With running back Dion Lewis out for the season, the Patriots are on the lookout for potential additions at the position, bringing in a couple more veteran free agents for workouts this week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport tweets that Pierre Thomas and Robert Turbin, recently cut by the 49ers and Browns respectively, auditioned for the Pats.
Thomas, in particular, could be a good fit in New England, since catching passes out of the backfield is one of his strength. However, in his brief stint in San Francisco, it looked like he was still attempting to shake off some rust after sitting out most of the 2015 season. The Pats also tried out Daryl Richardson earlier this week, so it’ll be interesting to see if they add another back within the next week or two, or if they try to get by with a combination of LeGarrette Blount, James White, and Brandon Bolden for now.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:
- As if the Cowboys‘ locker room wasn’t already a tense place to be these days, with the team having lost six straight games, and the presence of Greg Hardy drawing increased scrutiny, things got even more emotional today. As Eric Prisbell of USA Today outlines, wide receiver Dez Bryant yelled and cursed at multiple reporters today in the Dallas locker room, believing one had called teammate Devin Street a racial slur, though that charge was uncorroborated by other media members in the area.
- With a game against the Patriots looming, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin admitted that he regrets the fact that Julian Edelman isn’t wearing a Giants uniform this weekend (link via Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com). The Pats receiver visited New York as a free agent in 2013, but ultimately opted to re-sign with New England.
- Linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat showed that he could be a good reserve player for Washington, but he ultimately came up short on special teams, Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. Jeffcoat was quickly placed on IR and released from IR with a settlement this week.
- Speaking to Colin Cowherd this week, former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman – who hasn’t played in the NFL in 15 years – said he still has the arm strength to go out and play in the league (link via the Dallas Morning News). So if quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Tom Brady want to play well into their forties, arm strength shouldn’t be the issue — it’ll be a matter of avoiding injuries like the chronic back issue that forced Aikman into retirement.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
There is a difference between having the strength to throw a deep ball once or twice or zip a ball into protection and being able to do in throughout a game and season. Manning can still put some mustard on the ball but only seems to do it now when he really needs to.
Thomas would be a great fit in New England. He’s excellent in the screen game, and while he doesn’t have the athleticism (at age 30) that Lewis does, he does have a similar skill set.