Chowder and Champions
Fansided

New England Patriots: Top 3 remaining free agents Bill Belichick would love

By Tarringo Basile-vaughan

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 13: Everson Griffen #97 of the Minnesota Vikings pumps up the crowd during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 38-20. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 13: Everson Griffen #97 of the Minnesota Vikings pumps up the crowd during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 38-20. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
NFL free agent Jadeveon Clowney (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NFL free agent Jadeveon Clowney (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

The New England Patriots have $7.79 million in salary cap space to play with.  Here are 3 remaining top free agents who could come at the cheap.

After gaining $6.55 million in cap flexibility after settling salary cap grievances for both Antonio Brown and Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots have some money to spend.

With $7.8 million in cap space, immediate rumors turned to luring top pass-rushing free agent Jadeveon Clowney on a cheap one-year deal.  However, that dream scenario was quickly squashed by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday, Rapoport added a harsh reality to the team signing a player like Clowney.

"“… I think Clowney would just like to make a lot of money,” Rapoport said, as transcribed by WEEI.  “I know he wants a one-year deal. I don’t think he would take just a little tiny deal from the Patriots. To me, this is more about signing their draft picks and making sure they have flexibility to do let’s just say what the Eagles just did with Jason Peters, which is if something terrible happens and ‘we need to spend an extra $2 million on a guard or a running back, or something — we need to have a little flexibility.'”"

Despite with Ian Rapoport said, Bill Belichick can never be counted out when it comes to convincing top-level talent like a Jadeveon Clowney to take lesser deals to play for the Patriots.

But, let’s take the talented pass-rusher out of the picture.  Which of the remaining free agents could come cheaper than Clowney while allowing the New England Patriots to still have enough cap flexibility for future transactions if they need so?

In breaking down the remaining needs of the team going into the 2020 NFL season, here are three veteran free agents who could help the team immediately.

Home/New England Patriots