PHOENIX — Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones apparently thinks the same way as fictional character Andy Dufresne, who said in “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

The Patriots’ turnaround from 4-13 to 14-3 and an appearance in the Super Bowl with first-year coach Mike Vrabel probably left a few NFL owners, executives, and coaches cursing under their breath. But not Jones, who admires the Patriots’ rapid improvement and sees it as great for the NFL.

“There’s no question, it gives all fan bases around our league hope,” Jones said Monday at the NFL owners’ meetings. “It’s great for the overall fan base of the NFL, that any one market, even though they may have had a tough year, you can draft a great player, then you get a great coach and put good players around it, great things can happen. Shoot, the Patriots have done it a bunch in their days.”

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That’s not to say the Patriots’ success in 2025 was completely unexpected. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said he saw signs of quick improvement when the Patriots visited Minnesota for joint practices last August.

“I can remember telling [Vrabel] when we finished up those two days, ‘I think you guys are going to be pretty good,’ ” O’Connell said. “I didn’t know that they’d be a Super Bowl team, but with Vrabes anything’s going to be possible … There was a genuine feel of a much more talented group of guys than maybe their record the previous year had indicated. But also you could feel a team that was learning how to become a winning football team. It was still relatively early on in August, and you could feel a lot of those things growing.”

A few other Patriots-related notes from the owners’ meetings, which run through Tuesday:

⋅ It seems likely that A.J. Brown will be in attendance this August when the Eagles and Patriots hold a joint practice in Foxborough. His uniform is TBD.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and Patriots counterpart Eliot Wolf continue to deny interest in executing a trade involving Brown, but they can barely say it with straight faces.

Roseman was asked repeatedly about Brown by Philadelphia reporters on Sunday, and he responded, “My answer to any question on A.J. Brown is A.J. Brown is a member of the Eagles.” That’s hardly a denial.

Wolf responded Monday on the “Up & Adams” show that “we haven’t had any conversations about anything regarding that in a long time,” which is exactly what someone who is trying to slow-play his interest and drive down the price would say.

A trade may not happen until after June 1, at which point Brown’s dead salary-cap money decreases from $43 million to $23 million. And the Eagles may be more interested in 2027 draft picks than 2026, as next year is supposed to be a better draft and the Patriots more than likely will be picking higher than No. 31.

But the denials from Philadelphia and New England do little to quash the idea of Brown being a Patriot by Week 1.

⋅ New Patriots safety Kevin Byard earned first-team All-Pro honors last year for the Bears and was instrumental in helping first-year coach Ben Johnson improve the team from 5-12 to 11-6, an NFC North title, and a playoff win over the Packers.

Though the Bears chose not to re-sign Byard, who pivoted to a one-year deal with the Patriots and a reunion with Vrabel, Johnson said he’s going to miss Byard’s leadership and presence on the defense. Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions and sat out only two snaps all season.

“KB is really one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Johnson said. “Had multiple players talk to me in our exit meetings just about the impact that he had on that locker room throughout the year. And then the production on the field, he doesn’t miss games, he’s available, his teammates respect him, and he was a takeaway machine a year ago. I know Coach Vrabel is getting a good one. We’re going to miss him.”

⋅ Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters Monday that he wants the NFL to expand to an 18-game schedule, add a second bye week, and have all 32 teams play an international game each season.

The NFL is aligned with Kraft’s goals, but they are not going to happen overnight. The 18-game schedule has to be negotiated with the NFL Players Association, which may gain traction now that the union has elected a new executive director in J.C. Tretter.

Getting to 16 international games per year is the bigger hurdle. The NFL has nine international games scheduled for 2026 — three in London; and one each in Paris, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Munich. The NFL also has played in Dublin and wants to expand to more international markets such as Italy and United Arab Emirates, but only after doing lots of homework first.

“We’re early in that process,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said. “We’re expanding each year, we’re learning each year, but every new market we go into has to be successful. A lot needs to be worked through, but I think the work we’re doing is making sure we have the foundation ready should that opportunity exist.”

If the NFL is dead set on holding 16 international games a year, it could theoretically host a bunch of them at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London, the only European soccer stadium built specifically to hold NFL games.

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.