Patriots Roster Cuts, Chiefs Release Josh Gordon, Tom Brady a Future Niner? | Breaking Brad Ep. 16

[TRANSCRIPT]Welcome to Breaking Brad, cooking up only the hottest of takes for you this evening. Going to be a bit of a short one today, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing newsworthy.That’s because it’s cut day in the NFL, the final and most painful one, where teams are required to drop their roster size from 80, all the way down to 53, with a few practice squad players in between.The New England Patriots, as of this recording, haven’t fully released their 53-man roster, but there have already been many notable cuts that some may find surprising.The first one is cornerback Terrence Mitchell, who seemed like he would be the main DB opposite Jalen Mills early in Training Camp. A veteran presence, who had some success with the Houston Texans, especially as a lockdown corner that can force fumbles. Now, Mitchell likely would have made the team if it weren’t for his salary, and the surprising development of newly-drafted corners Marcus Jones and Jack Jones. So, this is actually great news, because it shows the Pats have been largely successful at getting younger and faster at the cornerback position.Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keen will go down as two failed early draft picks in recent years. Both former 2020 3rd round picks will not make the roster at the tight end position. There was a lot of hope for these guys, but it just didn’t pan out. Not a great look for Bill Belichick. Those two make N’Keal Harry look like Tyreek Hill. They combined for a grand total of five career catches.Some other cuts, Kevin Harris, the other running back named Harris, who the Patriots drafted in the 6th round this year, was waived by the team. Not a huge surprise there, considering the depth they have at that position. But perhaps a bigger surprise at that position, J.J. Taylor, who looks like James White’s doppelganger out there, will not be playing the James White role, at least for now. He was cut by the Pats as well. That’s encouraging news for Ty Montgomery, who went down with an ankle injury in their final preseason game against the Raiders. Hopefully he’ll be back and healthy in that third down back role very soon.Cam McGrone is another surprising cut. There were high expectations for the speedy, athletic linebacker, but he never was able to bounce back from his college injury and make the roster. It is, however, an encouraging sign with the depth the Patriots now have at that position.Justin Bethel, a veteran special teamer, was also cut in a surprise move. Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who dominated the preseason, perhaps as the Patriots best receiver (also played tight end a little). He was waived as well.A full list of the Patriots roster cuts should be available on Patriots.com very soon, probably by the time you watch this video. Something also to note, some of these players may re-sign depending on the IR moves made by the Patriots, they could be on the practice squad. Hopefully that’s the case for players like Lil’Jordan Humphrey and J.J. Taylor.Moving on to the next story . . .With NFL teams required to bring their rosters down to 53 players today, the Kansas City Chiefs, an organization with a plethora of talent at the wide receiver position (even after losing Tyreek Hill) have informed Josh Gordon of his release.Gordon played 12 games with Kansas City last season, following suspension No. 6 of his career. He collected just five catches, 32 yards and a touchdown. Not exactly dazzling numbers, but makes sense on a roster that deep.Gordon intends to continue playing, tweeting out: “Appreciate all the Chiefs kingdom has done for me and my family this past year. Thanks for the opportunity and the many memories. Excited to see where the next part of my football journey takes me #itsabusiness #dreamchasing.”I still expect Josh Gordon to contribute somewhere. Not New England, despite many on Twitter suggesting otherwise. They just have too many receivers to begin with. Perhaps a team like the Packers, who could use some help at that position, or maybe the Bucs, since Gordon has a strong relationship and experience playing with Tom Brady.Gordon has made a lot of news over the last decade for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, mainly for smoking cannabis. However, the substance abuse policy has now changed, as they no longer will be testing players for THC. So, there is less of a risk to signing Gordon at this point in his career.Last story tonight, I told you this would be a short one.Want to follow up on this story that broke yesterday evening, with the San Francisco 49ers making the decision to keep Jimmy Garoppolo. What does that mean for Trey Lance, and the future of the quarterback position in San Francisco?Well, one thing is for sure, if the Niners are keeping Jimmy G, after basically saying they were trading him and naming Trey Lance their starting quarterback in the offseason, there is a good chance Lance is on a short leash. Clearly Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch and company do not trust Lance to be their starter, at least at this time. Garoppolo will be waiting in the wings, and I would bet he starts at least a few games this season.So, the real question is, if that happens, Lance isn’t ready and the Niners have to resort to Jimmy G, thinking ahead to next year’s NFL season, when Jimmy G is gone as a free agent and Lance is the only guy left, will they hand him the keys again? Will they take away the keys before Week 1 this season? It’s not looking good, and this is an extremely talented roster that should be competing for a Super Bowl right now. I mean, they nearly made it back last year with Garoppolo.Well, I know a certain quarterback playing in Tampa, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, who would love to finish his career close to home. The Niners goofed in 2020, when they passed on Tom Brady. I’m sure right now, if they had to choose between Jimmy G, Trey Lance, or Tom Brady, they would jump at the idea of having Tom Brady. I mean, he was just named the No. 1 player, currently in the NFL by his peers.Assuming Brady doesn’t retire next year, which I don’t think is a big assumption (his retirement this year was fake, he wanted to get released and go to the Dolphins),he would have to be interested in playing for San Francisco. It just makes too much sense.It always seemed inevitable to me, if Brady didn’t finish his career with the Patriots, it would be with his childhood team, the Niners. Especially when you consider the talent on that roster. It’s analogous to what Tampa was two years ago when Brady decided to go there, but with a more stable, buttoned-up organization.Brady would get one of the best coaches in the NFL, the best rosters and be close to his family. It’s a no brainer.Okay, that’s it for today’s quick episode. Be sure to like and subscribe, hit that notification bell. Will be back tomorrow. Until then, this is Breaking Brad. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit patscast.substack.com