Patriots Rumors: Kenny Britt returning, Alan Branch moving on
Recent New England Patriots rumors involve team options, as Kenny Britt has reportedly had his option picked up, while Alan Branch had his declined.
With only a week until NFL Free Agency begins, New England Patriots rumors are going to begin picking up. The Patriots have a ton of free agents on their roster, with a lot of attention being paid to running back, Dion Lewis.
While we won’t know Lewis’ fate for a few more days, we learned, reportedly, about the fate of two of his teammates.
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, defensive tackle Alan Branch has been informed that his option for the 2018 season will not be picked up. Branch had a $1 million option for 2018, but instead, he will become a free agent once the league year begins on March 14th.
Branch was hopeful that he would return to the Patriots, but the writing was on the wall. Branch was at best fourth on the Patriots depth chart at defensive tackle by the end of the season.
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Veteran Ricky Jean-Francios, who the Patriots signed and released multiple times, jumped ahead of Branch when he was injured. Lawrence Guy and Malcolm Brown were also ahead of him. In addition, the Patriots also have undrafted rookie Adam Butler and Vincent Valentine, a 2016 third round pick.
Branch had been with the Patriots since Oct. 2014. He played 25.7 percent of the Patriots defensive snaps during the regular season. Branch could find interest on the free agent market, and is willing to continue playing.
"“I love playing football. As long as they keep paying me money, I’m going to try to do it,” Branch said on WEEI."
While Branch’s time with the Patriots seems to be coming to an end, Kenny Britt‘s is just beginning. The Patriots signed Britt after he was released by the Cleveland Browns in December. Britt didn’t even make it through the first season of his four-year deal with the Browns.
Britt had a $125,000 option that the Patriots decided to pick up. His base salary will be $1.05 million. It is a smart decision for New England, as that isn’t much money to commit to a player.
Britt is only one season removed from a 1,000-yard season with the St. Louis Rams in 2016. That season is even more impressive when you take into account how bad the Rams’ offense was that season.
Britt brings some size to the Patriots receiving corps, something that they are currently lacking. Standing 6’3″, Britt is the tallest wide receiver to catch a pass for the Patriots last season. Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks, Philip Dorsett and Julian Edelman are all under 6-feet tall.
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Amendola is set to become a free agent, but this is not expected to impact his negotiations, as he prefers to return to the organization. If Mitchell is unable to return from his knee injury, Britt’s size will be a welcomed addition on the outside.