Patriots notes, quotes, and anecdotes: Let’s talk about Brandon Aiyuk again

Good morning, happy Sunday, and welcome back into another edition of ‘Patriots notes, quotes, & anecdotes’ – a weekly piece hitting on all of the happenings surrounding the New England Patriots. 

Here we go:

---

— Brandon Aiyuk, unhappy with contract, meets with 49ers. Should Patriots get involved?

It’s Groundhog Day in San Francisco as rumors of star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk being on the outs with the team are circulating again.

According to ESPN’s Ryan Clark and Adam Schefter, Aiyuk met with the 49ers on Monday regarding his contract situation as he enters the final year of his rookie contract — the fifth-year option that San Francisco picked up last Spring.

Aiyuk is coming off of a career season with the 49ers. En route to a Super Bowl appearance, Aiyuk hauled in 84 receptions for 1,491 yards and eight touchdowns over 16 regular season games and three playoff games. He became quarterback Brock Purdy’s top target on offense, and earned Second-team All-Pro honors for his performance.

The 26-year-old has outwardly spoken about his frustrations on his contract in recent weeks. Although he told TMZ on Friday that he “for sure” wants to remain in San Francisco, he also posted a video call with former teammate and current Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels on TikTok earlier this month where he says that the 49ers “don’t want [him] back.” Additionally, he told “The Pivot” podcast that the Commanders and Steelers could be options for him should they not come to an agreement.

So what about the Patriots?

New England has longed for a true, No. 1 wide receiver since the days of Randy Moss. Failed draft picks of Chad Jackson, Aaron Dobson, N’Keal Harry, and Tyquan Thornton have haunted them for 10+ years. Among other mistakes, they didn’t equip Mac Jones with the proper weapons to succeed in the NFL. Don’t make the same mistake twice with Drake Maye.

Sure, the Patriots took two solid swings on Ja’Lynn Polk (R2, Pick 37) and Javon Baker (R4, Pick 104) — and the early returns on both have looked solid. But those two are just as inexperienced as Maye at the NFL level. Quarterbacks who have succeeded earlier in their careers (Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert) all have at least one thing in common: a bonafide No. 1 wide receiver to throw to and rely on.

If you can’t get it across the finish line, so be it. But if the Patriots don’t at least call on Aiyuk again, it’s a missed opportunity.

— Bill Belichick: Lacrosse coach?

Bill Belichick has made several premier appearances since parting ways with the Patriots back in January: The Roast of Tom Brady, Pat McAfee’s NFL Draft Spectacular, Tom Brady’s retirement ceremony, and the Manning Passing Academy to name a few. He’s also been seen showing up to lacrosse games, speaking at coaching clinics, and vacationing on his beloved Nantucket island.

But is he ready to get back into coaching? That’s the big question. While he seemingly didn’t have a chance to this offseason after being passed up by 31(!!) NFL teams, Belichick reportedly was given a chance to coach lacrosse in 2024.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Premier Lacrosse League founder, president, and former Boston Cannon Paul Rabil told Paul Calcaterra that Philadelphia Waterdogs head coach Bill Tierney almost got Belichick to be his defensive coordinator this season:

“I’ll give you some tea first,” said Rabil. “You know who Bill [Tierney] went to for his defensive coordinator position? Bill Belichick. Almost got him. Almost got him.”

“You’re kidding,” responded Calcaterra.

“Well, he went to him,” Rabil continued. “He made him say no.”

Now that would have been something.

— Gronk on Belichick.

Speaking of Belichick, for the second week in a row we have a former Patriot seemingly standing up for the former head coach.

On Julian Edelman’s latest episode of “Games with Names“, Rob Gronkowski had this to say about the 72-year-old:

“I think Coach Belichick may be my new favorite person since the roast,” the former All-Pro tight end said when talking about their time at Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction. “If he just showed that personality at all while he was a head coach, I still think we would be playing with the New England Patriots and winning Super Bowls.”

— Roster moves:

No roster moves were made by the Patriots this week.

— Patriots tried to trade for Adam Thielen in 2019.

Although the Patriots have been snake-bitten by their attempts at landing a true No. 1 wide receiver, you can’t say they haven’t tried — as seen in their signings of (albeit troubled) pass-catchers Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.

Apparently, they also once tried to trade for former Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen.

In an interview on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take last week, Theilen explained how despite a rather public beef between he and Bill Belichick, that there were no hard feelings:

“I just let him know I didn’t feel like that was the right thing to do,” Thielen said when explaining that an apparent fake injury by former New England safety is what started the ruckus.”

“I believe going into that next offseason [Belichick] had reached out to the [Vikings] about, you know, possibly trading for me, trying to get me to come there,” he continued. “So it must have been like a good impression, he must have liked that kind of tenacity or competitiveness.”

Obviously, that didn’t happen, and two years later there looked to be no love lost:

---

Thanks for reading! We’ll talk to ya next week.

Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!

Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high-stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay.