The Boston Globe - 27.08.2019

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports D3

Ben Volin

ON FOOTBALL

Chargeshouldn’taffectChung’sseason

A six-pack of Patriots news
and notes as they get ready for
their final preseason game this
Thursday and the roster cut-
down from 90 to 53 players by
4 p.m. Saturday:
RThe big news of last week
unfortunately happened away
from the field, when it was
learned that starting safety Pat-
rick Chung was indicted on a
felony charge of cocaine posses-
sion in New Hampshire, his
first brush with the law in his
professional career. Chung
missed Thursday night’s game
against the Panthers, but was
back on the practice field Sun-
day.
It’s an unfortunate situation
for Chung, and unwelcome
news for the Patriots. But un-
less an unexpected detail
emerges — for instance, that
the quantity of cocaine was
more than for personal use — I
don’t expect Chung’s football
career to be much affected by
this incident.
Per the league’s substance
abuse policy, Chung will be al-
lowed to play for the Patriots
until his legal situation is re-
solved. And that could take a
long time.
On Saturday, Patriots tight
end Lance Kendricks was sus-
pended one game because of a
legal situation from December
2017, when he was cited for
marijuana possession during a
traffic stop in Wisconsin. Kend-
ricks finally pleaded no contest
this past July, getting six
months of probation and eight
hours of community service.
And he got his suspension Sat-
urday, 20 months after the ini-
tial incident.
Chung’s legal proceedings
aren’t supposed to begin until
next spring, so he should be in
the clear for the 2019 season.
And since this was a nonviolent
offense, for what we presume
to be a recreational amount of
drugs, there likely won’t be

much public blowback when

Chung hits the field this fall.

Then consider that there are

already questions about the le-

gality of the police’s search in

Chung’s home. By the time this

all gets sorted out, Chung, 32

and entering his 11th NFL sea-

son, may already be retired.

The charge should get

Chung entered into the league’s

drug program, in which he’d be

subjected to more random test-

ing for at least three months.

But the Patriots don’t have to

worry about losing Chung this

year. At worst, he serves a one-

or two-game suspension in the

2020 or 2021 season.

ROne of the most fascinat-

ing roster decisions involves

Demaryius Thomas, the former

Broncos receiver entering his

10th NFL season.

Thomas would have been a

perfect candidate for the Patri-

ots to stash on the physically

unable to perform list for the

first half of the season. He’s

coming off a torn Achilles’ ten-

don suffered in December,

didn’t start practicing until last

week, and is 31 years old. The

Patriots have several healthy

bodies at wide receiver, and

there is no need to rush Thom-

as back.

Staying on PUP means a

player has to miss at least six

games. But the team is also re-

quired to pay the player his

base salary — which in Thom-

as’s case equals $423,529 for six

weeks, and an additional

$70,588 for every week thereaf-

ter.

So my eyebrow raised last

week when the Patriots surpris-

ingly took Thomas off PUP, al-

lowing him to return to prac-

tice. It’s now put up or shut up

for Thomas; the Patriots either

have to keep him on the 53-

man roster or release him.

It’s possible that the Patriots

are so confident in Thomas’s

health and ability that they

took him off PUP and are get-

ting him ready for the season. I

have a hard time believing that,

because they’ve seen him prac-

tice only a couple of times so

far.

It’s also possible that the Pa-

triots took Thomas off PUP be-

cause they don’t need him any-

more and they’re ready to move

on. Thomas, whose one-year

deal is worth up to $6 million

but has only $300,000 guaran-

teed, signed his contract April

16,beforethePatriots drafted

N’Keal Harry in the first round,

and before they got Josh Gor-

don back. With Julian Edel-

man, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi

Meyers, and a host of young-

sters also in the fold, the Patri-

ots have less of a need for

Thomas, who is on the down-

side of his career.

It’s certainly possible that

Thomas is locked in and ready

to go for Week 1. But I’d rather

have Gunner Olszewski, a slot

receiver and fearless punt re-

turner.

RMeyers, the undrafted re-

ceiver out of North Carolina

State, has been the talk of train-

ing camp. He has been the

most consistent receiver in

practice, has shown great

hands, and appears to have

locked up a 53-man roster spot.

But Thursday night’s perfor-

mance against the Panthers

should temper the hype. Play-

ing against the Panthers’ start-

ers for most of the first half,

Dorsett looked like a profes-

sional receiver, while Meyers

looked like a training camp he-

ro.

