Daily news and links for Tuesday

"TEAM TALKPatriots sign OT Cedrick Lang.Rob Rang’s Draft Position Profiles: Running Back.John Rooke’s View from Above: New rules White Kevin Faulk Jerseys , but are we April fools?NFL offseason workout program dates announced for Phases One, Two and Three.The NFL reports Stephen Gostkowski will be among four NFL players taking part in the NFL-USO tour to South Korea to visit U.S. troops and their families at military bases.Angelique Fiske shares a second grader’s letter to Tom Brady that says it all.Patriots Unfiltered’s Draft prospect review: Running backs (16.20 min.) - Wide receivers (23.33 min.)LOCAL LINKSZack Cox reports the Patriots offseason schedule was announced: Key dates for OTAs, minicamp.Matt Dolloff passes along a report that the Patriots will give Michael Bennett a raise while freeing up $700K in cap space with a restructured contract.Kevin Duffy reports the Patriots signed free agent OT Cedrick Lang, continuing the low-key offseason for New England. Matt Vautour tells us why New England shouldn’t draft or trade for a quarterback this offseason.Ryan Hannable shares 3 Patriots thoughts with just under a month left until NFL draft. 1. Add a bunch of wide receivers.Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) How will Belichick rebuild defensive coaching staff?Evan Lazar’s best Patriots draft fits: Interior defensive line.Phil Perry gives us some tight end names to know in the NFL Draft in a post-Gronk world.Mike Reiss highlights longtime personnel execs Gil Brandt and Ernie Accorsi on Rob Gronkowski’s complete game and clutch plays when comparing him to other NFL greats.Tom E. Curran shares his ‘strange but true Gronk encounter’ on a rainy Sunday in Southie. /Hint: Gronk will not be un-retiring.Sean T. McGuire touches on some of the ways Rob Gronkowski impacted the community where he lived.NFL Throwback (YouTube) Rob Gronkowski’s powerful career highlights! (10.07 min. video)Zack Cox NFL Rumors: Patriots hosting potential Patrick Chung successor for pre-draft visit, Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram.Darren Hartwell updates his Patriots draft prospects tracker: Notable players to meet with New England.98.5 the Sports Hub looks at the best free agents left for the Patriots as we hit the 2019 league year.Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Patriots should hop into trade market for Browns DE Emmanuel Ogbah.Ryan Hannable highlights Bill Belichick’s appearance on Mike Krzyzewski’s show, acknowledging he heard negativity towards the Patriots last season.Adam London recaps the great Twitter exchange between Tom Brady and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.Steve Burton reports the first-ever TB12 Team gears up for the Boston Marathon, with everyone training like Tom Brady.Darren Hartwell reiterates how Bill Belichick was “especially vocal” at the NFL owners meetings about giving coaches more time with players.NATIONAL NEWSMichael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Patriots give Michael Bennett the new contract he wanted.Albert Breer (SI) Monday Afternoon QB: Nick Bosa’s pre-draft tour continues, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry are teammates once again.Andrew Brandt (SI) Business of Football: The value of NFL veterans falls, replay expansion is good and why does Gronk get a pass? Brent Sobleski (Bleacher Report) Biggest NFL offseason questions that will be answered in the draft: What piece(s) will the Patriots add to offset Rob Gronkowski’s loss?Michael Renner (Pro Football Focus) Best 2019 NFL Draft player fits for each team in the AFC East.Jim Trotter (NFL.com) Veteran NFL head coaches offer advice for rookie counterparts.Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Regrading the 2016 NFL Draft: Patriots drop from B- to D.Experts (ESPN) 2019 NFL Power Rankings: Post-free agency status reports for all 32 teams. Patriots No. 3.Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL needs to pay its referees more money.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) NFL Mock Draft 4.0. Pats pick Iowa TE Noah Fant.EXTRACURRICULARMeg O’Connor (The Appeal) Florida woman faced 10 years for ‘Meth’ that was ‘just a rock’: A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case. /This is troubling. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Any athlete will state firmly that a loss is a loss, regardless of the quality of performance.Still, the way the New York Jets fell to the New England Patriots 27-13 on Sunday didn’t have a terrible look or feel. Certainly not how their 41-10 debacle against weak sister Buffalo felt in the Jets’ most recent game before their bye.For one Kevin Faulk Jerseys 2019 , the Jets’ fifth straight defeat was to the perennial AFC power. For another, they were tied 13-13 late in the third quarter and were making things difficult for Tom Brady and Co.That’s clearly so much better than basically not showing up against the offensively challenged Bills, then getting torn up for 41 points.So what’s the message to their frustrated fans in a spiraling season that could be the last of four for coach Todd Bowles?“Stick with us, man,” said second-year safety Jamal Adams, one of the few Jets having a good season. “Obviously, they’re hurting and we get a lot of negative comments and we understand it. I get it. I get the frustration, but at the end of the day, we’re hurting twice as much as you. So, just stick in there with us, man. We’re going to figure it out.“Do I know when? Do I know the timetable? No. But all I can do is just continue to do my part as a leader on this football team and as a player on this team, and just do my job and continue to help those around me to get better.”Getting better after successive 5-11 seasons will require quite a turnaround as the calendar hits December. The Jets (3-8) show signs of decency on both sides of the ball White Tedy Bruschi Jerseys , and placekicker Jason Myers is having a strong year; he set an NFL record Sunday when he became the first kicker to hit five field goals from 55-plus yards in one season.They hope to have quarterback Sam Darnold, the third overall pick in April’s draft, back on the field from a foot injury sometime next month.And they didn’t come close to lying down against New England the way they did vs. Buffalo.“Every man competed,” said Darnold’s fill-in, 16-year veteran Josh McCown. “Obviously, we didn’t play as clean as we would like. Up until the last tick on the clock, we competed hard. I think that was much better than last week.“It’s obviously not ideal. I think individually, it’s a test. A test of who you are and what you’re about and your ability to get back up, come back to work, work hard, and be a professional. Those things are tested in these times.”The Jets have lost all four division games in sinking into the cellar in the AFC East. With the exception of Buffalo, their remaining opponents have playoff aspirations: Tennessee Tedy Bruschi Jerseys 2019 , Houston, Green Bay and New England.So improving on the record of the past two seasons — and saving Bowles’ job — is a hefty challenge.“When you find yourself in this situation, you don’t desire to be there,” said McCown, whose had a heavy wrap around his right hand when he left the locker room. “The good in it is that you’re tested and you can see what you’re really about. In this tough moment it’s about the guys sticking together, each man continuing to fight, work hard and being a pro. When you’re in this situation, that’s all you can do.”