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Henry McKenna
AFC East Reporter
The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick are in an information-free phase of their potential breakup. It’s unclear what exactly is happening behind the curtain as owner Robert Kraft decides how to handle Belichick’s future following the team’s 4-13 season.
I can’t help but wonder if Kraft is quietly shopping Belichick on the trade market. (This is a hunch, not a report.) Maybe Kraft is still deliberating, but if he’s not, he would have made it clear — by making a statement or leaking to the media — that Belichick is coming back. And we haven’t seen that.
Oddly, Belichick is not an easy coach to trade. He might be worth a first-round pick, and if so, he probably wouldn’t even want to go to a team without a first-round pick. And if it’s not a first-round pick, then there’s the complication of the greatest coach of all time getting traded for a second-round pick just one offseason after Sean Payton went for a first and second (with a third-rounder coming back to Denver). That might embarrass Belichick.
Then there’s this complication: Belichick’s demands — financial (massive contract) and organizational (coach and GM roles) — won’t match with many teams. What if Belichick struggles to find a team that wants what he’s selling, particularly in the wake of a rough few seasons in New England after Tom Brady’s departure?
We’ll soon find out. But in the meantime, here are some options that might be available to Belichick — if he hits the trade or open market.
Is the Bill Belichick-Patriots era coming to an end soon?
Atlanta Falcons
Selling point: Personnel. Despite some inexplicable personnel usage by former coach Arthur Smith (from first-round picks Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts), Atlanta finished 7-10 and had a shot at the playoffs until the last day of the regular season. Imagine if the Falcons had simply played their best players in the most important…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/7-potential-bill-belichick-landing-spots-if-he-and-patriots-part-ways
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Publish date : 2024-01-10 16:18:12
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