Patriots Country Notebook: Wise Deal Restructured, Nine Nominated for Call to Patriots Hall and More

Also…Might New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick’s story be headed for the Hollywood big screen?

With the 2022 NFL Draft approximately three weeks away, the New England Patriots continue to do their due diligence in building their roster. After making a significant splash over the weekend by acquiring wide receiver DeVante Parker in a rare intra-divisional trade with the Miami Dolphins, the Pats remain committed to making the moves which they feel to be in the best interest of their football team.

After all, there is never a dull moment in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

From a strategic financial move, to a collection of ex-Pats hoping to take their place among the franchise’s all time greats, here are the latest notes from Foxboro, courtesy of the Patriots Country Notebook.

Deatrich Wise Restructures Deal

While the addition of DeVante Parker has recently created a great deal of excitement throughout the Patriots fan base, there was the matter of New England having to allocate the proper amount of salary cap space to finalize the deal.

They did so by restructuring the contract of defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., as reported on Wednesday by ESPN’s Field Yates.

To complete the Parker transaction, New England needed to clear approximately $900,00 in salary cap space. As a result, the Pats and Wise agreed to convert $2.85 million of his base salary into a signing bonus. This restructuring created a total of $1.9 million of additional cap space.

Having been selected by the Patriots in the fourth-round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Wise has become a key contributor within the Pats defensive front seven. He has performers well both along the edge, as well as on the interior of the defensive line.

In March 2021, Wise signed a four-year, $22 million extension with the club. The deal was set to pay him a $4 million base salary this upcoming season. However, the restructuring has reduced that amount to $1.15 million. The remaining $2.85 million has been converted into a fully-guaranteed signing bonus, spread out over the remainder of the contract. Therefore, Wise’s salary cap hit shrinks from $6.19 million to $4.29 million. His cap numbers in both 2023 and 2024, meanwhile, increase by $950,000 and will now stand at $7.2 million in each of those years.

According to Patriots’ salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the Patriots currently have $1,017,562 in available salary cap space. The team is expected to complete additional cost-cutting moves in the days and weeks leading up to the 2022 NFl Draft.

Patriots Hall of Fame Committee Nominates Nine for Consideration

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the eighteen members of the Patriots Hall of Fame Committee met inside the Optum Field Lounge at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday to offer their nominations to become the 29th member of the Pats Hall. In total, nine former members of the Patriots organization received nominations.

In all, seven players and two coaches received nominations on Wednesday: Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, Mike Vrabel, Bill Parcells, Logan Mankins, Lawyer Milloy, John Smith, Chuck Fairbanks and Julius Adams.

While Malloy and Smith were first-time nominees, the remaining nominees have all earned the distinction in the past. Fairbanks (in 2013), Parcells (in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2020) and Vrabel (from 2016-20) have previously been finalists.

The Committee will reconvene to decide on three finalists, who will be determined and announced in the coming days. Fans will then vote to select the 2022 inductee. The process is expected to be completed sometime in May.

‘Ready for your close-up, Mr. Belichick?’

“We’re on to…Hollywood?”

The story of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might be headed to the big screen, per a recent remark from actor Mark Wahlberg

Appearing at a screening of his new movie, Father Stu, in Boston on Tuesday night, the Dorchester, Massachusetts native mentioned that a biopic focusing on the ‘HC of the NEP’ may be among his future projects.

Here's @markwahlberg in #Boston telling us we should keep an eye out for a Bill Belichick biopic in the near future 👀 @wbz pic.twitter.com/WZvatNSCiG

— Breana Pitts (@BrePWBZ) April 6, 2022

“Hopefully, look out for a Bill Belichick biopic in the near future,” the 50-year-old told reporters.

Having been raised in New England, Wahlberg has been a lifelong Patriots fan. Several of his most successful movies have had a connection to the Boston area, including The Departed, Patriots Day, The Fighter and the Ted series, whose sequel featured a cameo from former New England quarterback Tom Brady.

Now, Wahlberg has seemingly set his sights on the Patriots legendary coach. In fact, he told Variety earlier this year that he would “love to play Bill Belichick” in a movie.

Despite Wahlberg’s comments, no additional details are available regarding the project at this time.

Still, stay tuned. After all, ‘there’s no business like show business.’