Dwight Freeney, John Abraham and Adrian Wilson Will Visit Patriots
According to Comcast Sportsnet Tom Curran defensive end Dwight Freeney, along with John Abraham and Adrian Wilson, will be paying the New England Patriots a visit today.
Apparently there are about eight other teams interested in Freeney’s services for this season, one of them, are the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were not shy to persuade Wes Welker away from New England, and the Patriots appears to be highly interested in making the move.
Oct 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts linebacker Dwight Freeney (93) reacts to sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (not pictured) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeated Green Bay 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dwight Freeney was first draft by the Indianapolis Colts with the 11th selection in the 2002 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he set the record with 9 forced fumbles, a total of 40 tackles and 13.0 sacks. His least productive year (injury) was in 2012 with only 12 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 1 forced fumble as he was converted from defensive end to outside linebacker under new coach Chuck Pagano. However, I think Coach Bill Belichick can find a suitable role for Freeney as reinforcement on the defense with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich. If he stays healthy, it will be a good addition, even though he is 33 years-old and this will be his 11th season. But a combination of Freeney and Vince Wilfork gives me chills.
Defensive end John Abraham who first started with the New York Jets in 2000 and became an Atlanta Falcons in 2006 was recently cut. With 14 years in the league, Abraham will turn 35 this season and even with a career record of 508 combine tackles and 122.0 sacks, it seems like a risk in including him in the roster as one can only wonder his efficiency and stamina level in the field.
Former Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson was released last Friday due to cap salary reasons after 12 seasons with the Cardinals. Over his career, he banked 864 combined tackles (722 solo), 25.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and 27 interceptions.
Since going after Ed Reed seemed to be too costly as it is very possible Reed will sign with the Houston Texans, Wilson might be a more reasonable alternative to pair up with Steve Gregory. But I don’t expect the Patriots to sign a long-term deal with the aging 33 year-old safety.
Follow Celia Westbrook on Twitter @celiawestbrook