The New England Patriots did not activate veteran tight end Ben Watson on Monday, acquiring some salary cap room to trade for a wide receiver before the Oct. 29 trade deadline. The decision was first reported by Mike Reiss of ESPN. The move gave the Patriots an additional $2 million in salary cap room, giving them some ability to trade for a wide receiver – possibly Emmanuel Sanders of the Denver Broncos or A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals. With the move, Watson is now a free agent and could sign with any team. In a tweet, Watson expressed disappointment for not making the Patriots’ roster, saying he gave it his all.
Watson came back last week from a four-game suspension, but the Patriots did not activate him for their Week 5 game against the Washington Redskins. It will be remembered that Watson briefly retired before the Patriots convinced him to return to the NFL. However, he was suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing substance. Letting go of Watson was easy for the Patriots with the emergence of youngsters Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo at tight end.
Haskins praises Brady for setting the standard
Though the Redskins suffered a humiliating 33-7 loss to the Patriots, that did not stop rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins from thanking veteran signal-caller Tom Brady. In a tweet on Monday, Haskins, a former Ohio State quarterback, said it was a pleasure meeting Brady after the game even though he was a “ttun alum." Many Ohio State players and fans often refer to Michigan as "The Team Up North," rather than saying its name.
Haskins had a chance to speak briefly with Brady after he went around and chatted with several other Redskins players. “Thank you for setting the standard for QB play,” Haskins further said in his tweet.
During their short talk, Brady told Haskins “good luck to you." Brady also said that the Buckeyes “beat us all the time.” “Appreciate you for bringing up that I’m undefeated vs that team,” Haskins tweeted.
Heading into their showdown last week, Haskins revealed that he’s a fan of Brady, calling him as a role model. Haskins also disclosed that he watched Brady’s "Tom vs. Time" during his last year as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback to learn some training techniques from the veteran signal-caller. Haskins even expressed excitement about sharing the same field with Brady in Week 5.
However, that didn’t come into fruition as the Redskins started veteran Colt McCoy against the fierce Patriots defense. Luckily for Haskins, he avoided the fate of McCoy, who was sacked six times for a loss of 44 yards by the Patriots’ defense.
Two Redskins players ask for Brady’s jersey
After the game, Redskins running back Adrian Peterson and offensive lineman Donald Penn both asked Brady for his game-worn jersey. In a video captured by WBZ-TV on the field, Peterson approached Brady and told him “hey, I need the jersey.” The 42-year-old Brady immediately obliged, telling Peterson that he would send it to him. Penn, as he shook hands with Brady, also made the same request. Brady told the offensive lineman that Peterson already asked for it, but the gracious quarterback told Penn that he would send him a different one.
