And on the seventh day of NFL free agency, Bill Belichick arose ...
Exactly one week since the legal tampering period started prior to the new league year, the Patriots decided to join the party by re-signing OT Trent Brown to a two-year deal, and hosting some free agents: RB Leonard Fournette, G/C Ryan Bates (restricted free agent from Bills), and CB Malcolm Butler.
The biggest takeaway from the Brown return and the Patriots entertaining an addition to a formidable backfield duo is that Belichick has finally decided to catch back up to future roster moves. After being tragically behind (Tom Brady, Stephon Gilmore, JC Jackson, Joe Thuney, coaching/personnel departures, etc) the past few years, Belichick is showing that he's again looking down the road. There are coming decisions at tackle and running back in the next year, so the Patriots now have coverage (tackle), or are at least showing the desire to have some (running back).
Making sense of the moves...
Trent Brown returns, Ryan Bates on visit
- When healthy and motivated, Brown is a darn good right tackle. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Brown has only started 25 games the last three years, including nine last year (10 with the playoff game) for New England. And internally, there were concerns about his level of play down the stretch.
- We had Brown as a minus-17 on the season, which on a per-game basis put him fourth in Net Rating, but basically in the same ballpark of Shaq Mason, who the Patriots felt was overvalued.
- Brown was a plus-2 in his first three games. He was a minus-19 in his final seven.
- I would say Brown, putting aside his rocky health, is a good, solid right tackle. The Patriots realized there weren't many good options out there, and the devil you know is better than the devil you do. And they may think line coaches Billy Yates and Matt Patricia can get more out of Brown than the departed Carm Bricillo. I would expect that the Patriots got a team-friendly deal from Brown, but there will be upside built in for him because...
- ... the Patriots finally have coverage at left tackle, where Isaiah Wynn has underwhelmed and is in the final year of a pricey ($10 million) contract. Having Brown, who has at least started at left tackle, frees up the Patriots to either trade Wynn this season, or move on him after this season. Before Brown being back, the depth at left tackle was pretty scary. A draft tackle would still be wise.
- With Brown back, Mike Onwenu is now free to play guard, and the Patriots only have one open starting slot: left (we're guessing) or right guard. Brown and Onwenu would make a good pair on the right side, and the Patriots usually have their more athletic guard on the left side.
- Bates was an undrafted free agent of the Eagles in 2019 out of Penn State before being traded to the Bills, who started him left guard the final five games last season for injured Jon Feliciano. I thought Bates was an upgrade over Feliciano. He's very similar to Ted Karras in that he's not the most athletic guy, but also plays center.
- Will be interesting to see what kind of offer sheet the Patriots sign Bates to, if they end up doing that. The last time they did it with Emmanuel Sanders, they cheaped out and made it easy for the Steelers to match.
Fournette, Butler also visit
- Fournette is still a good back, but he does need to be in a tandem. We all know the Patriots have a great duo with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson. So what gives?
- Harris is in the final year of his rookie deal. Having a Fournette on the roster gives the team leverage, and a great veteran complement to Stevenson, who appeared to be on the verge of being a breakout star as a rookie.
- The Patriots may have had trade inquiries about Harris, or could show some interest in dealing him ahead of the in-season trade deadline. That forward-thinking would be a marked change and welcome.
- The interest in Butler, that's pretty obvious. The Patriots have big issues in the secondary and a veteran who knows the scheme would be helpful. Butler didn't play last year, and was not good at the end of his Titans tenure. His arrival would help but wouldn't really change a whole lot.