Last Tuesday, the Patriots signed veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to a 1-year, $6 million dollar deal. Thomas has been one of the NFL's best wide receivers over the past decade, but things are starting to look bleak for the career of the former Patriots rival. The once great wide out is now on the wrong side of 30 and coming fresh off of the 2nd Achilles tear of his career, not to mention his worst season since 2011. It seems as though Thomas comes with more questions than answers. What does the Broncos legend have left in the tank to offer the Patriots? Can he have a real impact on the field in 2019?

With the NFL Draft just two days away, the Patriots are preparing to add some talent to a team in desperate need of a few young foundational players. New England owns six picks in the first three round of the draft, headlined by the 32nd overall pick at the end of the first round. With so many high picks, the Patriots may be unlikely to feel their usual need to trade down and accumulate more picks. Instead, they can take advantage of a 2019 draft class that features tremendous depth at positions where they need some upgrades. Here are the 5 first round prospects the Patriots should be eyeing as we get closer and closer to the 2019 NFL draft.

Amidst all the chaos of the NBA and NHL playoffs, the NFL released the regular season schedule for all 32 teams on Wednesday night. With the schedule now revealed, it's time to look through all the games ahead for the Patriots and pick out the marquee matchups on tap for the reigning Super Bowl champions.​

It is official, Rob Gronkowski has retired from the NFL. He went out on top, a 3x Super Bowl champion, 5x Pro-Bowler, and a 4x All-Pro tight end.

The state of Boston/New England sports has arguably never been better than it is right now. With two teams coming off championship seasons and expectations for the Bruins and Celtics to go on deep playoff runs, it's clear that all four major Boston sports teams are thriving. It says a lot about the state of the teams in the city that the region’s worst team is either a hockey team with one of the four best records in the NHL or a basketball team with stars like Kyrie Irving and prospects like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In a sports market as fanatical as this, greatness is demanded.​

An earlier version of this article had names like Golden Tate, Adam Humphries and Odell Beckham Jr. included on it. Since that article, they've all found new homes elsewhere and the Patriots void at receiver has yet to be filled. While Belichick and co. have signed players like Bruce Ellington and Maurice Harris, those players do little to quell the concerns of a fan base that was hoping to add a significant piece to the outside for Tom Brady. With the landscape of free agency changing drastically in the last few days, I've revised the list and added a few names, moved a few names up, moved a few names down and found 10 receivers that are still available that could make the Patriots wide receiver situation look a lot less dire.​​

The Patriots have traded a 5th round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for defensive end Michael Bennett and a 7th round pick. Bennett has 63 career sacks and 118 career tackles for loss in 10 NFL seasons.​

​Like last year, the Patriots have multiple starters entering free agency or contemplating retirement (yes, I’m looking at you, Rob Gronkowski). Key contributors on both sides of the ball are looking to get massive contracts in the offseason, and, although some have expressed their desire to return to the Patriots, it is impossible to bring back everyone. Patriots free agents include the likes of Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, Jason McCourty, Chris Hogan, and Cordarrelle Patterson.  The Patriots also reportedly intend to pursue a big-name wideout and have been linked to names like Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown, although Pittsburgh has also expressed its desire to trade Brown to the NFC (San Francisco, Green Bay, etc.). Here's a look at each key free agent the Patriots will have to re-sign.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting prostitution at a spa in Florida. Kraft has denied the reports though a spokesman who stated: "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further."

Tyler Campbell

The Patriots have replaced former defensive play caller and current Dolphins head coach Brian Flores  with former Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano. Schiano, who is 52 years old, began his college coaching career with Rutgers as a graduate assistant in 1989. Schiano moved to Pennsylvania State University in 1990, staying there through 1995 as a defensive backfield coach. He then took a job with the Chicago Bears as an assistant, followed by a position as a defensive coordinator for Miami, leading them to the fifth lowest scoring defense in points per game.