HARROW ON THE HILL, England — Gauging from the reaction around the NFL, the Patriots made a smart decision to extend Brenden Schooler last week.

Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said Friday that he heard from most of the league after the team signed Schooler to a three-year, $9 million extension last week. Schooler is the Patriots’ top special-teamer and one of the best kicking game contributors in the NFL.

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“The fact that 30 coaches texted me and telling me, ‘Hey, it’s really good you locked him up because I’ll tell you right now if you didn’t do that, he was going to go somewhere and get locked up for a pretty good amount of money,’” Springer said. “That lets you know how many coaches respect him around the league and what he means to the team that they would actually do that right now in the season. He’s a phenomenal leader for us. A phenomenal guy. He deserves everything.”

Extra points

Australian defensive end Jotham Russell, who’s on the practice squad as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, spoke to reporters Friday after practice at the Harrow School outside of London. The 21-year-old said the NFL decided that his best position would be on the defensive line based on his rugby tape. He said he’s made his biggest strides on run fits. The Patriots receive an additional 17th practice squad spot for Russell … Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had a lot of success against the Jaguars last week. Patriots rookie Drake Maye was asked what he was able to learn from that. “I think Caleb made some plays on the move. The biggest thing with him, I thought he made some nice throws. That’s the thing last week that I feel like I had some throws that I wish I had back.” … Patriots owner Robert Kraft was spotted at practice Friday … Head coach Jerod Mayo wants his players to see the sites around London. “Really, just don’t sit in your room all day and go to sleep,” Mayo sad on his advice to players. “Get outside and let the sun – well, the sun just came out here; I feel like it’s always cloudy here. But get outside, walk around and just get your energy ready for the game.”