New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are not expected to use the franchise tag on cornerback J.C. Jackson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:

The decision will allow Jackson to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

The 26-year-old was named second-team All-Pro in 2021 and earned his first Pro Bowl selection after totaling eight interceptions and a league-high 23 passes defended.

Last season was far from a fluke for Jackson, who was voted by NFL personnel as a top-10 cornerback entering the season, even when overshadowed by Stephon Gilmore. The undrafted player had nine interceptions in 2020 and has 25 picks in his four-year career, enough to rank 15th among all active players. 

No one selected in the 2018 draft—where Jackson was overlooked—has more than 13 interceptions in his career.

Despite his success, the Patriots hadn't contacted Jackson to discuss a new contract.

"I guess they feel like they don't need me," Jackson told Phil Perry of NBC Sports last month. "I guess I can't be that important to them. I know I am, but they're not showing me."

The Patriots could have kept him under team control with the franchise tag, which is projected to be $17.295 for cornerbacks, per OverTheCap. It seems the team will instead let the talented player hit the open market.

It should lead to a big payday for Jackson, who is listed as the top cornerback and No. 6 overall player available by Pro Football Focus. 

The Patriots, meanwhile, could be short-handed at cornerback after losing both Jackson and Gilmore in the course of a year. Jalen Mills should provide some stability, but the team might need big jumps from Myles Bryant and Joejuan Williams in 2022.    

The New England Patriots reportedly are not leaning toward using the franchise tag on free-agent cornerback J.C. Jackson this offseason.

Mike Reiss of ESPN suggested Jackson is "the likely only candidate to strongly consider in New England" when it comes to the franchise tag, but he guessed the odds of that happening are "low" barring a belief from the team it could then trade him.

The cornerback tag is projected at approximately $17.3 million for the upcoming season.

Jackson recently made waves when he told Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston: "I guess they feel like they don't need me. I guess I can't be that important to them. I know I am, but they're not showing me."

He explained the Patriots had not contacted him regarding a new contract even though he would not be against playing the 2022 campaign under the tag.

The deadline to apply the tag is March 8, so the Patriots still have some time if they want to do so or perhaps work out a longer deal. Using the tag could also give the team more time to work out such a contract if that is the route both sides want to pursue.

"Whatever happens, happens," Jackson said. "I'm taking it day by day. But it's time for me to get paid. It's time to get Mr. INT paid."

New England may have some difficulty paying him and accomplishing other tasks this offseason considering it is just 22nd in the league in total cap space, per Spotrac. Still, the 26-year-old is in the middle of his prime and coming off a Pro Bowl season.

The second-team All-Pro posted 58 tackles, 23 passes defended, eight interceptions, one forced fumble and a defensive touchdown during the 2021 campaign. Nobody in the league had more passes defended, and he has 25 picks in four years since New England signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland.

The Mr. INT nickname is fitting, and he will surely generate interest elsewhere if the Patriots choose not to bring him back.                     

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known for his icy demeanor, but an admirable move Wednesday is surely to soften the perception of him.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that The Bill Belichick Foundation donated $385,000 in scholarships and grants to promote athletics to underprivileged youth and sports programs in need.

"As athletic programs recover from programming obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bill Belichick Foundation has distributed monetary awards to qualifying organizations through its annual grant and scholarship program," the foundation's press release stated. 

"While the pandemic continues to affect sports at all levels," the release continued, "the Bill Belichick Foundation’s financial support will help rebuild and grow sports programs across the United States. Scholarship and grant funds will provide athletic experiences and opportunities to underprivileged youth and sports programs in need."

The Foundation also announced the 13 members of its 2021 scholarship class. They were awarded with a $5,000 stipend for being "students who have excelled academically while participating in athletics."

Thirty-two programs across the country received the Bill Belichick Foundation grant, which is "a $10,000 gift that recognizes deserving athletic communities in need of financial support."

According to the release, the Bill Belichick Foundation "provides coaching, mentorship, and financial support to individuals, communities, and organizations. Focusing on football and lacrosse, its mission is to bring the values of the Belichick family--a love of sports, coaching and team building--to the athletic leaders of tomorrow."

