Patriots Rumors: Alan Branch In Serious Negotiations with New England

Recent New England Patriots rumors are that the Patriots and defensive tackle Alan Branch are in serious talks about a new contract.

With the offseason underway, there have been plenty of New England Patriots rumors about their offseason plans. According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, they are in serious discussions with defensive tackle Alan Branch on a new contract.

This is certainly big news for the Patriots, as Branch had an excellent season for them in 2016. With Branch anchoring the middle, the Patriots had one of the best run defenses in the NFL last season.

Despite having young players like Malcom Brown and Vincent Valentine at the position, it was Branch who was able to be the best player. With both Brown and Valentine being young, keeping Branch around is important for the Patriots.

Having the three in a rotation really helped keep them all fresh, which is something that the Patriots’ entire defensive line was benefitted by. The big question will be how much Branch costs New England.

At over 30-years-old, Branch likely won’t be getting a long-term deal from New England. However, his performance in the middle should warrant him a nice contract.

For the Patriots, this offseason could be a crucial one. Their defense played well last season, but they have a lot of free agents on that side of the ball. Since the Patriots didn’t use the franchise tag on anyone, pretty much everyone will be testing the market.

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Seeing the Patriots engaging with Branch early on in the offseason is certainly a good sign. Even though Branch didn’t have a monster season statistically, the Patriots already offering him a deal shows how valuable the organization believes he is to the defense. The offseason is certainly heating up in New England, and we will have to see if Branch is the first key free agent to sign with back with the Patriots.