The New England Patriots are now one step closer to filling the holes left in the secondary after Darrelle Revis and company left earlier in free agency.
On Thursday morning, ESPN reported that the Patriots had reached an agreement with veteran cornerback Tarell Brown. It is not yet known how much Brown’s deal with the Patriots is worth, but he did sign a one-year deal with the Raiders last season for $3.5 million.
Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders cornerback Tarell Brown (23) goes down after defending the catch by San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Brown has played in the NFL for eight seasons and he has been a part of two different teams, so he will add experience to the Patriots fairly young secondary. He also adds depth to a group of cornerbacks that were extremely hurt by the losses of players like Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, etc.
Last season, Brown played in fourteen games with the Raiders, had 55 combined tackles, as well as 4 passes defended. However, his season ended abruptly last December when he broke his foot.
How Brown’s foot has healed is the one worry that the Patriots must have with this signing, but if he is back to his old ways, then he could compete for a starting spot on the roster come September 10th. Right now, the top four cornerbacks on the depth chart are Logan Ryan, Bradley Fletcher, Darryl Roberts, and Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler. Three of those players have three years of experience or less in the NFL, so Tarell Brown could become a starter simply because he’s a veteran that knows the position well, and can execute his job the way head coach Bill Belichick wants him too.
Overall, I personally think this is a solid first step for the Patriots to take in rebuilding its secondary, but there are still many more stairs to climb before the Pats have a strong enough defense to make another run at the Super Bowl.