Patriots in loss to the Dolphins

It was back to reality for the New England Patriots’ sputtering offense in their Week 8 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The pass protection up front was iffy at best, the run game never got going, receivers couldn’t get open and quarterback Mac Jones turned the ball over.

Rinse, wash and repeat.

No offensive player outside of tight end Pharaoh Brown was given over a 70.0 grade by Pro Football Focus. It didn’t help matters that two of the team’s top receivers, DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne, both went down with injuries.

Bourne, who led the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns, will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, while Parker is in concussion protocol. Those injuries create even bigger questions for the Patriots moving forward this season.

Let’s take a look at the top-10 highest-graded offensive players for New England, per PFF, in the loss to the Dolphins.

Studs and duds in Patriots’ disappointing 31-17 loss to Dolphins

Who were the Patriots’ studs and duds in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins?

There were no miracles to be had for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. It was just more disappointment from a team that looked outmatched on the road.

The Patriots are clearly trying and competing every week, but those efforts are thwarted at every turn by one team seemingly always having the better built roster.

The blocking on the makeshift offensive line was once again abysmal, which initiated a snowball effect of a bad run game and lack of real passing opportunities. Mac Jones was a statue standing in the pocket with nowhere to go with the football.

And the defense couldn’t save him.

The unit typically throws on the red cape and keep things more competitive than it probably should be for the Patriots this season, but this time, they ran into an offensive juggernaut they couldn’t topple.

Here are the studs and duds from the game:

Stock up, stock down for 12 Patriots players heading into Week 8

Who’s stock is up, and who’s stock is down in New England?

The 2023 season hasn’t gone as expected for the New England Patriots.

Those that expected the team to be competitive in the AFC East are likely surprised to see them sitting at 2-5 with little hope of competing for a playoff spot.

But even the team’s biggest skeptics didn’t expect to see them sink to the bottom of the division with talks of them being in line for a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft. There’s obviously the possibility of things changing with the Patriots coming off a huge upset win over the Buffalo Bills.

If they can somehow beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the schedule will lighten significantly, and they’ll have a real chance to start racking up wins. It’s a long-shot chance that’s heavily dependent on the players’ ability to elevate their game down the stretch.

Let’s take a look at the stock report for 12 Patriots players ahead of their Week 8 clash with the Dolphins. Who’s up and who’s down in New England?

This Patriots TE has highest PFF grade, and it isn’t who you think

No one saw this coming…

New England Patriots tight end Pharoah Brown is in elite company at his position.

He is quietly the highest-graded tight end in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. The veteran skilled player has a 92.4 overall grade, which tops 76 other tight ends with a minimum of 100 snaps.

Second below Brown on the list is Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who has an 88.2 overall grade.

This illustrates the importance that Brown has on the Patriots offense. On five targets, he has five catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. Along with 100 percent reception percentage, he has also worked in as a solid pass-blocker for the offense.

Brown is averaging 27.4 yards per reception this year. He averaged 25.5 yards per reception against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. This is a bit of a surprise, given that Mike Gesicki and Hunter Henry were thought to be the headliners at the position.

Time will tell if Brown can keep up this level of production. However, there is no denying he has made an impact on the New England passing game.

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10 highest-graded players for Patriots offense vs Bills, per PFF

Some unexpected names topped the list of offensive standouts for the Patriots in their Week 7 win over the Bills

The New England Patriots offense came off of life support on Sunday and helped hand the Buffalo Bills a shocking 29-25 loss.

This wasn’t a game where the unit needed to be bailed out by the defense, either. With less than two minutes to go in the game, quarterback Mac Jones led the offense on an eight-play, 75-yard game-winning drive to put Josh Allen and the Bills away.

There was plenty to like from the performance, including the emergence of rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas, who routinely made plays as a runner, receiver and return man.

Kendrick Bourne continued to serve as a reliable receiving target for Jones, and running back Rhamondre Stevenson finally got going. But most importantly, the offensive line finally showed some fight after collapsing like a paper house in a thunderstorm in their previous three games.

Here are the top-10 highest-graded offensive players for the Patriots in Week 7, per Pro Football Focus.