Daily news and links for Thursday
TEAM TALK
- Patriots-Bills initial Injury Report.
- Evan Lazar’s Patriots Gameplan: Previewing the Pats plan at QB in Sunday’s season finale vs. the Bills
- Press Conferences: Jerod Mayo – Drake Maye – Deatrich Wise Jr. – Hunter Henry.
LOCAL LINKS
- Matt Schooley notes New England has one Pro Bowler: special teams ace Brenden Schooler, while Christian Gonzalez gets snubbed.
- Andrew Callahan asserts the Patriots should tank Sunday’s season finale for their own good.
- Mark Daniels says the Patriots can secure the No. 1 pick by losing — but Jerod Mayo doesn’t sound like a coach willing to tank.
- Doug Kyed warns that Patriots fans probably aren’t getting what they want in Week 18.
- Matt Vautour says Jerod Mayo is trying to do an honorable thing but he’s missing the bigger picture. Pretending this game is meaningful could lead to more meaningless games.
- Meghan Ottolini believes that sitting Drake Maye is the smart decision for the Patriots in Week 18
- Doug Kyed highlights Jerod Mayo addressing job security, boos from Patriots fans and winning on Sunday.
- Karen Guregian says the fact-finding mission is complete on Drake Maye, who has nothing more to prove this year.
- Darren Hartwell wonders if Drake Maye’s hand injury could change who starts at QB on Sunday.
- Doug Kyed explains the Patriots cut veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue ahead of the season finale just to ‘give him an opportunity to catch on with a team that will be in the postseason.’
- Chris Mason reports the Patriots signed an intriguing International Pathway Program (IPP) player to 53-man roster: DL Haggai Ndubuisi, a native of Nigeria.
- Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Will the Krafts fire Jerod Mayo?
- Lauren Campbell notes QB Jimmy Garoppolo is set to make his Rams debut in Week 18 finale.
- Tom Carroll relays Chris Scheim who says the Patriots should trade down from No. 1 and take LT Kelvin Banks Jr.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Grant Gordon (NFL.com) Jerod Mayo on Patriots’ mindset holding No. 1 draft slot: Never gone into ‘game not wanting to win.’
- Myles Simmons (ProFootballTalk) Jerod Mayo: Drake Maye is our starter, if he’s healthy and ready to go, he’ll play.
- Bill Barnwell (ESPN) NFL All-Pro team 2024: 50 best players, picks at every position.
- Andrew Brandt (SI) Top 10 Business of Football stories of the year: From private equity, to Tom Brady, to Netflix, to the running back revolution, here is what shaped the league in 2024.
- Around the NFL (NFL.com) 2025 Pro Bowl Games rosters: AFC – NFC.
- Kevin Patra (NFL.com) 2025 Pro Bowl Games snubs: /Christian Gonzalez not mentioned but a huge snub.
- James Foster (The33rdTeam) 2025 NFL Draft: Superlatives for this year’s offensive line class.
- Tyler Brooke (The33rdTeam) Re-drafting 2024 NFL draft as rookie seasons near end. 1. Bears pick Jayden Daniels, 2. Commanders take Drake Maye, 3. Patriots select Caleb Williams.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Week 18 NFL picks: Ravens, Buccaneers roll to clinch division titles, Lions edge Vikings for top seed. Patriots win 24-23.
- MMQB Staff (SI) NFL Week 18 picks. 2 out of 6 pick Pats to win.
- John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL Week 18 picks and score predictions: Bengals beat Steelers to keep playoff hopes alive, Lions edge Vikings. Bills win 20-16.
- Bryan DeArdo (CBS Sports) NFL ensures Super Bowl safety after New Orleans tragedy, ‘confident’ it will be safe and enjoyable experience.