Patriots: When the Houston Texans announced that they will not pursue Nick Caserio as their new general manager, it looked like the tug-of-war for his services was over. It seemed he would stay with the New England Patriots as their director for player personnel. However, a report by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe indicated that the whole thing is far from over and the Patriots have nothing to celebrate.
According to Volin, Caserio wants out of the Patriots, where he is under contract until the 2020 NFL Draft and is eyeing the Texans general manager post that was vacated when the team fired Brian Gaine after just one season.
“The Patriots may have won this round, but keeping Caserio isn’t the real story here. The real story is this: Nick Caserio wants out of New England,” Volin said in his article, adding that Caserio is eyeing the Texans job “even though it was more of a lateral move than a true promotion.”
Patriots prevented Caserio from leaving
As proof that he wants the Texans' job badly, Caserio never issued a statement turning down the opportunity. Volin added that in an effort to prevent Caserio from leaving, the Patriots mentioned a clause in his contract that prevents him from moving to another team. To add pressure on the Texans, the Patriots filed tampering charges against them to stop Houston from pursuing Caserio.
43-year-old Caserio has been with the Patriots since 2001 in different capacities. In 2008, he assumed the position of director for player personnel, but the team did not give him any promotion despite his immense contribution to the success of the Patriots. As part of his job as right-hand man to Head Coach Bill Belichick, Caserio has the power to negotiate contracts, pick players, conduct workouts, and help out in practice so his impending departure will be a big blow to the team.
Vikings' tight end talks about trade rumors
The retirement of Rob Gronkowski left a huge hole at tight end for the Patriots, who have explored several moves on how to replace the nine-year veteran. It was rumored that the Patriots tried to work out a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for tight end Kyle Rudolph. However, the rumors did not materialize while the 29-year-old Rudolph signed a four-year deal worth $36 million with the Vikings.
When asked about the rumored trade with the Patriots, Rudolph told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that he didn’t know how real those trade possibilities were. Rudolph added that he didn’t know if there was any real opportunity to play for the Patriots, a team which he followed from afar since joining Notre Dame in 2008. Currently, the Patriots have Matt LaCosse as their No. 1 tight end with the four-game suspension of Ben Watson and the release of Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The Patriots traded with the Detroit Lions for tight end Michael Roberts but the trade was voided after he failed a physical.