The New England Patriots ’ players did not have to report to Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, but the team as a whole was still quite busy, making four total transactions. Offensive lineman Cole Strange was activated from the physically unable to perform list; wide receiver K.J. Osborn was waived; kicker John Parker Romo was signed to the practice squad; outside linebacker Keshawn Banks was released from the practice squad. With the dust settling, the Patriots still have a full 53-man roster and 16-player practice squad. What else do the moves mean for the team, though, especially those regarding Strange and Osborn? Let’s take a closer look at them. Improvement up front: Even though he has been the subject of frequent criticism since arriving in New England as the 29th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, there is no denying Strange is a talented football player. Adding him to the Patriots offense is therefore a definitive improvement for a unit in need of all the help it can get. After all, he has the athletic skillset to perform in the team’s zone-focused blocking scheme, and has more starts on his career résumé than all but one member of the team’s current O-line. While it remains to be seen how long it will take him to shake off the rust, or indeed which position he will ultimately play, his presence is making the entire group a better one. Another new configuration: All 27 of Strange’s career starts so far have come at left guard, and inserting him in that position over rookie Layden Robinson would make sense; the former has proven his starter qualities at the NFL level, the latter has not. However, it appears New England is adamant that Robinson deserves to see reps with the first-team offensive line regardless of his uneven play. As a consequence, the Patriots might move Strange to center to replace eight-game starter Ben Brown. Inserting him in that spot is more of a gamble — Brown has played better than Robinson, and Strange has no in-game experience at center — but apparently one the team is willing to take with the future in mind. Regardless of where the 26-year-old ends up, though, the Patriots will continue playing their game of musical chairs up front deep into the season. So far, the team has already started 11 players along its offensive line this year. Strange will be No. 12. Crowded interior offensive line: While there are definitive and legitimate questions about quality, the Patriots do have quantity along their interior O-line. With Strange added to the mix, New England now has seven(ish) guards or centers on its 53-man roster plus another on the practice squad. The group as a whole looks as follows, with Strange projected as the starting center: 53-man roster (7): Layden Robinson (64 | LG), Cole Strange (69 | C), Michael Onwenu (71 | RG), Ben Brown (77), Lecitus Smith (68), Lester Cotton (61), Tyrese Robinson (65) Practice squad (1): Liam Fornadel (63) Injured reserve (2): David Andrews (60), Jake Andrews (67) In addition to those eight players, second-year lineman Sidy Sow also could be added to the mix as a guard-tackle hybrid. Even if he remains more of a tackle moving forward, the Patriots have numbers son the interior. Whether that makes the position group a strength is a different story. One-year saga is nearing its end: Strange suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in Week 15 last season, and the injury will have kept him out for an entire year. He went down on December 17 and could be in line to make his comeback on December 15, which would be the same Sunday just one (leap) year removed. Of course, there is no telling whether or not he will actually suit up, let alone play, this week against the Arizona Cardinals ; his return window closing could simply have forced New England’s hand. That said, his activation is in itself a big step for the former first-round draft pick. No surprise: The Patriots announcing their parting of the ways with Osborn comes as no real surprise considering his impact so far this season. While joining the team in the offseason with the hopes of contributing as a Z-receiver with some inside-out capabilities, he never managed to earn himself a consistent role. His final numbers make this painfully clear. Osborn’s tenure ends with the same number of in-game appearances and receptions — seven each — as well as only 57 receiving yards and one touchdown. In total, he was on the field for 232 offensive snaps including zero in four of the last five games. Even with rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker struggling, the Patriots continued to give them snaps over the veteran. The writing was therefore very much on the wall. Wide receiver depth takes a hit: The Patriots entered the week with six wide receivers on their active roster plus two more on the practice squad. Removing Osborn reduces the numbers, but given his recent usage (or lack thereof) the actual impact will be more theoretical than anything. Still, there are new “next men up” in case the injury bug decides