Cornerback J.C. Jackson has never played for an NFL team outside of the New England Patriots, but that may change since he is a free agent and told Phil Perry of NBC Sports the AFC East club has not reached out to him this offseason.

"I guess they feel like they don't need me," Jackson said. "I guess I can't be that important to them. I know I am, but they're not showing me."

Though the Maryland product says there has been no contact this offseason, he did say he discussed a possible contract extension with the Patriots during the season.

"It was all positive things," he said. "I wanted to focus on ball at the time. I wanted to finish the season the right way. I didn't really come back to them on it."

Jackson also said he is not against playing on the franchise tag if New England chooses that route.

There is plenty to like about the cornerback's game. He helped the Patriots win a Super Bowl during his rookie season in 2018 and was a Pro Bowler this past year. He finished the 2021 campaign with 58 tackles, 23 passes defended, eight interceptions, one forced fumble and a defensive touchdown.

What's more, Jackson is just 26 years old and figures to remain productive for the foreseeable future.

That is someone a team can build a defense around, especially in today's pass-happy NFL. If the Patriots choose not to bring him back, he will surely generate plenty of interest on the open market.

According to Spotrac, the Patriots are just 22nd in the league in cap space. That could make things more difficult on their part if they do attempt to bring Jackson back, but he can be a cornerstone for the defense as the team looks to remain competitive in the AFC East.        

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said during an interview with Bryant Gumbel for HBO's Real Sports that the AFC East team offered him a non-disparagement agreement for millions of dollars after he was fired.

"Signing that separation agreement would have really silenced me," Flores said when explaining why he declined it.

Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its teams alleging racist hiring practices and discrimination. Included in the lawsuit were allegations that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in an effort to improve the team's draft position during the 2019 season.

Flores also said Ross pressured him into recruiting a "prominent quarterback," which would have violated the NFL's tampering rules.

Ross denied the allegations and called them "false, malicious and defamatory."

The team also released a statement Tuesday, calling the NDA allegations "categorically false":

Flores' attorneys responded to Miami's assertion:

The Dolphins started 0-7 during the 2019 season and appeared on their way to the No. 1 pick, which could have given them the opportunity to draft Joe Burrow. Instead, they turned things around down the stretch and finished with a 5-11 record and the No. 5 pick, which they used to select Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins improved to 10-6 in 2020 and 9-8 in 2021 to finish with back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003, but it wasn't enough to convince the team to bring Flores back for the 2022 campaign.

Flores also said the Denver Broncos and New York Giants conducted "sham" interviews with him regarding their head coaching vacancies in an effort to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two candidates of color.

Flores also said New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly texted him instead of Brian Daboll to offer congratulations for landing the Giants job. Flores had not yet been interviewed when he received the text message, and New York eventually hired Daboll.

He told Gumbel he hasn't spoken to Belichick since filing the lawsuit but would be open to a conversation. Flores was on New England's coaching staff from 2004 through 2018.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have since hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.

The New England Patriots reportedly haven't made much headway in replacing former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

According to SI.com's Albert Breer, the Pats haven't spoken to former Miami Dolphins and New York Jets head coach Adam Gase about the opening, and "things have been quiet" with former Houston Texans head coach and current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

After McDaniels became head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, rumors swirled about who Bill Belichick would bring in as his replacement.

NFL Network's Mike Giardi reported earlier this month that O'Brien and Gase's names kept "popping up" when talking to league sources about the Pats' next offensive coordinator.

McDaniels is a huge loss for the Patriots, considering he spent 18 years as an assistant under Belichick and 13 years as New England's offensive coordinator.

Because of the familiarity lost with McDaniels' departure, bringing in a familiar face like O'Brien to replace him wouldn't be much of a surprise.

O'Brien spent five years on the Patriots' staff as an assistant from 2007-11. That included one year as offensive coordinator in 2011.

After that, O'Brien went 15-9 in two seasons as head coach at Penn State and 52-48 with four playoff appearances in parts of seven seasons as head coach of the Texans.

