The New England Patriots faced off against the Arizona Cardinals Monday night, and it was supposed to be the debut for 2021 NFL draft pick, Cameron McGrone.
However, he was announced as inactive about an hour before the game.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a pregame interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub, and during that interview, he said he was unsure of the statuses of some linebackers, as well as the health of some special teams players. He wanted to have McGrone available in case someone couldn’t go.
Perhaps the most interesting part of those comments is that when players are elevated from the practice squad they receive a game day bonus. McGrone’s salary went from $11,500 to $39,166.67. That is certainly a good amount of money.
By being elevated Cameron McGrone’s salary for the Cardinals game increased from $11,500 to $39,166.67.
— Miguel Benzan Patriots Cap Space Equals 2,248,818 (@patscap) December 12, 2022
The linebacker is set to become a free agent after the season, but Belichick did not rule out the possibility for him to see playing time, as transcribed by Dakota Randall of NESN.com.
“Cam’s had a good year,” Belichick said. “He missed a little bit of time at the beginning of the year and then had a good stretch there. Then missed a few practices about a month ago or so somewhere in there. Then kind of started to reclimb from there. … He’s done a good job for us.”
Belichick is certainly not ruling out a bigger role towards the end for McGrone. At the very least, the coach helped his linebacker earn a little extra cash.
