NFL free agency has officially begun to wind down and the New England Patriots have been busy remodeling their roster. That has included a handful of additions — highlighted by WR Romeo Doubs and OG Alijah-Vera Tucker on offense — and plenty of departures from last year’s squad.
So as the roster movement continues, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
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Hey Brian, I have 2 questions if I may.
What is one thing you like, and one thing you dislike about our 4 biggest signings? (Gilliam, Doubs, Vera-Tucker, Jones)
What areas of need do you think still need to be addressed, and who/how would you like to see the team improve in those areas? – LandenPatz1
Gilliam: Beyond being a big boost to the run game, Buffalo averaged nearly 9.0 yards per pass play with Gilliam on the field last season. It’s easy to laugh at a fullback signing on day one of free agency, but he’s going to make a difference. I won’t say anything bad about him because there’s nothing to dislike.
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Doubs: There’s lot of good things to pick from here (versatility, red zone success, playoff performer, etc). An underrated one I believe is that at 25 years old, Doubs is someone who can hopefully grow with Drake Maye for the long-term. Comparing him to Diggs, however, it’s tough to see Doubs having the same cultural impact the veteran did last season.
Vera-Tucker: He’s an elite guard when healthy — highlighted by posting the fourth-lowest pressure rate among guards in 2024. He should be a strong presence for both Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. The injuries are obviously the question, as he’s played just 43 of a possible 85 games in his career.
Jones: Jones is very similar metric wise to K’Lavon Chaisson, but offers more versatility up front. Snaps on the interior are tough to reasonably find with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore on the line, but the hope is they can find Jones a handful on interior rushes per game. He’s still not a great run defender, but should still be a more steady presence than Chaisson — especially due to his size.
Byard: We’ll add Byard in here for you, Landen. Love his playmaking ability. His 36 INTs since entering the league are most among active players and he still has the range and indicts even at 32-years old (league-high seven INTs last season). That age is probably the one downside, however, but adding a rookie in the draft will help that room long-term.
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As for going forward, depth signings like TE Julian Hill have allowed the Patriots to pretty much fill all of their starting spots ahead of the NFL Draft.
Still, I’d continue to push for at least one more pass catcher and they desperately need some youth and explosiveness in their tight end room. Another starter along the edge is also atop the needs list. As for more longer term needs: a backup tackle/successor to Morgan Moses and youth all across the second and third levels of the defense. With 11 current picks in the draft, that is where most of these will likely be filled.
Is there anything you would change about this free agency approach? – Sportzballer
There aren’t many complaints from this end. While it’s always risky moving off of known commodities (something the Patriots saw trying to upgrade Jakobi Meyers with JuJu Smith-Schuster), I did not want the Patriots to get emotionally attached to players from last year’s Super Bowl squad this offseason. To date, they haven’t re-signed one of their own free agents, have moved off several key veterans (Diggs, Bradbury), and almost all of their additions project as upgrades.
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And outside of Alec Pierce, who never truly hit the market, there hasn’t been many free agent signings elsewhere that I wish the Patriots had given the same contract too.
Take a shot at a future transaction (signing, trade, cut) that hasn’t been talked about so far this offseason – spyponder90
The Patriots still need help on the edge. While that could come in a strong draft class, I’d be in favor of one more signing in order to not force a need in April. I had a whole paragraph written about Arnold Ebiketie, who the team has shown some interest in this offseason, but the 27-year old signed with the Eagles late Thursday night.
Not much remains on the market, but perhaps a veteran like Cam Jordan or a Vrabel-reunion with Jadeveon Clowney would interest the team. If they’re going to use a high draft pick on the position, they might just opt to let that player get snaps at this point, however.
I’ll preface my question saying that the only thing worse than not trading for AJ Brown, is overpaying in draft compensation for AJ Brown. I’m happy with the Pats moving on if the Eagles want a 1st. With that in mind, what do you think of the rumors of a “handshake deal” between Philly and New England for a post 6/1 trade, and how much in 27 picks do you think they would want?
Probably not so-much of a “handshake deal” rather than lets reopen negotiations post June 1 when it makes more sense for both sides. The Eagles would then get to spread Brown’s massive dead cap hit over two seasons and the compensation given up by New England should come down as a result.
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If it gets to that point I would look at a 2027 second and fourth-round pick as the return. I would not have much interest in trading the 2027 first if I was the Patriots.
Why weren’t the Patriots interested in keeping Diggs at a lower price?
I understand the $26M on his contract was too high, but I never heard discussion of renegotiating to a lower salary… What is it that the Pats didn’t like that made keeping him on at a lower salary for another year or two not even a consideration? (Had to be more than legal troubles and age, no?) The Athletic estimates that he’ll sign somewhere for $14M/1 year; that seems like a great value? – fdsafdsa
It always takes two to tango.
Do you think we can do something with Right guard Mike Onwenu to lower cap hit? 25 mil cap hit and 16mil base seems high. – Dogneck59
The Patriots aren’t in desperate need of cap space but I would imagine something gets done to Onwenu’s contract at some point this offseason as he has no guaranteed money remaining. They could opt to extend the 29-year old — which would lower his cap hit this season — or perhaps find a suitor elsewhere to free up $17.5 million in both cap space and cash.
Now that Brandon Aiyuk is gonna be available, do you think it would even remotely interest the Pats, maybe a 1 year prove it deal? Seems like it could be a sneaky good pickup and we need WR help. – jordsmith87
I get trying to find upside swings at the wide receiver position, but I doubt it will come via Aiyuk after all the off-field issues this past season. Plus, he seems bound to reunite with Jayden Daniels as a Commander.
Any journeymen veteran NTs available who could become the low risk/high reward signing Tonga was last year? – slunkywontergreen
D.J. Reader is a more household name than Khyiris Tonga was at this time last year, but the 32-year old remains a physical run stopper at 6-foot-3, 335 pounds. Reader was in Houston when Mike Vrabel served as the defensive coordinator and on a Detroit defensive line led by Terrell Williams in recent years.
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Sebastian Joseph-Day is another veteran run stuffing nose tackle who ranked near the top of the positon in run stops this past season. Trying to perhaps project the next version of Tonga could led them to players like Folorunso Fatukasi or D.J. Davidson, who overlapped with Ryan Cowden in New York.
It would also not be a surprise if the team views Cory Durden as the internal replacement for Tonga, as Durden already started to eat into the latter’s snaps down the stretch last season.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.
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