Last season, O'Brien became the OC at Alabama, helping quarterback Bryce Young win the Heisman Trophy and the Crimson Tide reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, where they fell to SEC rival Georgia.

While O'Brien is already well aware of what coaching for the Patriots entails, Gase would be a true outside hire.

The 43-year-old Gase has been an NFL coach since 2005, and he has extensive experience on the offensive side of the ball.

Most notably, Gase was a wide receivers and quarterbacks coach before becoming offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. He then served as the Chicago Bears' OC in 2015 before taking the Dolphins' head coaching job.

Gase went 10-6 and led the Dolphins to the playoffs during his first season, but after going 6-10 in 2017 and 7-9 in 2018, he was fired.

He was hired by the Jets shortly thereafter, but things didn't go any better in New York, as Gase was fired after going 9-23 over two seasons.

Regardless of who the Patriots hire as their new OC, they will have something of a challenge on their hands.

With Cam Newton as their quarterback, the Pats ranked 27th in both total offense and scoring offense in 2020. After replacing Newton with rookie Mac Jones, they took a step forward in 2021, ranking 15th in total offense and sixth in scoring offense.

A strong defense and running game helped Jones immensely, and while he showed flashes of brilliance at times, he still has a long way to go in his development.

Jones and the Patriots were on the receiving end of a 47-17 beating at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs, underscoring how far off New England is from challenging Buffalo for the AFC East crown.

If the incoming offensive coordinator can quickly help take Jones to the next level, however, perhaps the Patriots can get back to their reign of dominance over the division.

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is not upset over Bill Belichick's text messages regarding the New York Giants head coaching search.

During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, Flores was asked if he felt like he damaged his relationship with the New England Patriots head coach by including his text messages in his lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams.

"I'm not mad," Flores responded. "I mean, Bill did what a lot of us... He sent a text message to the wrong person. I mean, I'm certainly guilty of that before and, to me, I thought it was specific to the lawsuit in that, for me, it confirmed a lot of things that I thought were going on that I think a lot of Black, minority coaches think are going on."

Belichick appeared to accidentally text Flores congratulating him for landing the Giants head coaching job when he actually meant to text Brian Daboll who, at the time, was the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator.

Belichick's texts appeared to indicate Daboll received the Giants head coaching job before Flores was set to interview three days later. In his lawsuit, Flores said the Giants interviewed him just to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview candidates of color for coaching jobs. He included Belichick's text messages in the filing.

Flores also alleged discrimination in his firing by the Dolphins and said team owner Stephen Ross offered him money to lose games on purpose during the 2019 season in order to get a higher draft pick.

In addition, Flores said that John Elway arrived to his head coaching interview hungover in 2019. He is also adding a retaliation claim to the lawsuit against the Houston Texans for not hiring him, according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio.

The Dolphins surprisingly fired Flores after he led the team to two straight winning season in 2020 and 2021. Before that, Miami hadn't had back-to-back winning seasons since the 2002 and 2003 campaigns.

Since then, the Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.

"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "Brian's resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."

A woman who was recently recognized as the New England Patriots' oldest fan died Tuesday at the age of 106.

According to ESPN, Myrtle Milledge of Mexico, Maine, died at Hospice House in Auburn, Maine, less than one week after being honored by the Patriots.

WMTW in Portland, Maine, reported last week that the Patriots gifted Milledge a special jersey to celebrate her 106th birthday, which was in December, according to her obituary.

The jersey had her name and the No. 106 on it to commemorate her age, plus she received a letter from Patriots owner Robert Kraft in which she was declared the world's oldest fan of the team.

ESPN noted that Milledge's support for the Patriots was evident over the years, including when she served as the grand marshal for a parade celebrating the Pats' most recent Super Bowl win in 2019.

Milledge experienced no shortage of milestones regarding the Patriots throughout her life, including the founding of the team in 1960 when it was known as the Boston Patriots.

The Patriots then made the move from the AFL to the NFL in 1970, which is when they were renamed the New England Patriots.

It wasn't until the 2001 season that Milledge saw the Pats win their first Super Bowl title, but they went on an unprecedented run from there, winning a total of six championships from 2001-18 under the guidance of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.