Since the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) went into effect in 2011, NFL contracts for rookie draft choices have been set at four years, with teams being given the choice of adding a fifth year for first-round picks when those players are about to enter their fourth season.
Wednesday was this year's deadline for teams to exercise fifth-year options on the contracts of any former first-round draft choices on their rosters. According to NFL Network, none of the three New England players in that category will receive fifth-year options.
https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/991775713102528513
That doesn't necessarily mean we won't see Danny Shelton, Malcom Brown, or Phillip Dorsett on the Patriots after this season. An ESPN blog post and *The Providence Journal *offer more details and context.
The most recent NFL Draft is still on people's minds, and one Boston Globe columnist offers his thoughts on what New England did and didn’t do last weekend. And on NBC Sports Boston's website, another writer offers a list of potential QBs of interest to the Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, the Boston Sports Journal site examines which veteran free agents might still be worth New England’s while this offseason.
Finally, the Boston Herald caught up this week with CB Stephon Gilmore, who says he’s committed to helping the Patriots get back to the Super Bowl after this past season's loss.
"I'm very driven to get back," said Gilmore. "I know it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, because it's not easy to get there. It's not easy to win games. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team get there."
