The Patriots finally signed second-round rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas over the weekend, but it’s unclear when, or if, his knee will allow him to play this year.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said today that he is anticipating Jacas playing as a rookie but he can’t guarantee it.
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“I don’t want to say,” Vrabel said. “Nothing is 100 percent. I don’t anticipate that whatsoever. I don’t. I am excited where he is at. I am excited that he wants to be here, he wants to get going, and he does not want to be on the field with the trainer, I will tell you that. He wants to get back out there, play ball and be the player that we drafted and wanted to be here.”
Vrabel also declined to get into specifics about Jacas’s contract, which reportedly includes an injury waiver that would keep the Patriots from having to pay him in full if the knee keeps him off the field.
“I think the one thing is I am not going to talk about specific contracts or the details with the contract,” Vrabel said. “The most important thing is that Gabe is here, that we are all on the same page and that we are excited to move forward with Gabe. We try to explain to him that again, with everything in this business, in professional sports, we have talked about that there is a professional side and there is a personal side. He had to deal with the professional side much earlier than some other players in their careers. So, we have maintained a personal relationship, and Smitty [Patriots assistant coach Mike Smith] did the same thing as his position coach. He, by all accounts, has been working hard and is ready to go, and we will evaluate that here over the next couple of days and be able to acclimate him as quickly as possible.”
It’s common for players to drop in the draft because of medical red flags, but it’s an unusual situation for Jacas in that this issue has arisen after the Patriots spent a second-round pick on him. Now the Patriots will hope he can get off the non-football injury list and on the field, some time this year.
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