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The New England Patriots don't exactly have a whole lot of elite talent on their roster, so they will absolutely need to add some pieces via free agency and the NFL Draft.
But do the Patriots potentially have some in-house solutions?
The cupboard is fairly thin when it comes to New England's current 53-man group. While there are some standouts, the Pats don't possess a ton of depth.
However, Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit has identified a very intriguing prospect to monitor the rest of the way this season: cornerback Alex Austin.
"Two players we will keep an eye on — one on offense, one on defense — are offensive lineman Cole Strange and cornerback Alex Austin," Buchmasser wrote. "The former is a 27-game starter who is expected to return from the physically unable to perform list soon, while the latter showed some promise before the bye and could give New England a viable CB2 opposite [Christian] Gonzalez."
Austin has only played in five games this season, logging one tackle and a couple of passes defended. All of his statistics came during the Patriots' Week 13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The 23-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Oregon State, was originally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
However, he was released by the Bills just before the start of his rookie campaign and proceeded to sign with the Houston Texans.
Austin did not log a single statistic with the Texans until finally being released by Houston midway through the 2023 season. That was when he signed with New England, where he proceeded to post nine tackles, a pair of passes defended and an interception in five contests.
Pats head coach Jerod Mayo has said he wants to get a feel for more players down the stretch, so perhaps the Patriots will give more time to Austin.
- Patriots Get Much Needed O-Line Help
- Insiders Offer Conflicting Update on Patriots' Bill Belichick, UNC Talks
- Patriots' Jerod Mayo Speaks Out About Job Security
- Patriots Failing in One Critical Area
- Patriots Pressed to Sign Chiefs WR, Former All-Pro
More must-reads:
- Steelers receive massive Aaron Rodgers injury update ahead of Bears game
- Cowboys' Jerry Jones has made a decision about George Pickens
- The 'NFL QB rushing TD leaders' quiz
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Chiefs React to Travis Kelce's Decision on Sunday
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce continues to make headlines on and off the field. Entering Sunday's Week 11 game against the Denver Broncos, Kelce has been one of the most reliable players on the Chiefs. In nine games this 2025, he has recorded 41 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns. He actually leads in the team in receptions and receiving yards and is second in receiving touchdowns. Off the field, the Chiefs tight end has been the subject of plenty of interest due to his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift. Not to mention, he has been growing his personal brand by diversifying his ventures — from going into acting to opening up his own restaurant with teammate Patrick Mahomes. Now, prior to their showdown with the Broncos, Kelce drew plenty of attention again with his off-field decision. The 36-year-old star arrived at Empower Field at Mile High wearing a black blazer with a subtle striped pattern, which he paired with matching pants. What stood out from his outfit were his bags, as he brought a Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandouliere and Horizon 55 that cost over $9,000 combined, per Style By Kelce. Even the Chiefs couldn't help but react to Kelce's outfit, as they shared photos of him on social media. "Find you someone who cleans up like @TKelce," the Chiefs wrote. For what it's worth, fans agreed with the Chiefs' post, taking to the comment section to share their reactions. "He cleans up Nicely," a commenter wrote. Another one said, "He Polishs up real nice!" A fan added, "There’s only one Travis Kelce." "Looking good as usual Travis! Let's go Chiefs! Let's get those Broncos," a supporter remarked. A fifth follower shared, "He always keeps it tidy." Kelce's popularity remains sky-high. That being said, it shouldn't be a surprise that anything he does is talked about.
Major domino falls for Yankees with Trent Grisham decision
Outfielder Trent Grisham is accepting his $22.025M qualifying offer and will return to the New York Yankees in 2026, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Players who accept a QO are considered free-agent signings and are thus ineligible to be traded prior to the following June 15 unless they consent to the move. Trent Grisham had a breakout season It’s at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate that saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month, and a thin outfield market in free agency, the stars seemed to align for him to pursue a weighty multi-year contract this winter. Instead, Grisham returns to the site of his breakout and will hold down a key role in an outfield that’s also currently slated to include Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. The Yankees are interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger, have been linked to Kyle Tucker and also have DH Giancarlo Stanton at least loosely in the outfield mix. (He played 132 outfield innings in 2025.) How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the Yankees? Grisham’s return muddies the waters a bit, but GM Brian Cashman said recently that even if he accepted, it wouldn’t impact the team’s pursuit of a new deal with Bellinger, via the New York Post’s Greg Joyce. The Yankees wouldn’t have made the QO to Grisham if they believed his acceptance was a roadblock to bringing back Bellinger or signing Tucker. They’re surely glad to have him back. Even though his defensive grades took an unexpected downturn in ’25, he has the best defensive track record in center of the Yankees’ in-house options. While Grisham could have looked to cash in this winter, he’ll instead take a hefty one-year payday in what amounts to a bet on himself. Though he’s a left-handed bat, his power output was hardly a product of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch. In fact, Grisham hit just .195/.326/.376 at home this season, compared to .254/.364/.506 on the road. If he can replicate this year’s huge power