FOXBORO – Eliot Wolf, vice president of player personnel for the New England Patriots, met with reporters before practice on Sunday. Wolf commented on rookie Drake Mayes Progressand thus ended the pursuit of Brandon Aiyukand trade in Matthew Judon.
Matthew Judon trade “best for both sides”
Wolf described the decision to trade Judon for a third-round pick as “difficult.”
“We have to weigh now what’s best for the team and what’s best for the player going forward. We just felt like it was organizationally, and for Matthew, it was probably best for both sides,” Wolf said. “Teams had called to inquire. He had expressed a little bit of displeasure about his contract at various times. When that happens, teams always inquire with players. So it’s something that came to fruition in the end.”
When asked whether there could have been a compromise, Wolf did not want to provide any further details about the contract negotiations with Judon.
Patriots end pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk
Wolf confirmed that the team had “completely ended” its pursuit of San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk earlier this month. New England has reportedly agreed to terms with the 49ers on the trade and offered a significant contract extension in hopes of acquiring a new offensive weapon.
But Aiyuk, who has yet to be traded or agree to a contract extension with his current team, reportedly said he does not want to play for the Patriots.
Wolf was asked what led to the decision to abandon the team’s pursuit of the wide receiver.
“Yeah, that’s just a feeling. It was kind of a situation where he’s still in San Francisco and that’s not resolved from their perspective,” Wolf said. “But we just felt like our young receivers had a really good week organizationally and are continuing to develop, so we’re excited about those guys.”
When will Drake Maye launch?
According to Wolf, the team is confident that with the current roster it can support any quarterback, even a rookie like Maye.
Wolf was asked what he has heard from Maye since the start of training camp.
“Yeah, it was nice to see him come in the other night. It was really nice to see how calm and composed he was. He got head-butted by Nolan Smith once and he handled it well, but he’s steadily improved,” Wolf said. “He’s kept his head down and worked. He’s a great teammate and we’re excited to see where he can go.”
How close is Maye to playing?
“We’ll see. He didn’t have a lot of snaps in the first game. He took his snaps pretty well the other day. It’s about building on those successes and seeing where it goes,” Wolf said. “Drake is very conscientious. He takes all the coaching points. He tries to do everything perfectly. It was really nice to see him go out there the other day and just play ball instead of thinking about those things.”
