- 9 minutes ago
Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran joins Ken & Christian Arcand to discuss the Christian Gonzalez contract saga and recaps the team’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Tom, do you have any clarity on the Gonzalez situation here this morning, this afternoon?
00:03I do, and I've been sharing it all week.
00:06I've been sharing it all week, as best as I can patch it together.
00:09And I think this is going to help you and all your listeners understand why there's an impasse.
00:14But I will say this about what I just had played and what I'm about to say.
00:20God, do I ever shut up?
00:23You ever listen to yourself and just say, my God, shut up.
00:30Oh, I mean, I've been doing this for how long in this market?
00:34And there was a period where people enjoyed me.
00:36And I can understand why people are like, when is this guy going to retire?
00:43We're having like an existential crisis.
00:45It really is.
00:46Take two.
00:47Tommy Curran, welcome to the show.
00:49How are we doing?
00:49Your ratings are strong.
00:50Every time you come on.
00:51Oh, are we on?
00:52Yeah, we're on.
00:53As it pertains to Gonzalez, here's, this is that couch he would like to use.
00:58Here's my best understanding, which is code for, I think this is what's going on.
01:04So Gonzalez does have a lucrative offer.
01:07And I'm sure that Robert Kraft and the structure of it will make him the highest paid cornerback
01:11in the league.
01:11But the problem is the CBA right now is at $301 million.
01:16And it's almost September.
01:18Next March is probably going to go up to about $330 million.
01:21So the $32 million or $33 million that Christian will sign for will be obsolete when the new
01:26CBA comes out and the next cornerback gets $35 million.
01:30So what I think Christian Gonzalez, again, to my best understanding, and I've not spoken
01:35to anybody from his camp, but this makes perfect sense.
01:37He doesn't want his contract to be obsolete next March or April.
01:41And he doesn't want it to be obsolete in 2028.
01:43That's why we keep hearing this conversation about market setting requests.
01:48It's not necessarily that he wants to be at 40.
01:52He just doesn't want to see him get an incremental bump here after his third year, prior to his
01:58fourth year, that is going to not reflect how good he is once the sixth best corner in the
02:05league comes up next March because he's an older player or weighted.
02:08So that's why I think we're seeing intimated that he'll play his fourth season and would
02:14play this year.
02:16And if he does do that, I would think that next March, then he'd say, OK, I waited.
02:21Now it's $37 million.
02:23Well, that's interesting.
02:23Does that make more sense now?
02:25Yes.
02:25It does.
02:25And can you also, you guys were talking escrow, and that's nothing that I was really aware
02:29of.
02:29Can you explain that for our listeners as well, Tom?
02:31To the best of my ability, when you guarantee a contract, you can't just say, yeah, we promise
02:37we're going to give you $100 million guaranteed.
02:39You have to fund that contract in escrow.
02:44And had I known that question was coming, I would have done a better job Googling, or
02:48I would have Googled.
02:49I didn't even try.
02:50Can't say better job.
02:51I would have Googled and had all that information in my fingertips.
02:54I just know it exists.
02:55You can't just say, yep, $100 million guaranteed.
02:57You have to fund it the same way you would with a home purchase, and money goes into escrow.
03:03So you have to cost that up, and that's where cash flow comes into consideration.
03:08And when you have Drake May, and this does go back to May, and he's going to have perhaps
03:15a $350 million contract with however much guaranteed, $150 million, $180 million, you
03:23have to fund that too.
03:24So that's $280 million, over a quarter billion dollars that you're going to have to put in
03:28escrow, perhaps.
03:29Again, I could be misspeaking and misstating, because I am not Mr. CBA as I used to be.
03:35But that's a lot of money that you have to cough up.
03:37Additionally, the way this relates back to May is this.
03:40Say after your third year, you say to Christian, all right, we get what you're saying.
03:45We don't want your contract to be obsolete either.
03:48We're going to give you what amounts to about a 17% bump.
03:51We're going to pay you $35 million.
03:55When Drake May comes to the table next year, and he says, he just got a 17% bump.
04:00I'm a better player.
04:02I should get a 20% bump.
04:04His 20% bump would be about $13 million over the highest paid quarterback, which is Patrick
04:10Mahomes.
