New England Patriots: Team must believe in young pass rushers
By Sam Minton
With Adrian Clayborn being released the New England Patriots front seven is looking rather weak, or maybe they know something that we don’t?
The New England Patriots just keep on losing players. They already lost Trey Flowers and now you can add Adrian Clayborn to the list of players departing New England.
New England released the defensive lineman on Friday in what at least appears on the surface as a mutually agreed decision. Clayborn thanked the organization on Twitter for “granting his release.”
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This move does help the Patriots in a way. New England will gain $3.5 million in cap space.
But now there seems to be a hole in New England’s defense. The defensive line is looking like it will be New England’s weakness. The only legit pass rusher appears to be Michael Bennett.
The next guys up seem to be Deatrich Wise and Derek Rivers.
Wise is slated to be starting opposite of Bennett. He is currently listed as so on the Patriots depth chart (make of that what you will).
Wise has had a decent start to his NFL career. In 32 games he has racked up 9.5 sacks and 56 tackles (10 for a loss). Last season with the dominant duo of Clayborn and Flowers, Wise lost some playing time.
Now this is a prime opportunity for Wise to prove that he is a prime pass rusher. His contract expires in 2 years. Maybe he could land himself a Trey Flowers sized payday.
The other guy to watch out for is Derek Rivers. He was drafted in 2017 but has only played in 6 games.
Rivers is a more athletic defensive lineman who will blow by you instead of running you over. Maybe he will thrive as an edge rusher in New England’s defense.
Next. Tom Brady better off without Odell Beckham Jr.. dark
New England’s roster definitely won’t look the same at the start of the 2019 regular season, but hopefully the Patriots will have the same result and return to the Super Bowl once again.