Patriots: 3 best signings of Monday’s free agency frenzy
By Sam Minton
The New England Patriots surprised the rest of the NFL with the number of moves they made. It’s clear that New England doesn’t want to repeat the mediocrity that they had in 2020.
These types of moves seem extremely uncharacteristic for Bill Belichick and the Patriots. The team that is known for not spending money decided to break out the checkbook on Monday.
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With the moves that the Patriots made on Monday, they realized that they had to improve in some key areas. While it’s just one day, they sure filled a lot of holes that they had.
Besides bringing in new talent, the Patriots also managed to re-sign Deatrich Wise Jr. With Wise being a quality pass rusher, New England’s defense is looking like they will cause lots of problems for opponents in 2021.
So let’s get to the top signings from Monday.
Patriots: 3 best signings of Monday’s free agency frenzy – No.3: Jonnu Smith
One of the Patriots best moves of the day came at the beginning of it. New England signed Jonnu Smith to a four-year deal to kick off the day.
This deal showed that the Pats weren’t playing around. Smith’s deal is worth $50 million. Also, Smith is still relatively young at the age of 25. He is a player who can make an impact for years to come. New England needed to get younger and that’s exactly what they did.
After the disaster of last season with Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, New England filled a major hole in their offense by signing Smith. He is a dynamic tight end who can help out in the running game, but also is capable of making some great catches.
In 2020, Smith had 41 catches for 448 yards and eight touchdowns. If Smith can match or even exceed that production in 2021, Pats fans will be more than happy. Seeing that Asiasi, Keene, and Ryan Izzo combined for 18 catches for over 250 yards and a touchdown.
Smith is a player that will boost New England’s offense just by being present. No matter who is under center, the Patriots needed more targets in the passing game and that’s exactly what they got.