You couldn’t keep the Patriots out of the past for long. Apparently needing only one season to determine their Jerod Mayo experiment was a noble failure, they have returned to the Bill Belichick coaching tree in ways both formal and less official.

Regardless of who’s around Maye, it’s clear the expectations have been ratcheted up, from a performance and leadership perspective.

With a better group of receivers and an offense that figures to be better-run, there’s hope that Maye will take a step forward this season.

Patriots Finally Sign Highly-Rated Playmaker to Rookie Deal originally appeared on Athlon Sports.