Patriots 2021 defensive backfield playbook: Who stays, who goes
The New England Patriots can save multi-millions on the cap by cutting ties with defensive backfield veterans and that’s the course that should be taken.
New England’s defensive backfield is populated by several excellent defensive veterans who are highly-priced with significant hits on the team’s cap space. Their high cap situation will severely crimp the team’s ability to hit the free-agent market hard in areas of even more need.
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Going big in free agency is a must for a Patriots team that needs an infusion of talent at many positions, especially at offensive skill positions. One of the areas on the team that will have to be impacted is cutting ties with several veteran high-priced defensive players, and it won’t be easy.
The defensive backfield has been reputed to be the strongest unit on the team, along with the offensive line (if it can ever stay healthy).
Yet, they are older and overpriced at this time, and therefore the recommendations will be to cut ties with several and to go with youth at those positions.
Over the years tough cuts like Lawyer Milloy and free agency losses like Ty Law were undertaken. No one said these would be easy.
New England Patriots Safety Devin McCourty
Devin McCourty is a perennial Captain, a great guy, and a still effective player as a free safety in the New England Patriots defensive backfield. He’s an 11-year Patriots veteran and one of the team’s All-time top players and a sure-fire red-jacketed Patriots Hall of Famer.
Indeed, McCourty is still a solid performer with 68 tackles and 2 interceptions in 2002. Yet, he will be entering his age 34 season in 2021. While his overall salary is $11.150 million, the Patriots will only save $2.550 million on the salary cap by cutting McCourty.
With McCourty still playing at a solid level, it would really make little sense to cut ties with the veteran to save that little on the cap. The problem is the whopping $8.6 million in dead cap space that would have to be absorbed.
This is an example of how roster/cap tinkering can sometimes be a hindrance to a team moving on from a high-priced veteran a year too early rather than a year too late as it the saying around the New England Patriots.
With that in mind, McCourty is likely to still be manning the center-field position for the Patriots defense in 2021 and that’s not a bad thing at all.
As was aforementioned, he’s still playing at a high level and his experience, leadership, and overall aura as a New England Patriot make the investment in McCourty a solid if increasingly more cap-costly one.
The decision on McCourty would certainly have been swayed if his cap savings were closer to that of Dont’a Hightower at some $9.945 million. At a level near that one, McCourty would certainly have been expendable.
Devin McCourty stays.