New England Patriots 2021 linebacker playbook: Who stays, who goes

Andre Tippett, the New England Patriots All-Time best linebacker is not walking through that door, folks. Neither is Tedy Bruschi, another great. Both are retired.

In the past, the New England Patriots have often had tremendous talent at linebacker which at times has been the top strength of the defense. Those days are over.

The position is now littered with untested or not so productive younger players and one top player, Dont’a Hightower who opted out in 2020. Without Hightower, this group was mediocre at best.

Unlike other positions of need, linebacker and edge players have been given unusually high draft attention by the New England Patriots the past two years. In the 2019 draft, they invested a third-round pick in Chase Winovich from Michigan.

The New England Patriots addressed the linebacker position in the 2020 NFL Draft

In the 2020 draft, they invested even more heavily with two top picks. A second-round pick was invested in Josh Uche of Michigan and a third-round pick in Anfernee Jennings of Alabama. Neither of the 2020 picks did much to justify their high draft status (see below).

What has traditionally been an ongoing strength of the New England Patriots defense, linebacker/edge, is now a position of relative weakness.

Along with the previously explored defensive line, it is not a productive unit on a defense from which a lot more was expected. Highly touted in 2019 and 2020, the defense didn’t measure up to its press clippings.

The entire defense needs an infusion of talent. Linebacker and defensive line are the top needs. The defensive line has been explored previously, now it’s time to take a look at linebacker.

So let’s take a look at the active players who may still be walking through that door, and see who might stay and who may go.