to bite higher up on a depth chart that now looks as follows: 53-man roster (5): Kayshon Boutte (9), Kendrick Bourne (84), DeMario Douglas (3), Ja’Lynn Polk (1), Javon Baker (6) Practice squad (2): John Jiles (83), Braylon Sanders (80) Injured reserve (1): JaQuae Jackson (82) Leadership questions: Osborn may not have been part of the game plan lately, but as one of the two most experienced players in the wide receiver room — the other being Kendrick Bourne — he still played a role as a mentor and leader. Now, it appears even more of those responsibilities will have to fall on Bourne. Underwhelming return on investment: When the Patriots added Osborn in March, they did so via a one-year, $4 million contract that included $3.18 million in guarantees. At a cost of $500,000 per catch, it goes without saying that the price tag and the production did not align. In that regard, Osborn is in some good company. He is one of several free agency signings made by first-year GM Eliot Wolf that did not work out: the 27-year-old joins offensive linemen Chukwuma Okorafor and Nick Leverett as well as defensive tackle Armon Watts as March pickups no longer with the team. Salary cap ramifications: Speaking of the price tag associated with Osborn, waiving him gives the Patriots some more salary cap space to work with (i.e. roll over into 2025). Eight per-game roster bonuses that were originally considered likely to be earned are now no longer on New England’s books, resulting in combined savings of $320,000. Eye on the future? The Patriots signing John Parker Romo to their practice squad seemingly serves two purposes. For one, he will provide depth at kicker behind Joey Slye over the last four weeks of the season. The team additionally will be able to get an extended look at the 27-year-old heading into 2025. Fact is that the kicker position is a need for the Patriots moving toward the offseason. Slye is not just an unrestricted free agent, he also has made just 78.6 percent of his field goal attempts this season. Not all of his six misses this year were necessarily his fault — one was a block, for example, and one a 68-yard try — but they were costly nonetheless for a team not good enough to leave points on the board. Will Romo challenge Slye this year, though? Maybe, but it seems more likely his signing was made with an eye on the future and on possibly limiting Slye’s practice workload in a long season. Core special teamer wanted: The Patriots have gone through multiple core special teamers lately. Raekwon McMillan was the first to go, followed by Joe Giles-Harris. Now, Keshawn Banks is off the team as well after playing a combined 78 percent of special teams snaps in his three game day elevations from the practice squad. The last two weeks, he was employed on five units: kickoff and punt return, kickoff and punt coverage, and field goal/extra point block. The Patriots need to find a way to replace that production, either by finding another practice squad member to regularly elevate for that specific usage or by giving his snaps to others already on the roster.blackjack offline 。

Postal worker steals credit card from mail and goes shopping with mom in Florida, feds sayWith December ticking toward its end, 2024 is just about ready to fall off the calendar. It's been an absolutely wonderful performance stretch for the broader market, and hot tech companies including Nvidia , Palantir , and Apple have rocketed to new valuation highs. But there are also some great technology stocks out there that are trading well below previous pricing heights, and investors could be doing themselves a disservice by overlooking these great companies. If you're on the hunt for investments that can deliver big wins in 2025 and beyond, read on to see why two Fool.com contributors think these beaten-down stocks are great buys right now. AMD is an undervalued AI stock play Keith Noonan : Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD 0.10% ) is a designer of central processing units (CPUs) and GPUs for personal computers and data centers. The company's stock is up roughly 182% over the last five years thanks to some solid business execution and excitement that the company could be poised to see some of the same explosive, AI-driven growth that has propelled Nvidia to stellar returns. On the other hand, AMD has seen a slower ramping for AI-related processors than some investors expected -- and the disconnect in the timeline has caused some significant valuation pullback for the stock. The chip specialist's share price is now down roughly 40% from the lifetime high that it hit earlier this year. Despite a strong rally for the broader market, AMD stock has tumbled over the last few months -- and the company's share price has yet to recover from sell-offs triggered by its third-quarter earnings release at the end of October. AMD's revenue grew roughly 18% year over year to reach $6.8 billion in the period. Meanwhile, non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share rose 31% compared to the prior-year period. While