NFL Rumors: Two Draft Prospects With Patriots Ties Need Foot Surgery

The sons of two former New England Patriots wide receivers will need surgery this offseason.

LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss (son of Randy) and Florida wide receiver Van Jefferson (son on Shawn) were diagnosed with Jones fractures in their feet during medical evaluations at the NFL Scouting Combine, according to reports Thursday.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero were the first to report Moss’s injury. ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s reported Jefferson’s.

Both reportedly are expected to make full recoveries in time for the 2020 season after projected rehab periods of six to eight weeks.

Moss and Jefferson both are potential mid-round draft targets for a Patriots team that needs help at tight end and wideout this offseason. The former said he’d love to catch passes from Tom Brady, who set NFL records while throwing to his father in 2007.

“It would mean a lot,” said the younger Moss, who caught 47 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns in 2019, including two scores in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. “Just to catch a touchdown pass period in the NFL would mean a lot. But to catch it from Tom Brady knowing that he threw a good amount of touchdown passes to my father, it would be a good story.”

Shawn Jefferson played for the Patriots from 1996 to 1999, leaving shortly before Brady arrived. He now serves as the New York Jets’ wide receivers coach.

“To play with a team my dad played for, and if Tom Brady comes back play with him, and play with N’Keal Harry and Julian Edelman, hat would be great,” said Van Jefferson, who met with the Patriots at the Senior Bowl. “And my dad played for them. So playing for a team like that would make it that much better.”

Jefferson didn’t post gaudy stats during a four-year collegiate career split between Ole Miss and Florida, but he was consistently productive, averaging 44 catches, 540 receiving yards and four touchdowns per season. He’s renowned for his route-running, which helped him earn Practice Player of the Week honors at the Senior Bowl.