Patriots open camp opens with a positive day on the field and off — linebacker Gabe Jacas agreeing to a rookie deal
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots opened training camp Saturday with blue skies and a lot of smiles.
Drake Maye had a shiny new receiver in A.J. Brown, who had the crowd oohing and ahhing despite dropping a one-handed catch on the first pass . Christian Gonzalez and Kayshon Boutte were fully participating despite squabbling with the team over their contracts. The sun was shining, the stands were packed, and it was almost a perfect day for the Patriots.
Almost.
There was one player missing out on the fun — rookie outside linebacker Gabe Jacas, the Patriots’ second-round pick.
The good news for the Patriots and Jacas was that he finally agreed to terms Saturday morning on his rookie contract. He was expected to fly to New England later in the day, and if he passes his physical, could be on the field practice field Sunday, though he may be more of an observer than active participant.
But suffice to say Jacas’s tenure with the Patriots did not get off to a positive start, and is one of the more unusual sagas involving a rookie over the past 15 years.
When the NFL collective bargaining agreement was overhauled in 2011, one of the biggest changes was to slot rookie contracts by draft order, essentially eliminating holdouts.
Yet when Patriots camp started Friday, Jacas was one of just two draft picks out of 257 still unsigned, the other being Rams first-round quarterback Ty Simpson. Jacas had appeared briefly at rookie minicamp in May, but otherwise was absent for the Patriots’ entire offseason program, including classroom work. Since Jacas had not signed his contract, he could not be fined or punished.
The issue was a surgical procedure Jacas had at some point this spring, which according to ESPN was on his knee. It is unclear if Jacas suffered the injury before or after the draft, but an AFC general manager said Jacas had no sign of a knee injury during his medical check at the combine in late February.
Coach Mike Vrabel declined to say whether the team knew Jacas needed surgery, but it sure seems it caught the Patriots by surprise. If the surgery was known at the time of the draft, there would not have been any need to draw out contract negotiations for the last three months. Nor would the Patriots have reportedly declined to offer Jacas a participation agreement for the spring program, as is standard with unsigned rookies.
While the total value of Jacas’ contract should be the amounts spelled out in the CBA — four years for exactly $8,723,594, with a signing bonus of $2,804,432 — the Patriots and Jacas’s representation had been haggling over particulars. Notably, Jacas’s agent, Reggie Johnson, also represents Gonzalez, who is angling for a mega contract in the other major piece of business looming over the Patriots.
Based on the players drafted immediately before and after Jacas, he should get about 80 percent of his contract fully guaranteed —the first three years, and part of the fourth.
Read more Heat dome expands across the central US, creating dangerous conditions for millions
But Jacas’s surgery complicated matters for the Patriots. Within the next few days, we should learn if the Patriots convinced Jacas to take less guaranteed, or to sign an injury waiver that would absolve the team of guarantees should he injure the knee again.
Notably, the Patriots didn’t really know the status of Jacas’s knee. The team’s training and conditioning staff stayed in touch with Jacas over the summer, but he hasn’t been to Gillette Stadium in person in almost three months. Even if Jacasis on the field Sunday, the Patriots are going to take it slowly.
“I think we, admittedly, will be somewhat cautious, just because it’s a unique situation,” Vrabel said. “And I think that that’s what we’ve called this, not being here in the offseason. When he is here, then we’ll evaluate him physically and make sure that he’s ready to practice football and to make sure that he’s good mentally.”
Surely, Jacas didn’t try to pull a fast one on the Patriots, and likely feels bad that his NFL tenure got off to a bad start. And the Patriots surely want to make the relationship work. Jacas is Vrabel’s guy, after all.
The Patriots traded up from the 63rd draft position to the 55th for Jacas, with Vrabel supposedly pounding the table for him. Jacas plays the same outside linebacker position that Vrabel did, fills a position of need for the Patriots’ defense, and was even issued No. 50, Vrabel’s number. It’s why Vrabel put on a positive face Friday despite the disappointment of Jacas’s absence.
“I’ve spoken to Gabe personally, and again, excited to get him in when he’s under contract,” Vrabel said. “We’ll be as smart as we can and because we haven’t seen him with us. But I would use the word cautiously optimistic.”
Jacas’s teammates don’t know his physical condition, but don’t expect him to have too steep a learning curve once he’s in the mix.
“Every rookie has their challenges, and I think that he has a lot of great guys behind him who’s going to help him out,” second-year linebacker Elijah Ponder said. “So I think at the end of the day, he’s going to be fine. We’re going to help him out and it’s going to go well.”
Jacas’s situation is mostly resolved, and assuming he’s healthy, he can put this behind him and commence his career. But it certainly wasn’t an ideal start, and his absence was the one gray cloud on a sunny start to Patriots camp.
Read more How to run for reelection in a messy Congress? It’s not easy
Post Comment