production, he could hit the market next offseason on the back of consecutive plus seasons at the plate and without the encumbrance of a qualifying offer. A big enough showing this year could realistically position Grisham for a $100M+ contract — particularly if his defensive grades rebound, too. The looming potential for a work stoppage is one other wrinkle to consider, but if anything, today’s glut of QO decisions suggests that players aren’t necessarily going to shy away from short-term deals that put them on the open market next year — at least not en masse. Grisham is one of four players to accept the QO, joining Gleyber Torres, Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff in that regard. In a vacuum, any one of the four accepting his QO wouldn’t be considered a major surprise — but all four accepting in the same offseason is downright atypical. This marks the first time since the inception of the qualifying offer that more than three players have accepted a QO. With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees’ projected payroll for the upcoming season jumps to about $263M, per RosterResource. They’ll now have about $286M of luxury-tax obligations, placing them just over the third penalty line. That means that the Yankees’ top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by 10 places, unless they’re able to sneak their luxury count back under $284M. Given the wide swath of offseason dealings that’s likely still on the table for Cashman and Co., that doesn’t seem to be a very likely outcome. In all likelihood, the Yankees will wind up in the top CBT penalty tier, just as they’ve done in each of the past three seasons. How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the rest of MLB? Turning to the rest of the league, Grisham’s early removal from the free-agent market — to a team that didn’t clearly need to retain him, no less — subtracts arguably the top center field option from the market. Bellinger, of course, can still play center but barely did so in 2025. Most teams probably consider him more of a corner outfielder/first baseman who can play occasional center field. Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins are the two most notable options still on the market, though the former has been more of a part-time player and the latter is looking to bounce back from an awful 2025 showing. The market was light on center fielders to begin with and is even more so now, so teams looking for help at the position might be more inclined to turn to the trade market to address that deficiency.
Jerry Jones made bold claim about George Pickens after Cowboys’ ‘MNF’ win
Jerry Jones sounded like the conductor of the George Pickens hype train after the Dallas Cowboys’ Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Pickens caught nine passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 33-16 win at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. The numbers don’t do justice to some of the masterful moves Pickens executed in the primetime victory. https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1990609821054509411 Pickens had himself quite a night, especially considering he and CeeDee Lamb were benched on the Cowboys’ opening drive. Nobody was more impressed than Jones. After the game, the Cowboys owner claimed he had “never seen” a performance like the one Pickens put on during Week 11’s “Monday Night Football” clash. “Pickens was — I’ve never seen a performance like that. It was poetic the way that he was making those moves out there. It was like he was in an opera or something out there. A ballet,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. Jones’ claim is certainly a bold one, given that he’s watched the likes of Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Dez Bryant, Terrell Owens, and even Lamb catch passes for Dallas over the years. There’s definitely some recency bias at play, on top of Jones’ incentive to hype up one of the Cowboys’ key offseason acquisitions. The look on Jones’ face after watching Quinnen Williams get his first sack as a Cowboy said it all. Bold claims aside, Pickens has indeed been dominant in his first season in Dallas. Through 10 games, the Georgia alum leads the team in receiving yards (908), receiving touchdowns (7), and ranks second on the team in catches (58).
Joey Logano debuts bold new look at North Carolina groundbreaking ceremony
Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has done a lot of cool things in his storied career, but jumping over a row of town leaders while in a pickup truck probably wasn’t one he saw coming. Yet that’s just where he found himself on Tuesday afternoon. And in doing so, Logano showed off a fresh new look. He has shaved his head, leaving nothing but a bald dome to go along with a sleek, low-trimmed beard. You can check out the new look for Joey Logano in a screengrab of an Instagram video here. It also includes his big jump. The event on Tuesday was to bring some extra publicity to a new development in Huntersville, N.C. The city is debuting “Town 1,” which officially broke ground on Tuesday. Joey Logano helped share the vision for the project, which will see 75,000 square feet of retail and commercial space constructed. The venture will include a pedestrian-focused village, a five-story Class A office building just off the I-77 HOV exit, 300 modern farmhouse walk-ups, 321 urban flats, 75 townhomes and over 400,000 square feet of commercial space. “Yeah this is going to be awesome,” Joey Logano said in an Instagram video. “This is so neat to see everybody here, the team that it took to create Town 1. And what everyone’s going to see, I can’t wait for it to be done and everyone to come out here and enjoy it and have some fun.” Joey Logano coming off impressive season While not the best season of his career, Logano put together one of the more consistent campaigns. He earned a win at Texas Motor Speedway, while capturing seven top-five finishes and 13 top-10 results. He made it well into the playoff race, eventually finishing seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He had a strong run late in the playoffs, finishing sixth at Las Vegas, eighth at Martinsville and fourth at Phoenix. In total during his NASCAR Cup Series career, Joey Logano has recorded 37 wins. He has also placed in the top 10 300 times, while he has won 33 pole positions.
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