Meyers couldn’t get on the

same page with Tom Brady,

missing out on all three passes

thrown his way. Most notably,

Meyers had a miscommunica-

tion with Brady, pulling up on a

route and missing out on a big

play on a deep ball. Meyers also

committed a holding penalty.

Compare that with Dorsett,

who caught all seven of his tar-

gets for 47 yards. Dorsett ran

crisp routes, made the catches,

and helped move the offense.

Brady’s confidence in him was

obvious.

Meyers has looked great in

the preseason, but he has most-

ly competed against backups.

Hestillhasawaystogotoget

into Brady’s trusted circle.

RI wrote in this weekend’s

Sunday notes column that the

Patriots’ financial obligation to

Brian Hoyer ($1.51 million

guaranteed) comes with offset

language, and shouldn’t pre-

vent them from trading or even

releasing him this week.

Hoyer’s contract is cheap

enough, and his value as a vet-

eran backup is strong enough,

that the Patriots should be able

to find a trade partner.

Before Saturday night, the

most obvious partner appeared

to be Detroit. The Lions know

Hoyer well, from Matt Patricia’s

time with the Patriots to the

joint practices the Patriots and

Lions held three weeks ago.

And the Lions have a starter

(Matt Stafford) whose career is

starting to get slowed by inju-

ries,andashakybackupsitua-

tion (Tom Savage, David Fales,

and Josh Johnson). Hoyer

would fit well there.

Now the Colts have to be

considered at the top of the list,

as well, following Andrew

Luck’s surprise retirement. Ja-

coby Brissett should be a capa-

ble starter, but neither backup,

ChadKellyorPhillipWalker,

has thrown an NFL pass. Bill

Belichick and Colts general

manager Chris Ballard did the

Brissett-Dorsett swap in 2017,

so that door has been opened

before.

Green Bay also looks like a

fit. Considering how often Aar-

on Rodgers gets hurt, the Pack-

ersmayneedabetterbackup

than DeShone Kizer.

Arizona has an undersized

(5-foot-8-inch) rookie quarter-

back who likes to run in Kyler

Murray, and Hoyer would be a

far better backup than Brett

Hundley.

If the Patriots are willing to

deal within the division, Hoyer

would be a better backup in

Buffalo than Matt Barkley or

Tyree Jackson.

The Jaguars have only Gard-

ner Minshew and Alex

McGough behind Nick Foles.

The Cowboys have Cooper

Rush and Mike White behind

Dak Prescott. And the Bucs just

lost backup Blaine Gabbert to a

shoulder injury.

RThere was some thought

that special teams ace Nate

Ebner isn’t safe for this year’s

roster. He’s entering the last

year of his deal, the Patriots

added Terrence Brooks and

Brandon Bolden in the offsea-

son and gave Brandon King a

pay raise, and they can save

$2.2 million in cash and cap

space by releasing Ebner.

But King’s season-ending

quadriceps injury from Thurs-

day night should end any of

that talk. The Patriots definitely

need Ebner now.

RFinally, there are reports

out of Miami that the Dolphins

are willing to part with several

veterans as they look to rebuild.

One intriguing name that

popped up is left tackle Laremy

Tunsil, the team’s first-round

pick in 2016. I know the Patri-

ots have Isaiah Wynn penciled

in at left tackle, but they should

look into Tunsil and other vet-

eran tackles who become avail-

able.

The Patriots wanted one on

their roster this year, even with

Wynn coming back. They

signed Jared Veldheer in May

to provide tackle depth and

even challenge Wynn for the

job. But Veldheer retired after

one day and the Patriots never

replaced him.

Wynn didn’t start practicing

until a couple of weeks into

training camp, and has played

just 46 snaps in two preseason

games. Even assuming he’s

ready for Week 1, he’s still an

unproven player, and coming

off a torn Achilles’ tendon. And

the top backups, Dan Skipper

and Cole Croston, are unprov-

en.

Tunsil costs only $2.1 mil-

lion this year, and $10.35 mil-

lionnextyear,whichispretty

reasonable. And you can never

have enough good offensive

linemen, especially since Mar-

cus Cannon and Joe Thuney

may not be long for Foxbor-

ough after this season.

Ben Volin can be reached at

[email protected]. Follow

him on Twitter @BenVolin.

JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

Jarrett Stidham, who got plenty of work as the only backup

QB in the third preseason game, was all smiles at practice.

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