Bill Belichick will go down as one of the best coaches to walk the sidelines in NFL history, but is his time in New England starting to come to an end? As hard as it may seem to believe, the dam in the Belichick era may be springing more leaks than the Patriots organization may like to admit.
Belichick or Gronk?
According to The Big Lead, it seems just days after several media outlets reported that the chances of New England seriously trading away Rob Gronkowski were increasing, new details emerged revealing the underlying cause - and it is not one of Gronk’s crazy nights on the town or a random Tweet, or even possibly pursuing a career in the WWE, it is head coach Bill Belichick.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington indicated that Gronkowski has still not made up his mind on whether he is willing to continue his football career in 2018 or just walk into retirement. Now it seems that may not be the total truth. It may be that Gronk just has had enough of Belichick.
Well, that feeling may be mutual. Darlington has learned that coach Belichick is not all that satisfied with Gronkowski either because he no longer fits the Patriots culture as an “all-in” team player, but is instead all-in on social media. No matter what the truth is about the rumored rift between the coach and tight end, things are not well in New England.
Darlington added that it is no secret that there are issues with Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, and those problems are still not resolved and remain very much a massive concern.
Could coach Belichick's time be ending with the Patriots? He has had massive success in his career in New England, but if these rumors are true, it is hard for a coach to get his team back on his side once they have tuned you out.
Cooks gone
Add Brandin Cooks to the growing list of New England Patriots to be traded this offseason.
Cooks was traded to the LA Rams last night. In return, New England will receive the No. 23 overall pick and a sixth-rounder in the 2018 draft.
Rams receive:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2018
WR Brandin Cooks
4th-round pick
Patriots receive:
1st-round pick
6th-round pick
On the heels of losing longtime defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to coach the Detroit Lions, Malcolm Butler and Dion Lewis bolting to play for the Tennessee Titans, and left tackle Nate Solder signing with the New York Giants, things are going to be much different in New England next fall.
Cooks was only a member of the Patriots for one season, but he was a key player in New England’s drive to the Super Bowl. Tom Brady will now be without Cooks and Danny Amendola in terms of wideouts from 2017. Let the Patriots rumors continue.