The Patriots are off this week, after starting the season 7-3. The Patriots have had many ups and downs. The season started slowly, but the team bounced back and rallied off six straight wins. However, their lost last week to the Titans still stings and has many wondering if the team will be able to return to Super Bowl form. During the slow bye week, Patriots fans can take advantage of NFL action around the league with some football betting. These live betting lines show the spread for each game and can help you plan your football wagering.
Brady Addresses Deion Lewis’ Anti-Patriots Comments
The Patriots got taken to the woodshed by the Titans on Sunday, to the tune of a 34-10 beatdown. It was a “revenge” game of sorts, with a number of former Patriots players on the Titans roster — Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler, (head coach) Mike Vrabel to name a few.
Lewis was critical of the Patriots after the loss, calling the team “cheap” being that they didn’t offer him the new contract he was seeking, essentially allowing him to test the free-agent market (even though that’s always been their business model).
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady responded to Lewis’ comments during a WEEI appearance on Monday, and he didn’t seem to be fazed (or surprised) by them.
“I give them credit, they beat us,” Brady said. “When you win, you can say a lot of things. That is the reality of winning. We’ll just take our lumps and try and learn from them. And come out here and do a lot better job the next six weeks.”
That’s pretty much been the formula for the Patriots over the years. They’ll bury this game and move on.
Could Rob Gronkowski Retire if He Does Not Receive a New Deal?
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been dealing with ankle and back injuries this season, and that could impact his future in a big way.
Gronk has caught only 29 balls for 448 yards so far this season, which may affect how the team approaches him going forward. They gave him an incentive-filled deal that hasn’t worked out well for him at all so far this season, and it will be more of the same next year.
As such, Gronk may not deem playing worthwhile, which makes retirement a possibility. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared his take.
“I think that will be a factor in his ultimate decision and the fact he had a chance to play somewhere else and didn’t want to, I think there’s a good chance he just walks away after this year unless the Patriots are willing to rip up the last year of that contract and give him some form of security that is not tied to being healthy and producing on the field,” Florio said on NFL Sunday, which WEEI transcribed.
This isn’t a huge surprise, as for awhile, it seemed like Gronk wasn’t even going to come back this season, so this issue isn’t going away in the future, especially as his injuries mount up.
Could the Jets Ring a Bell?
Le’Veon Bell failed to sign his franchise tender, so he won’t be playing for the Steelers this season. It’s safe to say he’ll never be wearing a Steelers uniform again.
In fact, he won’t be playing for any NFL team this year, as he rests up in anticipation for hitting the free-agent market in the spring. The Steelers are unlikely to hit him with the transition tag, as that doesn’t accomplish much, and they’re not going to franchise tag him a third time, paying him upwards of $25 million (average of top five NFL players’ salaries).
At this point, all talk involving Bell will be about his future, specifically his potential landing spots. He was previously drawing interest from the Jets, Browns, Dolphins and 49ers, and those teams still appear to be the favorites to approach Bell with a lucrative offer, at least at this time.
And apparently, the Jets are at the top of the list. Bleacher Report insider Mike Freeman reported on Friday that it’s a “foregone conclusion” Bell will land with the Jets.
According to a number of NFL scouts and front office executives, there’s only one team that makes sense for the Steelers star: the New York Jets.
“I think it’s a foregone conclusion,” said one Steelers source.
“That’s the place where most of us have him pegged to go,” said one NFC scout.
The Jets do appear to be the most likely landing spot right now. The Jets have the cap space, and they’re in need of a veteran running back to anchor the backfield. They have a lot of youth on the offensive side of the ball, and Sam Darnold will be entering his second year as quarterback in 2019, so adding a proven veteran such as Bell makes sense. He also likes the night life, so New York could be viewed as an attractive destination for Bell.
Most importantly, though, the Jets can afford him, and would likely offer a good deal of guaranteed money to the soon-to-be-27-year-old running back, and that’s what matters.