Several connections between the Patriots, Titans and Jason McCourty point to the recently released cornerback having a logical route to New England. Bill Belichick‘s relationship with Tennessee GM Jon Robinson, along with McCourty having played for Belichick friend Greg Schiano at Rutgers help Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (video link via CSNNE.com) see a reasonable chance the parties unite. Of course, the obvious driving force here is twin brother Devin McCourty residing in the Patriots’ secondary. The Pats looked into trading for McCourty at the 2015 trade deadline. Due to these relationships, and the fact that Jason McCourty will be much cheaper, makes him a better fit for the Patriots than expensive trade-block defender Richard Sherman in Breer’s eyes.
Here’s more from the AFC East.
- McCourty would be an insurance policy if the Patriots traded Malcolm Butler, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. He would become the Pats’ No. 2 corner if Butler ventured elsewhere as a restricted free agent, Reiss notes. We’re at a bit of a standstill on the Butler-to-Saints discussion, but Breer noted earlier this week there’s a slightly better chance the RFA corner ends up on the Saints than Patriots in 2017.
- Butler’s RFA price — a first-round tender — will make a Jason McCourty/Pats union unrealistic, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com writes. Hannable expects Butler to play on that $3.91MM tender after signing it, believing no team will give up its first-round pick for a cornerback who isn’t a lock to re-sign. Of course, the Saints’ talks are believed to be based on the premise the sides would work out a different deal than New Orleans forking over its No. 11 overall pick. Other teams are almost certainly going to pursue the 29-year-old McCourty as well.
- Some Jets brass are intrigued by Mitch Trubisky, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. But Mehta doesn’t envision Mike Maccagnan taking a quarterback in Rounds 1 or 2, believing the GM will save his franchise-passer pick for 2018 if necessary. However, if the Jets do bring in another high QB pick in addition to Christian Hackenberg, Mehta sees Bryce Petty being the odd man out. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report is also skeptical of any Jets/Trubisky talk, believing the franchise would love for a team to offer picks to move up to the No. 6 window to take the North Carolina passer.
- The Dolphins hosted cornerback Teez Tabor on a visit, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Tabor met with the Dolphins on Monday at their facility, according to Jackson. Miami is in need of cornerback help, but Jackson places that need below front-seven assistance. Miami did not add to its cornerback stable this offseason, leaving a higher-end need there.
- As for the Bills‘ reported interest in Deshaun Watson, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News is betting that’s a smokescreen tactic. The Bills are indeed sending some strong signals Watson’s way, it appears, but Carucci believes the Tyrod Taylor adjusted contract will allow them to keep an eye on future prospects as opposed to developing one now. Buffalo can again escape from Taylor’s deal a season after authorizing it.