04:10So now he's at $77 million a year.
04:13So I do see both sides.
04:15Christian's coming to the table early.
04:16The Crafts need to point that out to him and say, well, what are you giving us back?
04:21We can't pretend you're a free agent in 27 and 28 if you're here in August 2026.
04:26So I get both sides of why there might be an impasse.
04:29Yeah, certainly makes sense here.
04:31Can you tell us more about Christian Gonzalez's injury and what kept him out and has kept him
04:37out of these joint practices?
04:38It seems like it's all been very vague, and there's still lots of questions about whether
04:41this is a holdout going on right now.
04:47So the best of my understanding from all the reporting done, Phil Perry included, it's
04:52an injury.
04:53It's not a holdout.
04:54It will probably, I don't know if he'll be back out there tomorrow or Sunday when they
04:58have workouts or if he'll reemerge on the field.
05:00But it is an injury, as Rabel said, I think to you guys earlier today in the morning on
05:06the first call of the year, that he was part of a group of injured players, Christian Ellis
05:11and a few other guys who were not partaking because of injury.
05:15So until I'm directly lied to and know that I'm lied to, I defer to saying, okay.
05:25But is it just, I'm not saying that anyone's lying to you, but in a situation like this
05:29one, they can say that and then just keep them, you know, on the injured layer or whatever
05:33while they continue with the negotiations.
05:35It's a very convenient time for something like that to happen when he's not out there,
05:38I guess is the point.
05:39In other words, how convenient.
05:42Right.
05:43Yes.
05:44Yeah.
05:44I mean, yeah.
05:45And in the end, here's the thing.
05:47This is the only show in town that's not football related.
05:50And sometimes in the summer, there's not that, how long can we talk about Elijah Vera Tucker?
05:55This is a kind of a little bit of a tempest in a teapot.
05:58I wouldn't even call this a contract squabble or even a kerfuffle.
06:02They're at a bit of an impact.
06:04I never thought this would be done before the end of August anyway, because that's generally
06:07what happens.
06:08I don't think that this is nearly dire enough.
06:11Although it was the first salvo to insinuate earlier this week when there was the cryptic meme
06:17from Gonzalez about should have been done by now.
06:20That was the only, that was the only escalation because I don't think the Trump, the Trump,
06:24I saw an ad on TV.
06:26Wow.
06:27It was a frigging political ad.
06:29I don't think the craft, I don't think that the craft statement was really even a salvo.
06:37He's just saying, hey, here's what it is.
06:39I'd rather have more information than less.
06:41So Tommy, you defended the honor of, I thought pretty well, Tommy DeVito last night against
06:47some naysayers.
06:48You believe in this backup quarterback, yes, after what you've seen?
06:53I believe he's a capable average backup quarterback in the National Football League, and he should
06:57be able to come into a game, put as he has a 10-2, and get the cart into the
07:02barn, get
07:03the carriage into the barn.
07:04If you're up 21-14 and it's early in the second half and for some reason you have to
07:09come in, I would not look at it and go, oh my God, he's not going to know what to
07:12do.
07:13And that's what I think a backup quarterback has to do.
07:15Now, my co-host on the program last night had a good point, too.
07:21Look, if you're an elite team, you kind of need an elite quarterback.
07:25Excuse me.
07:26Elite's not the right word.
07:27You need a highly capable backup quarterback who, if you go down for four games, that doesn't
07:32mean your season is completely broadsided and you're not going to be able to win any
07:37of them.
07:37You can't have a Curtis Painter situation, as the Colts did way back when.
07:41You have to be able to take the field and believe you can still win with that player.
07:47I think DeVito is that.
07:48I'm not saying he's the top 10 backup quarterback, but I would certainly put him right around
07:54the top half, which makes him about the 50th best quarterback in the NFL.
07:58Do you guys think they need better than that?
08:01Only if Drake may get hurt.
08:02If he doesn't get hurt, we'll be saying they do.
08:06Likely to, yes.
08:07I wanted to ask you about Kayshawn Booty.
08:09He played in the game last night.
08:10He started, I think, played 14 snaps, not one target.
