No contract talks yet between OG Mankins and Patriots

The New England Patriots offensive guard Logan Mankins is now in embarrassment as he has not signed his free agent tender while the Patriots have not offered a new contract to him. What’s even worse, he has no way to check what he may get as a bottom line because the team did not contact him or his agent to start a contract negotiation.

“There’s nothing that’s happened," Mankins' agent, Frank Bauer, told the Boston Herald. "We haven’t heard from them. Everyone in the NFL is on vacation. We just have to see what happens.”

Mankins himself did not appear for any of the team’s offseason workouts during the past few months, and he was seen only one working out with a group of young local school players wearing Brett Favre jerseys or Saints jerseys. For most of the offseason, he was complaining that the Patriots broke their promise of giving him a long-term deal. He said he got the promise before the offseason, but did not hear any more information since the beginning of offseason.

We are not sure about the fact, and the Patriots have not made much explanation on the dispute. The only move they made is to reduce Mankins’ free agent tender from $3.26 million to $1.54 million when he refused to sign on the tender before an NFL deadline. It was the player’s agent Bauer who explained that the team hesitated because of a lack of CBA.

Patriots WR Moss hired new agent to get more benefits from fame

The New England Patriots veteran wide receiver Randy Moss is now represented by a new agent Joel Segal, who is also representing New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. Moss’ former agent Tim DiPiero, was fired after failing to get enough off-field opportunities for his client.

"To all the agents out there, I'm a free man!" Moss in an Archie Manning jersey told the Boston Herald when he ended his business relationship with DiPiero. "I am looking for a new agent. I got this football thing under control, but going into my 13th year in the league, I’m still marketable. I’m looking for an agent that’s going to get me out there with my marketing ability. I can shoot commercials. That’s what I’m looking for right now, that off-the-field money.”

Although Moss insisted that he hired a new agent to get more commercial offers, there are speculations that he was preparing for a negotiation with the team for a new contract. Having played with the Patriots for three seasons, Moss has been reported to want a contract extension that may pay him a higher salary for next season.

Patriots DL coach aims at job of defensive coordinator

The New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has not yet named a new defensive coordinator, and both the team’s defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and linebackers coach Matt Patricia are aiming at the void position. While Patricia has been regarded as a candidate for a long time, it was until a recent interview that Johnson made it clear he wanted to work as a defensive coordinator.

"It is getting more and more every year," Johnson said, per the Boston Globe. "You know me, I try to stay away from the sports talk shows, I try to stay away from the newspapers as much as possible, because I get my hopes up and I start salivating at the mouth and then the phone is not ringing. But I’m prepared for whatever presents itself. I have to be, I think you have to be in this world today, period. But yeah,over the last couple years, I’m getting more and more calls and text messages. ‘Are you coming to town?' Or 'Are you leaving us?’ So I get it both ways.”

Having worked for the Patriots for many years on the defensive line, Johnson indeed is qualified to do the job. But he still has to face competition. There has been report saying that Brett Favre also likes the idea of coaching with the Patriots if he decides to take off his Brett Favre jersey for final retirement.