FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts/notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Ninkovich’s take: Rob Ninkovich played for the Patriots from 2009 to 2016 and won two Super Bowl championships, still lives in New England and thus has followed with interest Bill Belichick’s quiet approach in free agency. He makes an analogy to someone ready to jump off a diving board.
While other AFC teams like the Las Vegas Raiders (Davante Adams, Chandler Jones), Buffalo Bills (Von Miller), Los Angeles Chargers (Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson) and Denver Broncos (Russell Wilson) are going cannonball-style, Ninkovich described the Patriots’ approach in different terms.
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“They’ve made no splash. They’re straight in, like a pencil,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s kind of head-scratching a little bit. You’re saying, ‘What are they doing here?’ You’re seeing guys leave and you don’t see comparable quality coming in. You didn’t get to where you wanted to go last year, and now you’re thinking, ‘Well, how are you going to even get back to that point this year?'”
But Ninkovich himself is a good example of something Belichick has often said: There are different ways to acquire talent — free agency, trades and the draft — and it’s a year-round process.
In 2009, Ninkovich didn’t join the Patriots until the early days of training camp after he was cut by the New Orleans Saints, a decision former coach Sean Payton still laments as one of his biggest mistakes.
And that’s what Ninkovich, entering his fourth season as an ESPN football analyst, sees as the Patriots’ most realistic avenue for building on last year’s 10-8 season.
“Maybe they get some key pieces in the draft that are functional,” he said. “My only concern is that it usually takes a year or two to get yourself ready to play at a high level…
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