New England Patriots: Examining mass exodus of players

Duron Harmon

One of the only players to get moved against his own will was Duron Harmon. The Patriots traded him on Wednesday and got a draft pick in return.

Seeing that the move shed a decent amount of cap space that was the motivating factor in the trade. With little cap space to spare it was a necessary move if New England wanted to improve in free agency.

I have really enjoyed watching Harmon grow as a player. He has become someone has made great plays to close out games.

After 2 straight seasons with 4 interceptions, Harmon snagged 2 in 2020. For a defensive back, he definitely has some great hands.

The Patriots secondary is still in good hands. Devin McCourty is locked up for the rest of his career and Stephon Gilmore won’t be going anywhere as well. When you have a player as talented as Gilmore you can afford to trade players to shed some cap.

The stunning thing is that Bill Belichick got rid of a Rutgers player. I never thought that we would see the day.

So one of the first members of the defensive secondary is gone this offseason and it will hopefully be the last. New England can’t afford to lose any more members of their secondary.