NEWSLETTER
Last week it was (allegedly, but disputed by Lamar) Ken Francis reaching out to teams to broker a deal for Lamar Jackson. This week, it’s … Meek Mill. That’s right, Meek Mill is trying to get Lamar Jackson to the Patriots.
Uhhhh. Yep. We’ve reached that point in the Lamar Jackson saga. The agent-less former MVP allegedly has world-famous rappers trying to broker deals behind the scenes. SI.com’s Albert Breer tweeted that Patriots owner Robert Kraft received a text from Mill stating that Lamar wants to go to New England.
First of all, the fact that Meek Mill and Robert Kraft are on a texting buddy’s level is wild. Second, I found a Getty Image of the two chatting courtside at a game. Also wild. But I digress.
So, at some point, Jackson told Mill he wanted to play for the Patriots. I wonder if this was just conversational and Mill took the liberty to try to play matchmaker or if Jackson sought Mill’s assistance in extending the olive branch to New England. Either way, you know who could have done that? An agent.
Regardless of the intention behind it all, Robert Kraft has been alerted that Lamar Jackson wants to play for the Patriots. Kraft said that he would leave that one up to Bill Belichick. He also didn’t say “no.” So, there’s that.
Kraft also said at some point today that he “thought changes needed to be made (after last season)” in New England, per Ian Rapoport. As for Mac Jones, Kraft said he was “a big fan of Mac” and that the Patriots “experimented with some things last year that didn’t work.” However, Kraft said that the team has made changes to put him in a position to excel.
“I’m a big fan of Mac” seems like a pretty half-hearted endorsement of the supposed franchise QB from Kraft. Plus, me reading the tea leaves as Kraft isn’t actually a big fan of Mac, wouldn’t make me the first person to do so in recent months. I’m beginning to believe that maybe Kraft is only as big a Mac fan as he has to be. Or, more specifically, for as long as he has to be.
The Patriots are stocked with picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, with 11 selections scheduled across the seven rounds. New England owns the 14th pick and six in the top 150 selections. They have the draft capital to make it happen without it crippling their draft class.
But two first rounders? Maybe.
Or, Maybe they work out a trade that involved one first-rounder, Mac Jones, and more. It would be compelling as heck, that’s for sure. It would also be a happy ending for all parties. Well, except Mac Jones, but whatever.
For now, we wait and see.
