Tom Curran of the Providence Journal breaks down the offseason moves of what he considers the other upper echelon teams such as the Steelers, Bengals, Colts and the Broncos.
USA Today's "Inside Slant" takes a look at second year quarterback Matt Cassel, who is the likely candidate to be Tom Brady's backup this season. The Patriots still could sign a veteran to either backup Brady or at least give Cassel some competition for the job. As of June 2 there were several known commodities still unsigned, including Kerry Collins, who started the 2005 season opener against New England, and Jay Fiedler, who should be familiar to the Patriots' coaches from his days with the Dolphins.
PatriotsInsider.com also takes a look at the current depth at the backup quarterback position. Tom Brady remains a topic of conversation in Patriots Nation. The presence of second-year pro Matt Cassel and rookies Corey Bramlet and Todd Mortensen leaves open the possibility that the Patriots will look at bringing in another veteran to compete with the youngsters for a chance to backup Brady.
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal writes that currently the Patriots Hall of Fame consists of six pages in the team's media guide. The club recently unveiled development plans for the area around Gillette Stadium and a Patriots museum is part of that plan. There, the franchise's great players will be commemorated. "The conversations on this actually date back to before the 2001 season, when the Krafts were discussing a better way of honoring the team's alumni," said Stacey James, the team's executive director of media relations. "At that point, they didn't feel there was enough history to open a Hall of Fame, so when the new stadium opened, banners were hung outside of some of the team's more recognizable players. Well, now we have something on the horizon (with the development). A museum that can tell the team's story. Now we can get creative again. And now we're excited."
Paul Doyle of the Hartford Courant reports that Deion Branch was one of several NFL players and coaches on hand to help campers at the annual charity football camp run by Eric Mangini and Tebucky Jones on Saturday. The camp raises money for Mangini's foundation - the Carmine and Frank Mangini Foundation, named for his deceased father and uncle - and the Tebucky Jones Youth Foundation.
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes. Reiss also offers his latest Patriots mailbag.
