Three weeks after news broke that the New England Patriots had hired Jerod Mayo as their new coach, he quickly found three coordinators.
That included the long-awaited hiring of an offensive coordinator following Bill O’Brien’s return to Foxboro, where he lasted one season before fleeing college for the same job at Ohio State. But now that Mayo has hired former Cleveland Browns coordinator Alex Van Pelt, fans can get an idea of ​​what the New England offensive situation will look like.
Given Van Pelt’s coaching ties to the West Coast offense, he is expected to bring a similar system to Foxboro. Maybe an experienced defender? Despite Mayo’s recent suggestions that the Patriots will use the No. 3 in the NFL draft, Van Pelt is expected to have a “heavy hand” in selecting who will be under center next season, according to NFL’s Ian Rapoport.com.That could open the door for the Patriots to target a familiar face with Van Pelt in current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. The two were in Cleveland for three seasons, but spent time together before Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers the following season.
The deal could be a sign that Mayfield isn’t the type Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and Van Pelt envisioned as their franchise quarterback, but the former No. 1 overall pick may prompt the latter to reconsider after a revival season with the Buccaneers. After hard times, 2022. After the Panthers released Mayfield after a 1-5 start to the season, he signed with the Los Angeles Rams, who needed quarterback help after Matthew Stafford suffered an injury.
Mayfield will spend the rest of the season in Los Angeles, where he teamed up with Sean McVay and performed well enough last season to sign with the Buccaneers in free agency.Despite taking over a big role from former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in Tampa, Mayfield didn’t let that stop him from having a great career. The 28-year-old threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 17 games, leading the Buccaneers to a 9-8 regular season record. Mayfield helped close out the playoffs with a 32–9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Game before losing to the Detroit Lions in the next round. His strong play made him one of the best defensemen available in free agency this offseason.
The free agent has a contract worth $25 million per year, according to Pro Football Focus. The Patriots are projected to have $66 million in cap space this offseason, according to OverTheCap. If the goal at quarterback is to find someone to fill the void left by Brady, why not let someone with experience do it?
