For the second straight year, Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola has made financial concessions on his contract in order to remain in New England.
Though word of this spring's latest restructure came out late last week, the Boston Globe is among those that bring details to the specific financials of the new deal.
The* Globe* notes that former Red Sox NESN broadcaster Sean McDonough has been named the new play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football. The son of legendary former Globe football writer Will McDonough, he'll call his first Patriots game for ESPN on Dec. 12.
The Patriots made a number of transactions on Monday, including, as the Globe notes, trading linebacker Jon Bostic to the Lions.
The Boston Herald also looks at the McDonough hire. The Herald breaks down Tom Brady’s latest work as a product pitchman, a commercial for a mattress company.
The Providence Journal says Bostic’s career in New England never took off after being acquired in a trade with the Bears prior to last fall's trading deadline, the linebacker playing just 40 snaps on defense for the Patriots.
ESPNBoston.com writes that though the new deal with Amendola saves the Patriots $3.9 million on the cap in 2016, the sides will be in the same spot all over again next spring when the receiver is schedule to have a cap figure of $7.9 million.
ESPNBoston.com has a very interesting story on former Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko working to come up with a better helmet to reduce the risk of concussions in football players, an issue he dealt with late in his college career.
The site also notes that the Patriots were well stocked at linebacker and could afford to deal Bostic for a conditional seventh-round pick in a deal with a Detroit team led by former New England front office member Bob Quinn.
ESPN offers up a report card for the offseason moves of the four AFC East teams. The grader did not like the team's investment in restricted free agent Chris Hogan. "As receiving prospects of the Belichick era go, he seems closer to [Brandon] LaFell or Donald Hayes than he does Wes Welker."
WEEI.com tries to drum up some clicks with a story on Peyton Manning working with Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, supposedly to help the division rival unseat the champs. Of course, the former New England foe played for first-year Miami coach Adam Gase when the latter was the offensive coordinator in Denver so it's likely just a favor to his former coach and nothing nearly as diabolical as, apparently, it could be interpreted. WEEI.com passes along word that former Patriots first-round bust Dominique Easley is going to work out for the Bengals.
CSNNE.com has what it calls an Incredibly Premature Patriots 53-man Roster Projection. Warning, we can't tell you who made the cut because it's a slideshow. For whatever it's worth, CSNNE.com says that Patriots Patrick Chung and Jabaal Sheard are in the top 70 on Pro Football Focus’ ranking of NFL players.
