The Patriots have only three players who carry an injury designation into Super Bowl LX.
Linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle), outside linebacker Harold Landry III (knee) and defensive tackle Joshua Farmer (hamstring) are all officially questionable.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is off the injury report and good to go after working through a right shoulder injury in the AFC Championship Game. He was a full participant in all three practices this week.
Maye said earlier this week that his shoulder feels “great.”
Spillane exited the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago with an ankle injury in the first quarter and didn’t return. He sat out every practice until Thursday when he returned to limited work, and he remained a limited participant on Friday.
He said this week he plans on playing, but the question is how effective he will be with his injury.
Landry missed the conference title game after playing only part-time in the first two playoff games. He initially injured his knee in Week 6 and sat out the final two regular-season games to rest his knee.
Landry was limited in practices on Wednesday and Friday. He did not practice on Thursday.
The stunning exclusion of Bill Belichick from the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 overshadowed the players who were selected. Belichick would seem a near-certainty to get into the Hall of Fame in 2027, alongside a new crop of players around whom there will be plenty of big debates.
Among the players who will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction for the first time in 2027 are Rob Gronkowski, Adrian Peterson, Ben Roethlisberger, Richard Sherman, Antonio Brown, Cam Newton and Andrew Whitworth.
The three players who were on the final ballot but didn’t get selected for the Hall of Fame this year were Willie Anderson, Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda. They’ll go right to the list of finalists in 2027.
The other finalists who weren’t selected this year were Jahri Evans, Frank Gore, Torry Holt, Eli Manning, Reggie Wayne, Kevin Williams, Jason Witten and Darren Woodson. They’ll all get consideration in 2027 as well.
Belichick, Gronkowski and Peterson would seem to be the three candidates with the strongest case in 2027. Then again, Belichick was the candidate with the strongest case in 2026, and he didn’t make it. One way or another, some controversy is likely coming next year.
Former Buccaneers and Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell continues. And, as Gruden sees it, the potential financial damages will be very significant.
In a Case Conference Report filed on Wednesday, February 4, Gruden’s lawyers revealed that his losses “total well over $150,000,000.” The damages flow from, per the Case Conference Report, “loss of his employment, interference with future employment opportunities, loss of contract value, loss of sponsorships, reputational damage, costs, expert fees, and attorney fees incurred as a result of this dispute.”
Gruden filed the lawsuit roughly a month after his forced resignation from the Raiders, following reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times containing emails Gruden had sent and received while employed by ESPN. Those emails had been harvested as part of an investigation regarding the Washington Commanders and former owner Daniel Snyder. Gruden contends that the emails were leaked with the specific goal of prompting the termination of his employment.
The Case Conference Report was prepared following an “early case conference” in which the NFL declined to participate. The league, we’re told, contends that discovery in the case has been stayed pending the appeal of a denial of a motion to dismiss under the Nevada anti-SLAPP statute.
In the Case Conference Report, a copy of which PFT has obtained and reviewed, Gruden’s lawyers list in the form of mandatory disclosures the potential witnesses in the case. They include: Goodell, various attorneys from the Paul Weiss law firm, former NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, Snyder, former Raiders general counsel Dan Ventrelle, Raiders owner Mark Davis, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, attorney Beth Wilkinson, various attorneys from the Reed Smith firm, Desiree Perez of Roc Nation, former NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, and Gruden.
The Case Conference Report does not expressly indicate that any, some, or all of these individuals listed will be deposed by Gruden’s lawyers, and it does not mention any current attempts to compel their deposition testimony.
The Case Conference Report lists several specific NFL teams that have potentially relevant information: the Commanders, Raiders, Cowboys, Patriots, Seahawks, Giants, Jets, and Dolphins. It does not identify any of the reporters from the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times.
In a separate portion of the Case Conference Report, Gruden’s lawyers list various documents that they contend the NFL should disclose “immediately.” The documents include all 650,000 documents generated during Wilkinson’s investigation of the Commanders and a so-called “‘Blackmail Powerpoint’ presented by Daniel Snyder and/or Reed Smith to the NFL Defendants, containing communications by Roger Goodell and Jeff Pash.”
The Case Conference Report also states that no settlement discussions have occurred.
It remains unclear whether the NFL has filed, or plans to file, a petition for appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the question of whether Gruden should be required to pursue his claims through arbitration controlled by the NFL.
The case has been pending for more than four years, due mainly to the preliminary skirmishes regarding the arbitration question. At some point, depositions will occur and documents will be obtained — unless the case is dismissed or settled.
Matthew Stafford made the All-Pro team for the first time, getting 31 of the 50 first-place votes. That bode well for his bid to win his first league MVP award.
The Rams quarterback found out for certain Thursday night at NFL Honors.
Stafford received 24 first-place votes and 366 total points, topping Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (361 points, 23 first-place vote). Bills quarterback Josh Allen (91 points, two first-place votes), 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (71) and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (49) were the other finalists. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert received the other first-place vote.
The awards given at Honors are based on the regular season, with voters casting their ballots the day after the season ends.
Stafford, who turns 38 on Saturday, completed 65 percent of his passes for a league-best 4,707 yards, a league-best 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions for the 12-5 Rams.
Maye, who is in his second season, led the league in completion percentage (72.0), yards per attempt (8.9) and passer rating (113.5). He threw for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions for the 14-3 Patriots.
A year ago, Lamar Jackson was voted first-team All-Pro but the same voters had Josh Allen as the MVP. This year, both awards belong to Stafford, who may have cemented his spot in Canton.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed five new members on Thursday night at NFL Honors.
Quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri will have their busts in Canton.
Brees and Fitzgerald are first-ballot Hall of Famers, and Kuechly and Vinatieri were in their second year of eligibility.
Craig has waited 28 years for his knock on the door. He was one of three seniors candidates in a group that also included Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft as the coach and contributor candidates, respectively.
For the second consecutive year, only one of the five finalists in that group made it into the Hall of Fame. Sterling Sharpe was the only inductee of that group in the Class of 2025.
Seniors L.C. Greenwood and Ken Anderson, like Belichick and Kraft, did not receive the 80 percent required for induction in the Class of 2026.
After much criticism about the selectors’ failure to enshrine Belichick in his first year of eligibility, the elections of Brees, Craig, Fitzgerald, Vinatieri and Kuechly were met with a standing ovation when announced at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Brees learned of his election from Dan Fouts; Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley surprised Craig with the news; Morten Andersen had the honor of telling Vinatieri; Randy Moss informed Fitzgerald; and Julius Peppers was the Hall of Famer who welcomed Kuechly into the Hall.
The Hall of Fame’s membership now stands at 387.
The newest members’ enshrinement will take place Saturday, Aug. 8 in Canton.
