The Patriots have locked up a member of their offensive line for two more years.
Ben Brown’s agents announced that Brown has signed a contract extension with the team. Per multiple reports, it is a two-year deal with a maximum value of $6.6 million.
Brown has appeared in 15 games for the Patriots this season and he’s made two starts. He started 10 games for the team last season and has experience at both guard and center during his time in the NFL.
All five of the Patriots’ preferred starting offensive linemen are under contract for next season, so Brown gives them a sixth returning player up front for 2026.
The AFC and NFC rosters for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games were announced on Tuesday morning.
Votes from fans, coaches and players were used to select the teams. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce led the fan vote and was named to his 11th Pro Bowl. Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, and Bears safety Kevin Byard were the other leaders in that vote, but Williams is not on the initial NFC roster.
Chargers tackle Joe Alt did make the AFC roster despite playing in only six games before being shut down with an ankle injury.
Three teams — the Jets, Saints and Vikings — have no Pro Bowlers. The Broncos, 49ers, Ravens, and Seahawks each had six players selected.
The Pro Bowl Games will be held in San Francisco on February
The full rosters appear below with starters indicated by an asterisk.
AFC
Quarterback: Josh Allen*, Buffalo Bills; Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers; Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Running back: De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins; James Cook, Buffalo Bills; Jonathan Taylor*, Indianapolis Colts
Fullback: Patrick Ricard*, Baltimore Ravens
Wide receiver: Ja’Marr Chase*, Cincinnati Bengals; Nico Collins*, Houston Texans; Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens; Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders*; Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive tackle: Joe Alt*, Los Angeles Chargers; Garett Bolles*, Denver Broncos; Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills
Offensive guard: Quinn Meinerz*, Denver Broncos; Quenton Nelson*, Indianapolis Colts; Trey Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Center: Creed Humphrey*, Kansas City Chiefs; Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens
Defensive end: Will Anderson Jr.*, Houston Texans; Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders; Myles Garrett*, Cleveland Browns
Interior linemen: Zach Allen, Denver Broncos; Chris Jones*, Kansas City Chiefs; Jeffrey Simmons*, Tennessee Titans
Outside linebacker: Nik Bonitto*, Denver Broncos; Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers; T.J. Watt*, Pittsburgh Steelers
Inside/middle linebacker: Azeez Al-Shaair, Houston Texans; Roquan Smith*, Baltimore Ravens
Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots; Derek Stingley Jr.*, Houston Texans; Pat Surtain II*, Denver Broncos; Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
Free safety: Jalen Ramsey*, Pittsburgh Steelers
Strong safety: Kyle Hamilton*, Baltimore Ravens; Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
Long-snapper: Ross Matiscik*, Jacksonville Jaguars
Punter: Jordan Stout*, Baltimore Ravens
Place-kicker: Cameron Dicker*, Los Angeles Chargers
Return specialist: Chimere Dike*, Tennessee Titans
Special-teamer: Ben Skowronek*, Pittsburgh
NFC
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford*, Los Angeles Rams; Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks; Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Running back: Jahmyr Gibbs*, Detroit Lions; Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers; Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk*, San Francisco 49ers
Wide receiver: Puka Nacua*, Los Angeles Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba*, Seattle Seahawks; George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Tight end: Trey McBride*, Arizona Cardinals; George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Offensive tackle: Penei Sewell*, Detroit Lions; Tristan Wirfs* Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Offensive guard: Tyler Smith*, Dallas Cowboys; Joe Thuney*, Chicago Bears; Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons
Center: Drew Dalman*, Chicago Bears; Cam Jurgens, Philadelphia Eagles
Defensive end: Aidan Hutchinson*, Detroit Lions; Micah Parsons*, Green Bay Packers; DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle Seahawks
Interior linemen: Jalen Carter*, Philadelphia Eagles; Leonard Williams*, Seattle Seahawks, Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Outside linebacker: Brian Burns*, New York Giants, Jared Verse*, Los Angeles Rams; Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
Inside/middle linebacker: Jack Campbell*, Detroit Lions; Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
Cornerback: Jaycee Horn*, Carolina Panthers; Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks
Free safety: Kevin Byard III*, Chicago Bears; Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Strong safety: Budda Baker*, Arizona Cardinals
Long-snapper: Jon Weeks*, San Francisco 49ers
Punter: Tress Way*, Washington Commanders
Placekicker: Brandon Aubrey*, Dallas Cowboys
Return specialist: Rashid Shaheed*, Seattle Seahawks
Special-teamer: Luke Gifford*, San Francisco 49ers
Bill Belichick is on the verge of hiring a new offensive coordinator at North Carolina.
Via Pete Nakos of On3.com, Belichick is finalizing a deal with Bobby Petrino to replace Freddie Kitchens as the man in charge of the UNC offense.
Petrino previously served as the head coach at Louisville and Arkansas. He also coached the Falcons in 2007, abruptly resigning in December of his first season to take the Arkansas job.
Petrino and Chip Kelly reportedly were the two coaches Belichick was eyeing the most closely.