AMD will continue to have a strong market presence in processors for gaming and personal computers, it's the data center segment that has really become central to the stock's performance. Last quarter saw sales for the AI-related segment increase to $3.5 billion -- up 122% year over year and 25% on a sequential quarterly basis. The performance actually topped Wall Street's expectations and pushed the business to overall sales and earnings beats in the quarter, but some investors and analysts didn't think the company's guidance was bullish enough. AMD has tended to err on the conservative side lately when it comes to issuing guidance, and it wouldn't be surprising to see significant near-term gains kicked off by Q4 numbers that come in better than broadly expected. But more importantly for long-term investors, the business remains poised to benefit from the unfolding AI revolution. The company's competitive positioning in the highly lucrative GPU category isn't as as strong as Nvidia's, but AMD's lagging stock performance opens the door for investors who buy shares at today's prices to see big gains. Aehr Test Systems is a buy for enterprising investors Lee Samaha : It's fair to say it hasn't been a vintage year for the provider of burn-in testing equipment to the chip industry. Aehr Test Systems ( AEHR 1.35% ) makes silicon carbide chip testing equipment, and its primary growth market comes from its use in electric vehicles ( EVs ). Silicon carbide chips have qualities that make them more efficient than silicon in power electronics, making them ideal for EVs. There's little doubt that the adoption of silicon carbide chips will grow, fueling demand for Aehr's solutions. However, growth expectations for both the chips and Aehr's sales have been pared back this year due to the slowing growth of EV sales, which has caused automakers to defer investment in production lines. As a result, the company's share price is down roughly 72% from its lifetime high as of this writing. Still, the slowdown -- primarily related to relatively high interest rates -- is unlikely to last forever, and no one disputes that EVs are the transportation industry's future. In addition, Aehr recently inked a deal to sell an initial $10 million worth of equipment to an artificial intelligence customer. The agreement helps diversify Aehr's end markets and customer base and de-risks the stock. With the company successfully opening new end markets and a likely recovery in its EV end markets, Aehr Test Systems has plenty of potential to grow. Now could be an opportune time to buy the stock.Seahawks have taken a bumpy path to first place in the NFC West

American Pickers wanted to let fans know to "shop small." The television series that stars Mike Wolfe and his team, reminded their Instagram followers to support small businesses for Small Business Saturday on November 30. The Instagram post was a picture of different colored mugs and glasses with the caption that read: "Happy Small Business Saturday! [hands making a heart emoji] Our sales are still rolling from Black Friday, so come find that perfect piece to add to your collection or gift to someone special. Support local and shop small! #SmallBusinessSaturday." Small Business Saturday is an annual event that encourages shoppers to support small shops by purchasing items during the holiday season. American Pickers star Mike Wolfe shares rare snap with girlfriend on romantic date night American Pickers fans desperate for Mike Wolfe to make a Schitt's Creek inspired series This comes after Mike reportedly had to temporarily close his antique store due to construction issues. Mike owns Antique Archeology with locations in Le Claire, Iowa and Nashville, Tennessee , which is the one that is currently closed. An Instagram post from the store stated, "Our Nashville store is currently closed due to some construction issues!" The American Pickers star has invested in properties in a small town in Columbia, Tennessee, which is 46 miles away from Nashville. Mike owns buildings in the town that includes a vacation rental property, a café, a bike shop, a boutique music system company, a drama theater and more. Mike has restored homes outside of the town and shared his journey on social media. A source told the U.S. Sun that "the town is happy" with Mike's $93 million project . He recently posted a home in Tennessee that he had been working on. He posted a picture of a living area from a home that was built in 1915. Mike wrote: "This old house has been getting some love this past summer. It was built in 1915 and has seen some rough times. Adding this porch has been and will be a gathering place for generations to come. #tennesseelife." The photo showed wooden chairs in front of a grey brick fireplace. The sunshine from outside peeked through the windows, showcasing the wooden doors and ceiling. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories.See How Talking Portraits Bring the Greatest Living Shakespearean Actors to Life

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