Philip Rivers with a rating of 107.7.Completion percentage: Brady is currently 19th in the NFL at 65.4 percent. Even if Brady were to complete 30-of-30 passes on Sunday, that would boost his completion percentage up

Daily news and links for Thursday"TEAM TALKErik Scalavino’s Free Agent Forecast: Offensive backfield - QBs and RBs.Andy Hart offers his take on whether the Patriots would consider bringing back Jamie Collins.Angelique Fiske celebrates the NFL New Year by taking a look back at some of the best stories and moments from last season.From the NFL - Kyle Brandt: Stephen Gostkowski is ‘the generational kicker’ for the New England Patriots. (1 min. video)Don Banks’ 2019 NFL Mock Draft 1.0. Pats pick Louisiana Tech Edge Jaylon Ferguson.LOCAL LINKSTom E. Curran takes the measure of the Patriots’ dozen most consequential free agents Andre Tippett Jerseys Stitched , the projected outside demand, projected cost and impact of their departures. /Good read.Zack Cox looks at how Jason McCourty performed in 2018 and wonders if he will be one-and-done in New England.Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) 17 Observations from NFL Films documentary on Patriots’ run to Super Bowl LIII.Ryan Hannable explains why UMass WR Andy Isabella makes more sense for the Patriots than Clemson WR Hunter Renfrow.Ryan Hannable isn’t buying the QB Josh Rosen to the Patriots trade rumor.Darren Hartwell notes Tom Brady actually invited OBJ to New England on Instagram.Matt Dolloff thumbnails three notable veteran defenders who are set to be free agents, his thoughts on if the Patriots should think about bringing one of them in.Ryan Hannable says the Patriots discussed trading for Jamie Collins internally at the trade deadline last year.Chris Warner (BostonSportsMedia) Patriots “that guy” draft preview, 2019 Combine edition.Doug Kyed puts together his Patriots Mock Draft 2.0, with the Patriots electing to use all 12 picks: How to replace or complement Trey Flowers.Ricky Doyle relays ESPN Insider Todd McShay’s Mock Draft, with the Patriots selecting Alabama TE Irv Smith Jr.NATIONAL NEWSNFL Nation (ESPN) Predictions for all 32 NFL teams’ top free agents. Patriots Trey Flowers prediction: The Patriots will re-sign him [Mike Reiss]. /I’ll take it.Albert Breer (SI) Game Plan: The under-the-radar free agents who are about to cash in big; Mailbag.Gil Brandt (NFL.com) Teams with most at stake in free agency. Patriots included. /I’m no expert, but I question the Pats being on this list.Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL free agency: Safeties no longer forgotten, the rise of the slot receiver and more insider notes.Robert Mays (The Ringer) Setting the market for the NFL’s five most Interesting free agent position groups.Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) 2019 NFL free agency: Eight players who could be overpriced.OT Trent Brown included.Kevin Clark (The Ringer) We’ll know which NFL teams are paying attention at the draft.Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL Draft: Nasir Adderley Youth Tedy Bruschi Jerseys , Khalen Saunders and the 13 small school prospects to know.Wright Thompson (ESPN Magazine) Steak, booze and a sense of dull dread: Here’s what really happens at the NFL combine.Joel Corry (CBS Sports) Agent’s Take: Five suggested changes to the next NFL collective bargaining agreement.Jason Owens (Yahoo! Sports) AAF co-founder Bill Polian suggests startup could be legitimate minor league for NFL.Eric Edholm (Yahoo! Sports) Post-combine NFL mock draft ‘19. Pats pick Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry.Danny Kelly (The Ringer) 2019 NFL Draft Guide. Pats pick Ole Miss WR A.J. Brown.Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com) 2019 NFL mock draft 2.0. Pats pick Clemson Edge Clelin Ferrell.Sean Wagner-McGough (CBS Sports) 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Patriots capitalize on Cardinals’ desire for Kyler Murray by trading for Josh Rosen.EXTRACURRICULARMark W. Sanchez (NY Post) Adam Schefter breaks his silence on ‘Bigger than Kraft’ report.Michele Steele (Twitter) ‘New: Robert Kraft arraignment set for 9 am March 28 in Palm Beach county. ... defendent “must be” present at this hearing.’ This year the Patriots and Tom Brady agreed to a revised contract that was designed to pay him more like the elite quarterback he has been throughout his NFL career. The deal would give Brady a bonus of $1 million each for finishing in the top five in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt.Brady finished in the Top 5 in all five of those statistical categories last year, so when he signed that contract this year, he surely expected to earn the full $5 million. Instead he’s set to earn zero.Although there’s still one game left for Brady to improve his stats, he’s so far out of the Top 5 in all five of those categories that there’s no realistic way he could reach any of those $1 million incentives. He certainly won’t reach all of them.Here’s where Brady stands in each of those five stats Tedy Bruschi Jerseys Stitched , with one game to go:Passing yards: This is the incentive Brady has the best chance of reaching, but it’s still a long shot. Brady is currently No. 9 in the NFL in passing yards, but he’s 311 yards out of the Top 5. And all five of the passers in the Top 5 — Ben Roethlisberger, Patrick Mahomes, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff and Aaron Rodgers — are expected to play the whole game on Sunday. So even if Brady gains more than 311 yards on Sunday, he’s unlikely to be in the Top 5 when Sunday is over.Passing touchdowns: Brady is currently 12th in the NFL in passing touchdowns, with 25. To get into the Top 5 Youth Steve Grogan Jerseys , he would need eight more passing touchdowns than Ryan and Roethlisberger on Sunday. Seeing as the NFL record is seven passing touchdowns in a game, this one isn’t happening.Passer rating: Brady is currently 17th in the NFL in passer rating. Even if he has a great game and some of the quarterbacks ahead of him have bad games, there’s no hope of getting all the way to No. 5, which is currently occupied by Philip Rivers with a rating of 107.7.Completion percentage: Brady is currently 19th in the NFL at 65.4 percent. Even if Brady were to complete 30-of-30 passes on Sunday, that would boost his completion percentage up to 67.2 percent, which wouldn’t even crack the Top 10, let alone the Top 5.Yards per attempt: Brady is 14th at 7.6 yards per attempt. Even if he throws for 400 yards while attempting only 20 passes on Sunday, he’ll still be only at 8.1 Steve Grogan Jerseys Stitched , which isn’t in the Top 5.Brady’s numbers declined this year in a season when quarterback stats across the board improved. Those incentives, which seemed perfectly reasonable at the time he signed the contract, are now impossible for him to reach.