During a recent chat with Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing (h/t The Comeback), longtime Boston sports reporter Michael Holley touched upon how things went south between New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick after quarterback Tom Brady left the organization as a free agent in March 2020.
"I think in the last couple years with Brady it got a little nasty," Holley said about Kraft and Belichick. "Nasty because Kraft wasn’t getting the credit that he wanted and you have the coach, the quarterback and the owner. The owner and quarterback are tight, and the coach is trying to move on. It was just very tense."
Brady openly suggested while speaking for an episode of Apple TV's "The Dynasty" documentary that he didn't sign a final contract with the Patriots after the 2019 season largely because of how he was treated by Belichick across their final handful of years together. While Brady guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl championship in his first campaign with that organization, the Patriots missed the playoffs three times in four years before Kraft and Belichick "mutually" agreed to part ways in January.
Kraft has since admitted it was a "mistake" to not do everything possible to hold onto Brady regardless of Belichick's feelings back in early 2020.
"They just got sick of each other," Holley continued. "If I were Robert Kraft I would have taken personnel power away from Bill three years ago but framed it as a way that would have been helpful to him and say, 'This is going to help extend your coaching career. I want you to be head coach forever.' But Kraft didn’t want him to be head coach forever. He wanted to move on."
Kraft allegedly knew in November of last year he would replace Belichick following the 2023 season. Kraft later said he believed having the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach work with a newly hired front-office executive regarding personnel decisions would've gone poorly for everybody involved.
Kraft confirmed earlier this spring that he looks "forward to the privilege of putting (Belichick) into the Patriots Hall of Fame one day in the future." Their public breakup serves as yet another reminder that all good things truly must eventually come to an end.
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After being unable to find an NFL opportunity in 2024, Latavius Murray is hanging up his cleats. The veteran running back announced on Thursday that he is retiring at the age of 35 (video link via NFL insider Jordan Schultz). A sixth-round pick of the Raiders in 2013, Murray played on a rotational basis the following year before taking on starting duties. He recorded his first and only 1,000-yard campaign in 2015 and secured a Pro Bowl nod in the process. A career-best 12 rushing touchdowns during his final Raiders season set Murray up for a strong free agent market. The UCF product landed a three-year, $15M Vikings pact on the open market. Murray ended up spending a pair of seasons in Minnesota, where he operated as part of a backfield tandem with Dalvin Cook. A similar setup was in place with New Orleans when Murray paired with Alvin Kamara for the 2019 and ’20 campaigns, during which he remained a consistent producer on the ground. Murray caught on with the Ravens in 2021 shortly after being cut. As part of a Baltimore backfield ravaged by preseason injuries, he managed to handle a notable workload before finding himself on the move once again the following season. In 2022, Murray briefly returned to the Saints before signing from the practice squad to the Broncos’ active roster midway through the campaign. That decision set up a starting role to close out the season and helped earn him a Bills pact for 2023. Logging a 32% snap share with Buffalo, Murray remained healthy but saw his yards per attempt average dip below 4.1 for the first time since 2017. That was a key factor in the Bills’ decision not to retain him, even though Murray was open to an extended stay with the team. After spending last season without a deal, today will mark the end of the line after 10 NFL seasons. In all, Murray played 158 combined regular and postseason games throughout his NFL tenure, totaling over 8,000 scrimmage yards and 61 touchdowns. He amassed more than $21M in career earnings.
