The New England Patriots are finally picking things up after a slow start to free agency. They have done a great job bringing back a good portion of their fairly extensive free agent class, which should provide the team some stability for the 2022 season.
Two of the team’s most impressive re-signings have come over the past couple of days. First, they brought back Ja’Whaun Bentley on a two year, $9 million deal that ensures he will be at the center of New England’s defense moving forward. This morning though, the Pats made their biggest move of the offseason, re-signing offensive Trent Brown to a two year deal.
Brown’s return in particular is a huge win for the New England Patriots. I recently took a look at how important Brown’s potential return to the team would be for their offseason plan, and now that he is back in the fold, the team can really look to start accomplishing something this offseason.
So far the theme of this offseason has been bringing back key players from the 2021 team, and for the most part, that has been done. Now the team is starting to scavenge through the remaining free agents available, and reportedly brought in three players for visits today. Let’s take a look at those three free agent targets, and determine whether the Pats should sign them or pass on them.
New England Patriots free agent target No. 3: Ryan Bates
The first target we will talk about is Ryan Bates, and he has a bit of an interesting situation going on with the Buffalo Bills. Bates is a restricted free agent, and was offered an original round tender by the Bills, which would pay him $2.4 million for the 2022 season. While Bates is currently exploring his market, visiting with multiple teams, the Bills can choose to match the deal of an opposing team to keep him onboard.
Typically restricted free agents don’t draw such large markets, but Bates is in a unique situation. He’s been a key depth piece for the Bills o-line over the past three seasons, and he never really started until the end of the 2021 season when he took over for an injured Jon Feliciano. He held onto that job once Feliciano returned, which included a pair of solid playoff performances.
Now Bates could be set to cash in, whether it be with Buffalo or someone else. Typically, signing opposing teams restricted free agents would result in draft pick compensation for the original team, but since Bates was undrafted, and the Bills only placed the original round tender, that wouldn’t be the case here. That’s the main reason the Patriots, as well as a couple teams, are interested in his services.
For the Patriots, the reason for interest is pretty clear cut. Even though they brought back Brown in free agency, they traded away Shaq Mason last week, and could use some depth on their o-line. Bates would profile as a high-quality backup, or even a potential starter if the Pats opt to use both Brown and Isaiah Wynn at the tackle positions.
Banking on Bates though could be a bit of a risky proposition, as the Bills could ultimately swoop in at the last minute and snatch him away. It remains to be seen what Buffalo would be willing to match for Bates, but a multi-year deal worth anywhere from $4-6 million may be enough to ensure the Bills wouldn’t match their offer.
SIGN OR PASS: SIGN
The Bates situation is very fluid, but the Pats should atleast send an offer sheet his way. It’s also worth mentioning Bill Belichick wouldn’t go past $5 million per year for Ted Karras (who signed a three year, $18 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals) so it’s unlikely he’d top that number with Bates. It’s complicated, but if things line up right, Bates would be a solid depth piece on the o-line, and there’s no harm giving him an offer sheet on your terms, even if it gets matched.
New England Patriots free agent target No. 2: Malcolm Butler
That’s right; our old friend Malcolm Butler was brought into Foxboro this afternoon for a visit with the Patriots, potentially bringing the veteran cornerback back to the place where his career took off. Last time we saw Butler in a Patriots uniform, it was during his controversial benching in Super Bowl LII, a game New England eventually ended up losing. I stand by my claim that if Butler played in that game, the Pats wouild have won.
That game didn’t feel like a proper conclusion to Butler’s career in New England, one that started with his infamous goal line interception against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Yet Butler would go on to sign a five year, $61 million deal with the Tennessee Titans shortly after. He would get released after three seasons, before signing with the Arizona Cardinals last offseason.
If it feels like Butler’s name didn’t come up much during the 2021 season, that was because Butler announced his retirement right before the start of the regular season, seemingly putting an end to his NFL career. However, the Cardinals released him shortly after the end of the season, and Butler is now looking to make a return to the NFL, which might just end up being with the Patriots.
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Butler’s tenure with the Titans didn’t go all too well, as he was consistently picked on in coverage, which led to Tennessee cutting him. His best season was probably his most recent one in 2020, but even then he wasn’t very good, as he allowed 80 completions for 873 yards and five touchdowns. He still had his moments, as he picked up 100 tackles and four interceptions, but his overall coverage numbers weren’t very good.
With the New England Patriots needing help at cornerback thanks to the departure of J.C. Jackson, it makes sense that they are looking at Butler. He’s a cheap option who has familiarity with the system. Butler made a name for himself as a scrappy man coverage corner, and it wasn’t exactly surprising to see him struggle once he moved to a scheme that didn’t suit his skills.
SIGN OR PASS: SIGN
There’s really no reason to not bring Butler back to Gillette Stadium. The Patriots could probably pick him up for close to the veterans minimum given he didn’t play football last season, and as mentioned earlier, he has familiarity playing in this defense. If he doesn’t pan out, who cares? There’s virtually no risk associated with bringing in Butler on a cheap one year deal, so they may as well take a flier on him given how big of a need cornerback is right now.
New England Patriots free agent target No. 1: Leonard Fournette
Somehow Butler wasn’t the most interesting name coming into town for a visit today. No, that would be Leonard Fournette, who has managed to salvage his career over the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fournette’s market hasn’t developed the way he expected it to, and it appears he may have to lower his expectations a bit as we enter week two of free agency.
Fournette turned himself into a safety valve of sorts for another old friend, Tom Brady, with the Bucs. Fournette is a dynamic dual threat running back who can burn you on the ground (180 CAR, 812 YDS, 8 TD) and through the air (69 REC, 454 YDS, 2 TD). After struggling at times with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fournette turned a running back by committee approach with the Bucs in 2020 into a starting job last season.
Fournette is a very talented player clearly. The question is, where does he fit in with this team? The New England Patriots are seemingly set at running back, with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson becoming a powerful duo last season. They also re-signed James White earlier in free agency to return to his role of pass-catching running back.
There just doesn’t appear to be a pressing need for Fournette right now, which makes this visit the most confusing. Unless Belichick intends on trading away one of Harris or Stevenson now (which would be idiotic to say the least), there’s really no need to bring Fournette on board. Not to mention, he’s already scared away most of his market with the amount of money he is looking for.
SIGN OR PASS: PASS
The front office has been very calculated with how they have spent their money so far in free agency, and signing Fournette would go against everything they have done so far. He’s a player looking for money he’s probably not going to get, and plays a position New England needs no help at right now. Cap space is limited right now, and the front office should use it wisely rather than throw it at a player who don’t fill an immediate hole on this roster.