Steelers And NFL Insider Offers The Truth Behind The Shocking Rumors of Patriots Subterfuge In The AFC East

The Pittsburgh Steelers moved up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Broderick Jones, an offensive tackle from the University of Georgia. Pittsburgh was originally slotted to have the 17th pick in the first round, but they traded up to 14 with the New England Patriots. They gave New England their number 17 pick, as well as their fourth-round pick (120 overall) for their spot at 14. 

The teams that the Steelers leapfrogged over were the New York Jets at 15 and the Washington Commanders at 16. Immediately upon announcement of the trade, speculation began that the Patriots, and more specifically their head coach, Bill Belichick made it intentionally to hurt the Jets.  

The week following the draft, reports began to surface that those rumors were true. An anonymous general manager said that Belichick wanted to hurt the Jets and that is why he agreed to the trade. According to the Washington Post reporter Jason La Canfora, he was told this in a private conversation. Per the general manager that spoke to La Canfora, the Patriots would never let a draft pick go at a bargain basement price unless they had an ulterior motive. He said the asking price for that kind of trade should have been a third-round pick, not a fourth-round pick. 

The rumor has had new life breathed into it as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, brought it up again. He echoed the Post reporters saying, the Patriots made that trade to intentionally stick it to the Jets who are a division rival in the AFC East. 

According to Fowler, he was told by an AFC executive that the Patriots knew the Jets wanted an offensive lineman and did this to "blow up their draft strategy."

Steelers Insider Squashing The Rumors

While fans love to envision Draft Day type situations for every trade, it seems like this one is not that complicated. Steelers insider and reporter for NFL on CBS, Aditi Kinkhabwala, has spoken up and is disputing the rumor mills. Kinkhabwala recently appeared on an episode of a Steelers podcast called House of Yinzer. While on the show, Kinkhabwala was asked about the rumors.      

The show hosts, LeeAnn Lowman and Allison Koehler mentioned the general manager rumor and asked Kinkhabwala if there is any merit to the story that Belichick would purposely try to damage the Jets' draft because they knew New York wanted Jones and knew the Steelers would take him if given the opportunity.

"I think it is a nice byproduct if what it is. Do you think Bill Belichick is going to do something that does not help his team? Do you think Bill Belichick has so much hate for the Jets that he's going to damage his own team just to stick it to someone else? Come on, let's not be ridiculous."

Kinkhabwala goes on to add that she has her own insider information from the Patriots camp that definitively refutes this story. 

"I think it makes a very nice storyline. I think it's like, 'Oh, here's an added little bonus to this. Not only do we get something we want, but we may indeed stick it to the Jets.' That was not the singular motivation, that was not the driving factor. I can tell you, because that night I was texting with someone who was in the war room in New England, in Foxboro, and that was not the motivation. It was not, 'Ooohh Bill Belichick gets to take it to Robert Saleh right now, that's why we're trading this.'"

The Patriots and the Steelers both got high marks for the trade by CBS. New England moved back a few spots, but was still able to get Christian Gonzalez, who was arguably the most gifted cornerback of the draft. The Steelers gave up a fourth-round pick to move up a few spots and got a player they had been coveting. Many mock drafts did not have Jones available at 17, he was a steal at 14.  

According to R.J. White, who does draft-pick trade-values, the Steelers won that trade with a 301.06-point pick in return for 278.70 points of compensation. However, even if the Patriots gave up a little to make it happen, they still were graded an A and got the player they wanted. 

"I think [the Patriots] saw a really good value, they still saw a player that they thought they could get," said Kinkhabwala.

What do you think about this? Do you think New England really intentionally tried to stick it to the Jets? Or do you think it may have shaken out that way and that was just an added benefit? Click to comment below!

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