Patriots: Bill Belichick has savage response to not protecting practice squad players

Patriots HC Bill Belichick had a ruthless response when reporters asked him about not protecting practice squad players for Week 1.

Due to the potential of players testing positive for the coronavirus, the NFL implemented drastic changes to its roster regulations for the 2020 season. As it pertains to the practice squad, teams can now hold 16 players as opposed to the traditional 10 that coaching staffs have grown accustomed to.

When it comes to the New England Patriots, you just know that head coach Bill Belichick is going to love this newfound flexibility. However, he opted against the luxury that allows teams to protect a maximum of four players each week, which prevents other teams from signing them.

The Patriots were one of eight teams that chose not to do so for Week 1, and Belichick delivered a ruthless response when reporters asked for an explanation on Friday.

“Yeah, because we didn’t want to,” said Belichick.

Sorry to disappoint the fans that were anticipating a lengthy and comprehensive response from the six-time champion, but we do have one simple question for you: Have you never seen one of his interviews before? Belichick rarely offers much of anything in front of the microphone and this answer proves that he’s in midseason form, even during a global pandemic.

When you consider that teams have no limit in terms of the number of times these players can be protected, it’s pretty puzzling that the Patriots decided against doing so. However, we know better than to question the 68-year-old’s methods at this point of his legendary career.

With Week 1 a little more than 24 hours away, it’s looking like the Patriots will promote (or sign) one of Nick Folk or Justin Rohrwasser to the active roster. The two kickers have been battling it out for the starting job for a good portion of training camp, and Belichick expectedly hasn’t disclosed who has the edge in the competition, despite speaking highly of them throughout the preseason.

As for everyone else on the practice squad, we don’t know what the future holds for them.