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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:
- NFLPA reportedly under federal investigation
- Nick Saban responds to speculation about coaching return amid NFL rumors
- The 'Single-season sack leaders by NFL team' quiz
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NFLPA reportedly under federal investigation
The ongoing saga with the NFL Players Association has taken another turn, as the organization is also reportedly the subject of a federal investigation. ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler reported on Friday that there is an ongoing criminal investigation involving the NFLPA regarding potential misuse of funds and self-enrichment of union officials. A senior union attorney sent a memo to NFLPA officials this week informing them of the federal probe. The document states that the NFLPA is "now on notice of financial actions that may be criminal" and that the union faces "immediate threats requiring prompt actions," according to ESPN. While the document did not specify which individuals are part of the criminal investigation, the notice was sent days after executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and director of strategy J.C. Tretter resigned from their positions with the NFLPA. Howell was accused of misusing union funds and faced other troubling allegations. Tretter resigned because he felt like he was left to take the heat for the scandal that has been unfolding, though he has denied any wrongdoing. The NFLPA is searching for an interim executive director. ESPN reports that the memo sent to union officials this week warns that potentially hiring an outside executive director might not be a wise move without knowing exactly how deep "the problems may be." Howell was the executive director of the NFLPA for two years.
Athletics' Nick Kurtz makes MLB history vs. Astros
Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz already had an impressive start to his career. Kurtz entered Friday having posted a .288/.360/.622 batting line in 265 plate appearances, hitting 19 homers and 17 doubles. Despite making his major league debut on April 23, Kurtz has been the A's most valuable player, leading the team with 2.6 bWAR. He appeared to be on the cusp of becoming the superstar the A's needed to sell the team to the residents of Las Vegas. That performance set the stage for what may have been the most impressive game for any rookie in major league history. Kurtz became the 20th player in MLB history to have a four-home run game and the first rookie to achieve that feat. Kurtz's performance also put the 2025 season into baseball history. Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a four-home run game on April 26, making this the third time that there have been two four-homer games in a season. That had happened in 2002 (outfielders Mike Cameron and Shawn Green) and 2017 (utility man Scooter Gennett and left fielder J.D. Martinez). Kurtz did not stop with those four homers. He was 6-6 in the A's 15-3 victory over the Astros, with a double and eight runs batted in. The favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award, Kurtz put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive season with his barrage on Friday.
ESPN Predicts Mets-Twins Trade One Week Before Deadline
The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
Scottie Scheffler would make major sacrifice to help Cowboys win Super Bowl
Scottie Scheffler continued to pile up major victories with his win at The Open Championship on Sunday, but the World No. 1 golfer says he would give up one of his most coveted trophies if it helped his favorite NFL team win a Super Bowl. Scheffler was born in New Jersey, but his family moved to Dallas, Texas, when he was 6 years old. He went to college at the University of Texas and still lives in Dallas with his wife, Meredith, and 1-year-old son Bennett. As you might expect, Scheffler is a huge Cowboys fan. During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Scheffler discussed how badly he wants the Cowboys to win a Super Bowl. Scheffler said he would "for sure" trade one of his major championships for his favorite NFL team to win a title. Scheffler's win at Royal Portrush was his fourth in a major. The 29-year-old has now joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the only players to win The Open Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship before turning 30. Scheffler has been ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world for more than two years now. He has looked virtually unstoppable throughout much of that span. He only needs to win the U.S. Open to complete the career grand slam, and it would be downright shocking if he did not accomplish that at some point. The Cowboys last won a Super Bowl in January of 1996. Scheffler was born in June of that year, so Dallas has not won a championship in his lifetime. Though he knows he is going to have plenty of majors before his golf career is over, it says a lot that Scheffler would be willing to trade one of his trophies just to watch Dallas return to the top of the NFL.
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