New England Patriots: Logan Ryan Might Be Too Expensive to Re-Sign

The New England Patriots have a lot of free agents this offseason. One of them is cornerback Logan Ryan, who might be positioned for a pay day.

After winning Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots are preparing for a big offseason. There are a lot of key free agents for the Patriots this offseason, and they might not be willing to pay them all.

One of the key free agents for the Patriots is cornerback Logan Ryan. Since being drafted in the third round, Ryan has really improved for the Patriots. In 2016, he was able to cement himself as a really solid cornerback opposite of Malcolm Butler.

His strong season in 2016 has made him one of the best cornerbacks on the market in free agency, and that means he is going to get paid. John Clayton of ESPN recently predicted the contracts for his Top 25 free agents this offseason. He predicted that Ryan will be getting a four-year, $32 million deal. Here’s what he had to say about Ryan.

"Ryan is the sleeper in the cornerback class. With the Patriots trying to work out a long-term deal with restricted free agent Malcolm Butler, they might not want to break the bank for Ryan, who has proved to be a good No. 2 corner. Ryan should have many teams interested in him."

While Ryan was certainly a good player for the Patriots, the $8 million per season that Clayton predicted might be too much. In addition to Ryan, the Patriots will also be trying to work out a long-term with Butler.

Next: Ranking Patriots' Internal Free Agents

Due to Butler being the No.1 cornerback on the team, working out an extension for him will likely be a priority over signing Ryan. On the open market, Ryan is going to be positioned to land himself a nice contract. That, unfortunately, might mean that he has played his last snap as a member of the Patriots.