As the trade deadline gets closer, the Texas Rangers appear to be eyeing a player from the Pittsburgh Pirates to help improve their team. After hanging around the .500 mark for much of the season, the Rangers have found their groove and are firmly in the playoff picture in the American League. More News: Three Potential Rangers Targets to Watch on Final Day of MLB Trade Deadline With a desire to make the playoffs, Texas has to think about making a couple of improvements to their roster before the deadline based on how active some other contenders have been around the league. Currently, the two most glaring needs for the Rangers are the backend of their bullpen and adding some sort of offensive upgrade, which could be a bat in the outfield. More News: Rangers Likely to Face Eugenio Suarez After Mariners Acquire Slugger According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, Texas was looking to improve both areas in a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates before David Bednar was reportedly sent to the New York Yankees. While Bednar would have been a good fit for the Rangers, they should still be pursuing Tommy Pham to help improve a lackluster lineup. The veteran outfielder is no stranger to being traded, and he tends to provide a nice spark down the stretch. So far this year, he's also been a solid player, slashing .273/.342/.380 with four home runs and 29 RBI in 77 games played. More News: Rangers Trade Reliever To Tigers in Deadline Day Deal Adding Pham would give Texas another solid offensive weapon and provide some needed depth for the lineup. However, continuing to try to improve the back end of the bullpen should be a priority. With Bednar being off the board, the Rangers are starting to run out of potential impact options to help in that area. For more Rangers news, head over to Rangers On SI.
The New York Yankees still have multiple holes to fill in their roster before MLB’s July 31 trade deadline. One of those holes is in the bullpen, as New York’s 4.38 relief squad ERA is good for the fifth highest in the American League. However, one of the main relievers Yankees GM Brian Cashman is targeting doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade. Colorado Rockies RHP Jake Bird is reported to be at or near the top of the Yankees’ bullpen wishlist. A month or so ago, a glance at his stat line made the idea of New York acquiring him seem like a great idea. On June 21, the 29-year-old had a sterling 2.06 ERA. Entering play on Monday, that number has nearly doubled, up to 4.05. And that’s the type of pitcher Bird is. His career monthly ERA splits indicate he’s a middling reliever who pitches well at the beginning of the season and then tapers off by the end: April/March: 3.29 May: 2.92 June: 4.46 July: 8.31 August: 3.31 September/October: 5.21 One of the main problems with Bird is that he allows too many hits. He’s given up a few more hits than innings pitched in every season since he broke into the league in 2022, and he’s on pace to do the same in 2025. That’s not ideal for a reliever who often has to come in with runners on base. Bird’s issues aren’t a result of his notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark in Denver, either. Over his career, he’s pitched to a 4.60 ERA at home and a 4.20 ERA on the road. Also, some of his worst performances this year have come on the road, including a July 8 outing in Boston when he allowed five runs (four earned) on three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. Maybe the Yankees see Bird as a guy they can help reach his full potential, like Fernando Cruz or Tim Hill, both of whom produced drastic ERA drops immediately upon donning pinstripes. What’s more likely, though, is that they view Bird as a decent player who they’ll have control over for the next three seasons. That kind of thinking is great for the bottom line. But it won’t bring the World Series trophy back to the Bronx.
It will be even harder for the Dallas Cowboys to rebound from a 7-10 season if they don't stop fighting each other. Last week, there were multiple incidents at training camp in Oxnard, California. On Wednesday, more scuffles broke out, and rookie offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius was ejected after punching a teammate (via ESPN's Todd Archer). Cowboys rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer subsequently stopped practice and made players and members of the coaching staff sprint sideline to sideline. He also sent a clear message to his team. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb reiterated it in a news conference. "Do we want to be champions? Because throughout the year of us being here, talent was never the problem for us," Lamb said. "It was always discipline. How do we, like, get ahead but not behind? How do we not shoot ourselves in the foot? Honestly, when that momentum is going our way, we need to continue to keep the foot on the pedal and make the right play and always think about the team." It's good for the Cowboys that Schottenheimer emphasized discipline after practice, but the coach may have inadvertently contributed to the issue. At the start of camp, he indicated he wanted the Cowboys to be more aggressive. "We want to have a very physical training camp," the coach told the media. "That's really important to us both offensively and defensively. How we want to play, be a physical team both offensively and defensively." It appears his team misinterpreted the message. This raises concerns about Schottenheimer's ability to maintain control, especially in a locker room featuring volatile personalities, such as new wide receiver George Pickens. Lamb seems to be listening to Schottenheimer, but the coach must connect with other players. If he doesn't, trouble could be brewing in Dallas.
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