Patriots Are Prepared For Draft Pick To Miss Entire Season

The New England Patriots picked linebacker Cameron McGrone in the fifth-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Head coach Bill Belichick really likes his new player. Well, the Patriots may not get a chance to watch their draft pick play until next season.

McGrone sustained a torn ACL in Michigan’s win over Rutgers. He sustained the injury on November 21. NFL players usually bounce back in a few months. But, Belichick is not someone who takes risks. McGrone may need more time to recover from his injury. He may not be 100% for Week 1. There’s no guarantee in cases of this kind.

The Patriots head coach couldn’t provide more details for McGrone’s availability. Belichick and his team are prepared to not have the player available in 2021. Yes, Belichick won’t plant any false expectations. McGrone will probably have a good recovery and provide excellent results during his time with the team. When will this happen? We don’t know.

“We’re not really sure what the expectation of availability is for him, but we’re prepared certainly to not have him available this year,” Belichick said this week, via ESPN.com. “There are no false expectations here. He should have a good recovery and be a good player; we’ll just have to see what the timing is on that.”

The Patriots have great expectations from the draft pick

In 11 games for the Wolverines in 2019, the then-sophomore had 65 total tackles, nine tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. In 2020, McGrone had 26 tackles and half a sack in five games in 2020.

Mike Reiss from ESPN pointed out that Belichick is really aggressive when it comes to signing injured players. There are a few misses, and also great hits thanks to this incredible strategy. Belichick knows what he is doing.

The same happened with Rob Gronkowski. The talented player missed the entire 2009 season due to a disc injury. Big Gronk struggled with injuries throughout his entire time with the Patriots. But, Gronk is one of the most dangerous weapons the NFL has ever seed at tight end. He has definitely earned a spot in the Hall of Fame.