Patriots rumors: Belichick honors Brady, Mac Jones trust, Zeke doubts

Here are the latest New England Patriots rumors you most definitely need to know on Monday.

The NFL season is upon us, so let’s get caught up to speed on all things New England Patriots.

2023 will be year four without Tom Brady under center. While Mac Jones occupies the most sacred quarterback seat for now, head coach Bill Belichick remains ever-present. Although the days of the dynastic run are firmly in the rearview mirror, New England should field a fairly competitive team. Let’s just hope draft picks and free-agent acquisitions like Ezekiel Elliott can them over the top.

Dig into the most healthiest of helpings of Patriots rumors your Evil Empire-loving “soul” craves.

New England Patriots rumors: Is Ezekiel Elliott completely shot already?

After spending most of the NFL offseason as a free agent, former Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a one-year deal with New England last week. Elliott may be pushing 30, but he should still have something left in the tank, right? Well, Kyle Brandt of Good Morning Football tends to believe the days of feeding Zeke are in the past, as he is a washed-up player.

Here is what Brandt had to say on Good Morning Football last week about Elliott’s overall viability.

"“You turn on the Cowboys games and there hasn’t been a lot. His yards per carry is very low. There just hasn’t been a lot of juice … I don’t think this is going to light up the sky in New England. I’m not reordering my playoff predictions because they got Ezekiel Elliott in 2023.”"

Is there any validity to this, or are we overlooking the fact that Kellen Moore was let go as well?

I think it is a combination of both. Elliott is not what he once was, but he can still be a productive player in the league if used in the right spots. Although Moore will probably have great success as the new offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, it seems as though his being forced onto Mike McCarthy’s staff was clunky from the start and reached its conclusion in the playoffs.

Honestly, we are only going to know during the season if Elliott has anything left in the tank. Keep in mind that Belichick has built a reputation as one of the best free-agent talent evaluators in NFL history. He knows your roster better than even you do. Although he may have lost a step or two in talent evaluation, I am not going to write off Elliott completely, as other teams wanted to sign him.

If the Patriots did not swoop in, teams like Dallas, Cincinnati and the New York Jets all had interest.

New England Patriots rumors: Mac Jones and Bill O’Brien trust each other

After being subjected to essentially a clown show from an offensive coaching staff standpoint a season ago, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones seems to be in a much better place with Bill O’Brien as his offensive coordinator. While Jones did not play for him at Alabama, O’Brien and he are well-versed in all things Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. They have common “enemies”, but it is all good!

Here is a bit of what Jones told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about working with O’Brien.

"“We speak the same language. He used to coach for Belichick and [Nick] Saban, and I played for Belichick and Saban. We understand that it’s a tough place to play. In practice, everything’s going to be hard. You’ve got defensive head coaches, so they’re trying to make it hard on you. We love the challenge. We speak the same terminology. Sometimes I’ll bring up an old play, and everyone’s like, What’s that? And O’B’s like, It’s this. We’re talking the same language. It’s fun.”"

Together, I would expect Jones and O’Brien to bring life to an otherwise stagnant passing game. While Jones flourished in his final season at Alabama, that was during the height of COVID. He may have thrived playing in Josh McDaniels’ offense as a rookie, but the Patriots’ former offensive coordinator is now in year two as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. So what’s ahead of us?

I would envision that O’Brien will have little trouble getting his offensive game plan to stick in New England. After all, he worked for Belichick previously, albeit nearly a decade ago. Should Jones play well, then the Patriots have a realistic shot at the postseason. If he were to struggle picking up a scheme he should be well-versed in, well, that might mean it is time for The Bailey Zappe Show!

Either way, Jones will be given a real chance in year three out of Alabama with a real coordinator.

New England Patriots rumors: Bill Belichick still thinks very highly of Tom Brady

Apparently, Bill Belichick thinks the world of Tom Brady. After all these years, he puts him on the pedestal of the three best players he has ever coached in all three phases of the game: Brady (offense), Lawrence Taylor (defense when he was Bill Parcells’ coordinator on the New York Giants) and Matthew Slater (special teams). So Belichick agrees one night is not enough to honor Brady…

Here is a quote from the hoodie himself, saying the nicest things about Brady in his entire life.

Let’s be real. Belichick would be a complete imbecile if he didn’t praise Brady like he should. Fatboy Slim knew what he doing, as does the greatest NFL head coach of all time. He berated Brady like he was the 53rd man on the roster. It drove him to a life of greatness, avocado ice cream, nightshade avoidance and a highly public divorce with one of the most attractive women alive.

But it was all worth it, as Brady and Belichick combined to win the Patriots their first six Super Bowls in team history. Belichick is still waiting for No. 7, but Brady got his Magnificent Seventh living that sweet, semi-retired life in Gulf Coast Florida. For now, he works for the Silver and Black as an owner of some sort, the team his former franchise owned ever since the Tuck Rule game…

So let’s just enjoy Belichick being grateful because when do we get him when he is not crotchety?