Robert Kraft apparently had an ulterior motive when he made his stunning comment about Lamar Jackson.
The Patriots owner kick-started immense speculation on Monday after saying that rapper and close friend Meek Mill told him Jackson wants to play in New England. The remarks were especially interesting when you consider Kraft reportedly wanted them to be on the record.
But Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard on Tuesday threw cold water on the speculation, reporting New England will not pursue the 26-year-old quarterback. Citing “high-ranking sources,” Bedard reported that Patriots ownership, led by Kraft, isn’t interested in pursuing Jackson and prefers to surround Mac Jones with better offensive weapons.
Bedard also offered insight into why Kraft brought up Meek Mill in the first place.
“Kraft’s mention of the Mill-Jackson interaction was to illustrate that younger stars still like the Patriots’ brand,” Bedard wrote. “And Kraft’s influence through Mill with younger NFL stars is viewed as an advantage.”
It makes sense that Kraft would want to use this kind of strategy, as the Patriots have struggled to remain relevant in the post-Tom Brady era. After all, we now live in a world where a matchup pitting Bill Belichick against Josh McDaniels gets flexed out of primetime.
Whether invoking Meek Mill makes any difference is up for debate. If nothing else, the comments helped to keep the Patriots in the NFL news cycle, and that counts for something.
As for Jackson, New England fans probably can give up on the idea of the 2019 NFL MVP landing in Foxboro. But if you still want to daydream, we recently broke down the pros and cons of a possible Jackson addition.
