You’ve got questions. A lot of them, by the tone of our post-Super Bowl Overreaction Monday Q&A. Answered some of them, but wanted to go a bit more in-depth on some of the pressing issues that will be facing the Patriots this offseason. So here we go:
Who will replace Brian Flores? We’ve already kicked around a few names, including Bret Bielema and Greg Schiano. But the guy we’re behind right now is Brendan Daly, who has spent the last four seasons as the defensive line coach. A smart guy who has made his bones in the New England system, when you look at the way the Patriots have groomed their coaches over the years, he’s seems to be the right guy for the job. Even if Daly doesn’t immediately get the title, he could move into the same role occupied by Flores last season and Matt Patricia before him, where he spends a stretch as the defensive signal caller. Bottom line? He’s a guy who is well-respected by the linemen up front, so much so that some are pulling for him to get the DC job.
What’s next for Tom Brady’s contract? Brady is currently going into the final year of his deal, but it would surprise no one if that was changed over the next few months. Robert Kraft said last week he “would be quite surprised if (Brady) didn't continue for quite a while.” And while there’s no official timetable here as far as we know, the quarterback still maintains a desire to play until he’s 45. With Brady turning 42 this summer, would the team be willing to go multiple years, or stay on a year-to-year basis? And how much money could they move around to make that happen?
Will they try and find a successor to Brady in this year’s draft? A lot of this goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. Even though Brady has been under center since 2001, the Patriots have always remained aggressive when it comes to trying to draft and develop quarterbacks. The only question is whether they feel like they have to land the next Garoppolo-type, or if they’re just going to go after a late-round or undrafted developmental arm. What we learned last year is they’re not just going to draft a quarterback high just because they think they have to get someone — they have to really be in love with them as a prospect if they think he could be The Next One. That will mean taking a hard look at the likes of Mizzou’s Drew Lock, Duke’s Daniel Jones, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins or North Carolina State’s Ryan Finley, all signal-callers who are expected to go in the upper reaches of this year’s draft. If they don’t like any of them, it’ll be another year of Brady, Brian Hoyer and Danny Etling.
What does the future hold for Rob Gronkowski? The big tight end said he’d take a couple of weeks before deciding what he wants to do in 2019, and while he’s hinted at retirement over the last year-plus (and had some post-Super Bowl fun with Brady on Instagram), the feeling here is that he comes back for at least one more season. He’s got one year left on his current deal, so he could (theoretically) be back for one last year. I know his body has been breaking down for the last couple of years, but if the quarterback leans on him, he’d acquiesce for one more run.
Will Devin McCourty retire? If you had asked me this question in the middle of the season, I would have thought you were crazy. But now, especially after he hinted at it during Super Bowl week, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did decide to call it a career. He’s won three Super Bowls — including one with his twin brother, the last thing he likely wanted to check off his football bucket list. He has his health. He has plenty of money. He’ll go down as one of Bill Belichick’s favorite all-time defensive backs. And he’s TV ready enough where he could get a full-time job as an analyst tomorrow if he wanted to. He has a massive cap hit coming in 2019, which means there’s the possibility the team could ask him to take a paycut. If he decides he’s accomplished everything he’s waned to accomplish, he could easily walk away, but if he did, it would really underscore the need for the Patriots to get younger at safety, something we’ve written about before. But it’s a very real possibility, given where he is at this stage of his career.
Can they re-sign Trey Flowers? Flowers has been understandably coy all season long when he’s been asked about the fact he’ll be a free agent this offseason. My feeling? He’ll take some visits as a free agent — this offseason represents his best chance to land a handsome payday — but he’ll eventually find a way back to Foxborough. There’s a comfort level for him with the Patriots, one that would extend into 2019 if the Patriots name his position each (Daly) the new defensive coordinator.
How much change is there going to be at wide receiver? There should be a lot. Remember, this was a team that went into 2019 woefully thin at the receiver position. And now, with Phillip Dorsett, Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson all free agents, they could end up overhauling the receivers’ room again this offseason. (Maybe one of the above returns?) But moving forward, I’d expect the Patriots to use at least one pick in either Day One or Day Two of the draft on a receiver, and likely find at least one more in free agency. A return for Josh Gordon, however remote, is also a possibility.
What are some of the areas of need moving forward? A lot of this rides on what happens with Gronkowski and McCourty, obviously, as well as what the Patriots think of the rookies who spent the bulk of the year on IR like Isaiah Wynn, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Duke Dawson, and Braxton Berrios (and others) and whether or not they’ll be ready to play come 2019. (More on them in a minute.) But if the Patriots do decide to walk away from Malcom Brown and Danny Shelton (another pair of pending free agents), I’d expect defensive tackle to be a priority for them. Even if McCourty doesn’t leave, they HAVE to get younger at the safety position sooner rather than later. And like we said, they’ll get a quarterback (because they always get one every year), with the only question being whether or not they feel like they have to land Brady’s successor this time around, or simply another developmental arm.
Are any of the rookies who spent the bulk of the year on IR ready to contribute in 2019? I can see a scenario where both Bentley and Wynn play sizable roles on the 2019 team. In Bentley’s case, he’ll likely challenge Elandon Roberts for the role as the middle thumper against the run on first and second downs. At the very least, he will be a part of that rotation. If Trent Brown leaves as a free agent — and the big man should get a ton of offers — Wynn would likely be ticketed as the new left tackle. Even so, I still wouldn’t be shocked to see the Patriots try and land another tackle in free agency or the draft. Berrios won’t make anyone forget Jerry Rice, but the fact he was in the system all spring and summer should help him, and that experience will certainly give him a leg up when it comes to competition at the receiver spot moving forward. And Christian Sam should also be part of the mix at linebacker this offseason as well.
Do they have the sort of foundation needed to even think about going back-to-back? There’s a lot of time between now and next January, but provided they stay healthy and they are able to retain their core — the Gronkowski/McCourty/Flowers decisions will have a lot to do with that — there’s every reason to think they’ll still be on the list of genuine Super Bowl contenders when it comes to 2019.