08:13It would seem like if you want to trade a guy, that would be a good time to showcase
08:17him against a bunch of backups when you know he can go out there and play.
08:19What's going on?
08:20What's the status with Booty right now?
08:22Were you surprised that he didn't get any passes his way?
08:27No, I'm not.
08:28I think the targeting sometimes and the showcasing, especially a wide receiver, would mean, okay,
08:33now we're going to have to try and funnel it to a player and we're going to hijack
08:37the offense to throw the ball to these guys.
08:39And that's what they would prefer to have as a succinct or a competent drive.
08:44So instead of, if the defense takes you away from Booty, and I'm not saying that it did,
08:48you could certainly throw it to him.
08:50Just run the offense.
08:52Don't throw it to a particular player.
08:55I think Booty, and I wonder if you guys agree, I would not trade him just to move him along.
09:03Yeah.
09:04But it was interesting to see the kid doing to make a catch last night, and you're like,
09:07wow, he's pretty good too, I guess.
09:09So now there's eight of them.
09:10Well, how about the whole rookie class?
09:12Did anybody jump out or impress?
09:14To me, I thought maybe Jam Miller had the best night.
09:17Do they need this class also?
09:18Is Vrabel counting on some of these guys to contribute?
09:21Yeah?
09:22Yeah, Ken, definitely.
09:24For a team that drafted as poorly as the Patriots did for a decade, and certainly horrifically
09:29for until 2024, Drake May aside, horrifically, they still need these guys, even though they
09:39were in the Super Bowl last year, to come in and play virtually immediately.
09:44Raritan has to be a good player, and I thought that he played well last night, not just in
09:48the catch, but he also had a good downfield block on one of those Jam Miller runs, as
09:55did Tanner Arkand.
09:58I've called him Arkand about three times, and Phil Perry keeps saying it's Arkand.
10:02Close enough.
10:03I appreciate it, though.
10:06So those would be great contributions to a tight end room, Raritan and Arkand, that is
10:12pretty shallow.
10:13So that's important.
10:14I thought Akis, I thought he got stuck on a few blocks, and I thought he got victimized
10:20on some misdirection stuff, which is not surprising to take advantage of an edge player who's just
10:25started to figure it out.
10:27But he also showed some really good pursuit and did move some people around.
10:33But as Phil Perry pointed out on the pod, there were a couple plays where he's just bull
10:38rushing, and he's got his head down like he's pushing a shopping carriage up the hill,
10:42and there's business going on all around him.
10:45And I thought Lomu, you know, it's too bad he had the downfield situation and wiped out
10:51an explosive play.
10:52But unremarkable.
10:54You're going to get more from watching him this week if you're a fan when you go to the
10:57joint practices and see him play in some of the one-on-ones, I think.
11:01Bora Golis obviously had a rough night, and I thought the comments from Vrabel after the
11:06game were a little more biting than they were certainly last year when he had a rough game
11:10and ended up getting the game ball when he missed a couple of kicks against the Dolphins.
11:13I think he had a game winner in that one, but a different situation.
11:16Seems like the kid gloves are off there.
11:18Is there a kicker controversy?
11:22I don't think there's a kicker controversy, but it was absolutely noteworthy to me, the
11:28difference in tone that was exhibited.
11:30I think the special teams overall just had kind of a disappointing night.
11:35You could see it on the face of special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.
11:39It's that kind of silly penalty you took when somebody was not on the field.
11:45The missed field goals.
11:49Urgency, I think, in the preseason has to be translated to these games.
11:57Just because the starters aren't out there doesn't mean that the guys who are out there,
12:02I'm not saying this was the case, but you've got to be on your stuff with the substitutions,
12:09with the penalties.
12:11If I was a guy who was on the edge, I'd be really upset if I made a mistake like
12:16that
12:16with myself, whether it be a mental or physical error, but especially a mental error, because
12:21that shows up a lot.
12:22Tom, I don't know if you caught Mike Rabel this morning with the Greg Hill Show.
12:25He did comment on the Brady stuff, the no dog in the fight, and then basically, he said
12:30probably, when asked, whether Brady reached out and was the guy that was referred to by
12:36Mike McDonald that helped them in the game itself.
