New England Patriots Should Trade for Dallas Guard Ronald Leary
By Hal Bent
The New England Patriots have an opportunity to upgrade their interior offensive line before training camp and leap at the opportunity. Bill Belichick should target disgruntled veteran Dallas guard Ronald Leary via a trade. According to NFL Media analyst Gil Brandt via a source informed of the situation, Cowboys guard Ronald Leary has requested a trade out of Dallas. This is a no-brainer: The New England Patriots should trade for Dallas guard Ronald Leary.
With the offensive line having been such a significant weak spot in 2015, picking up a player who is an upgrade over anyone else on the roster should be a no-brainer. Leary was a starter in Dallas in both 2013 and 2014 but lost his job to rookie La’el Collins last season. Losing his job to Collins should not make Leary seem like less than an upgrade: Collins was a first round talent who went undrafted last season due to a possible scandal which was much ado about nothing.
Pass protection was a major issue in New England last year and the interior offensive line was a major reason why the offense stalled at the end of the season and could not carry the team to the Super Bowl. Per Doug Kyed’s advanced stats at NESN.com, the three primary interior guards Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, and Tre Jackson combined to allow 66 pressures, 9 sacks, 28 quarterback hits, and 37 hurries. Add in the poor rushing attack all season long, and it is clear an upgrade is needed.
It is easy to make excuses for the group: The lack of Dante Scarnecchia at offensive line coach led to what could have been a poorly coached group; Kline was in his first season as a starter and Mason and Jackson were rookies; Kline played with a bad shoulder that required offseason surgery and Jackson missed much of the second half of the season with a knee injury; however, the team has already acknowledged the need at guard by grabbing former top-ten draft pick Jonathan Cooper in the trade that sent Chandler Jones to Arizona.
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Leary is just 27 years old and is signed to a reasonable one-year, $2.553 million contract. He presumably only signed the offer sheet in Dallas as a restricted free-agent with the hope it would force Dallas to trade him somewhere he can start again. With Kline’s health status in doubt, Mason and Jackson still unproven, and Cooper a wild card, a winning team like New England should be appealing to Leary.
ESPN.com reported that Dallas received feelers from teams regarding Leary during the draft. However, the Cowboys did not move him when they could have received a draft pick who could contribute in 2016. This continued the strange moves on draft day by Dallas (they drafted a running back in the first round rather than addressing their terrible pass defense!). Per the ESPN report Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones was clear that Dallas was not going to simply give away the veteran guard.
New England has never been shy to trade a draft pick for a veteran player who can contribute immediately at a position of need. It is true that Leary is not a highly graded pass blocker, but with Brady’s quick release Leary should find the pass blocking style in New England playing more to his strengths. As a road grading blocker in the running game, Leary makes for a welcome addition to an interior offensive line which could not make space for running backs last season.
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No one knows what Dallas means by “giving away” Leary. If he costs a fourth-round pick or less it is a no-brainer for the Patriots to upgrade another position of need. New England has over $9 million in cap space so Leary’s contract should be absorbed easily. With the deal just a one-year tender, there is no long-term salary cap hit down the line and the team can walk away after the season if it does not work out.
The Dallas secondary is a mess as well and the Patriots may be able to pry Leary away from Dallas by combining a player on the back-end of the roster who Dallas likes and draft picks in a deal. In 2014 the Cowboys and Patriots worked out a deal that sent backup cornerback Justin Green to Dallas. Leary and a late-round draft pick for a coverage safety (Duron Harmon is in the final year of his rookie contract) or cornerback and a mid-round draft pick should get the deal done to the satisfaction of both sides.
Upgrading the interior offensive line is important for the Patriots this coming season to remain on top of the AFC East and be a Super Bowl favorite. Obtaining a quality player still in his prime and at a reasonable rate at a position of need is a move that championship teams make. The New England Patriots need to make this move before another team makes Dallas a better offer.