The move, in our view, has no relevance to a potential return by Belichick to the NFL level, if an opportunity arises. The question is whether an opportunity will arise. For now, and despite reports seemingly aimed at breathing life into the possibility, it seems like a long shot.
The one place we’re watching the most closely isn’t any of the teams that have been mentioned elsewhere. We’re keeping an eye on Tampa Bay, for various reasons.
First, Todd Bowles wasn’t hired by a traditional source; he landed in the job by default after Bruce Arians resigned in late March. Second, the Buccaneers have imploded, going 1-6 after a 6-2 start. They’re now at risk of yielding their four-year hammerlock on the NFC South to the Panthers and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Third, the Bucs have a history of creative (to put it kindly) and/or unusual (to put it less kindly) coaching hires. Fourth, Belichick (we believe) has been eyeing that job.
Last year, his consigliere, Mike Lombardi, tried to start a rumor that Bowles would be retiring. It seemed to be an effort by Lombardi to speak an opening for Belichick into existence.
Regardless, that’s all to be determined. For now, Belichick has determined to hire Petrino.
The Patriots found themselves trailing with the ball late in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Ravens and that was familiar territory for quarterback Drake Maye.
They followed a different path over the first three-plus quarters to get to the same spot against the Bills in Week 15 and Maye was not able to lead them to the win. On Sunday night, he was more successful.
Maye engineered a nine-play, 89-yard drive that gave the Patriots a 28-24 win in a game they trailed by 11 points with less than 13 minutes to play. Maye was 12-of-14 in the fourth quarter and said after the game that the memory of the loss to Buffalo loomed over his effort in the final minutes.
“It was kind of a wake-up call last week — we got a chance to win the game with a game-winning drive, and this week it was like, man, let’s not have that feeling two weeks in a row,” Maye said, via Noah Trister of the Associated Press. “It was kind of the elephant in the room.”
The Patriots’ win guaranteed them a playoff spot, but there’s still plenty on the line in the final two weeks. The Patriots still have to sew up the AFC East and the Broncos’ loss to the Jaguars on Sunday leaves the top seed in the conference up for grabs.
Week 16 has been full of comebacks, and the Patriots provided the viewing audience with another on Sunday Night Football.
Down 24-13 after Derrick Henry’s 2-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, New England rallied to score two unanswered TDs and come away with a 28-24 victory.
The win clinches a playoff berth for the Patriots — their first since the 2021 season — in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach of the club.
Notably, the Ravens dropped the game but also lost their quarterback to a back injury, as Lamar Jackson exited the contest late in the second quarter and did not return.
But as for the comeback, Patriots went right down the field after Henry’s second TD, getting in the end zone with Drake Maye’s 37-yard touchdown to Kyle Williams with 9:01 left in regulation. Maye hit Rhamondre Stevenson for a successful two-point conversion, making the score 24-21, Baltimore.
The Ravens managed one first down on their ensuing drive, but did have to punt after taking 3:59 off the clock.
New England started its possession at the 9-yard line, with Maye immediately connecting with Mack Hollins for a 20-yard gain. The officials then missed a clear defensive pass interference penalty when Marlon Humphrey tackled Kayshon Boutte before the ball arrived on a deep shot down the middle of the field that would’ve put the Patriots inside the red zone.
But it was no matter, as the club converted fourth-and-2 with a Maye pass to Stefon Diggs for 21 yards.
A couple of plays later, Rhamondre Stevenson put the ball in the box with a 21-yard touchdown to give New England a four-point advantage.
With Tyler Huntley in the game for the injured Jackson, the Ravens had a chance to get down the field and win. But linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson punched the ball out of Zay Flowers’ arms with Marcus Jones recovering it for a turnover.
The Patriots scored a couple of first downs to seal the victory, as Maye ran it for 16 yards on a second-and-14 to seal the victory.
Maye finished the contest 31-of-44 for 380 yards with two touchdowns, an interception, and a lost fumble. It was the first 300-yard game of Maye’s career.
Diggs finished with 138 yards on nine catches — his fourth game of at least 100 yards this season for the wideout.
Jackson suffered his back injury late in the second quarter on a designed run. Jackson was able to stay in for one more play before the Ravens called a timeout to get him out, sending him to the locker room for further evaluation before halftime. Jackson finished 7-of-10 for 101 yards plus two carries for 7 yards.
Huntley ended the game 9-of-10 for 65 yards plus two carries for 2 yards.
Henry had 18 carries for 128 yards with two touchdowns. But he was not in for Baltimore’s penultimate or final drive, presumably because it was a known-passing situation.
With the win, the Patriots will now be in the postseason and have the inside track to clinching the AFC East with two games to go. New England will be on the road to face the Jets in Week 17 before finishing the season at home against Miami.
The Ravens now fall to 7-8. While they haven’t been officially eliminated from playoff contention, it will now be difficult for the club to win the AFC North, especially with Pittsburgh’s victory over Detroit on Sunday. The Ravens finish the season on with a road matchup against Green Bay and a road contest against the Steelers.