12:40I don't know if you heard that or have any reaction to it.
12:43Either way, do you think that's the organization's belief?
12:46Do they all sort of believe Brady was working against them in that game?
12:51Well, Mike McDonald came out and said specifically, no.
12:55Right.
12:57So again, unless somebody's lied to me a bunch of times directly, I...
13:01Well, can I play the clip for you?
13:04Can I play the clip for you?
13:04Sure, please do, because I didn't hear that.
13:06I didn't hear the...
13:07So here's Rabel.
13:08Go ahead.
13:09Curtis asked him this morning.
13:10Do you think that he spoke to Mike McDougall?
13:14McDonald, I forget the name of the coach all the time.
13:16The Seahawks coach.
13:18The Seahawks coach, well, I mean, probably he hired his offensive coordinator.
13:22I mean, that's not why we lost the game.
13:26We talked to a lot of people, and there's a lot of film, and it's not why we lost the
13:30game.
13:31I don't know.
13:32I mean, I'm sure they talked.
13:33He hired his offensive coordinator.
13:35Have you talked to him since then?
13:37He doesn't admit they just texted over the...
13:39You know, since then.
13:39But what do you make of that, Tom?
13:43I don't think that he...
13:45I'm glad you played it for me, because that is much more enlightening in terms of, yeah, I'm sure they
13:50talked.
13:51He just hired the guy.
13:55And he probably, you know...
13:56But I don't think that Tom sat down and broke down film and said this is the way to attack
14:01a Josh McDaniels offense.
14:03And I think that's in the tone of Mike's voice.
14:06I think he's allowing for the fact that perhaps there were conversations, but I don't know.
14:12It's just kind of a stupid job by Mike McDonald in the first time to make the statement, if you're
14:20not going to reveal it, because it does kind of throw Brady under the bus.
14:23But for us, it's great.
14:25Yeah, it really sure is.
14:26Yeah.
14:27Because I forgot all about that until you mentioned it.
14:30Yeah.
14:30It's something else to throw in the...
14:32God bless Chris Curtis for bringing it up, because it sounded like Vrabel had forgotten about it, too.
14:37Yeah.
14:38Good job.
14:38All right, so this week you've got the Eagles in town, and there will be some intrigue with the A
14:42.J. Brown stuff.
14:42Anything else you're looking forward to?
14:45More of the one-on-ones.
14:48More of how does Ackis perform?
14:51How does the Patriots offensive line perform?
14:56We're doing tonight on Early Edition around 6 o'clock.
14:58What's your biggest area of concern?
15:01We're the worst position group.
15:03And I said, to me, it's the offensive line still.
15:05Because just like with...
15:06Unless somebody's lied to me, I don't believe...
15:09I'm not going to call them a liar.
15:11Just because the Patriots offensive line should be better, I'm not convinced that it is.
15:14Until I see it.
15:15I've got to see it.
15:16And right now, they're extremely thin.
15:21Until further notice, they are average at best, because they were, I kind of believe, subpar against good teams last
15:27year.
15:28So they're average, and they have thin depth.
15:30So it's a concern to me, not because I think they suck, but because everything hinges on their ability to
15:37be good, not just okay.
15:39What Brown does, what Dobbs does, what Henderson does, what Raritan does, what Stevenson does, what Drake May does.
15:47Everything hinges on those guys, especially against so many better defenses.
15:52The Patriots are going to have their way and beat the hell out of Miami, 34-13.
15:56How do they look against the Rams, the Seahawks, all the teams that they have to deal with who are
16:02upper-tier teams that can not just beat them defensively,
16:08as teams like the Browns did last year, but can score on them.
16:11So my biggest concern is the offensive line.
16:13So that's what I would be looking for against the Eagles next week.
16:16You and Christian Arkin agree.
16:17That's what he said at 2 o'clock, and you said it much more eloquently.
16:20You said it better.
16:21I don't know about that.
16:22We definitely agreed.
16:24As usual, I use more words.
16:26All right, Tom, look forward to you tonight at 6 on Early Edition.
16:29Thanks for joining us here.
16:30Thanks, Tommy.
16:30We appreciate it.
16:31All right, guys, have a great weekend.
16:33You too.
Comments