New England Patriots: 2018 defensive free agency preview
By Luke O'Brien
70 – Adam Butler – Staying
Adam Butler was one of the Patriots’ true success stories this year. Butler played in every game this year while starting six of them. Not bad for an undrafted free agent. Similar to Davis and Lee, Butler is going to cost the Patriots no more than $600K this year against the cap. With Alan Branch already cut, Butler will be competing with Valentine for a roster spot.
90 – Malcolm Brown – Staying
The former first-round pick is about to enter his fourth season in the NFL, coming off arguably his best season since he was drafted. Brown has hardly set the world alight since joining the Patriots, but they should pick up his fifth-year option. If Brown can continue his form from last season he should pick up a new contract. It’s really up to him how much money he wants to make and at the age of 24 he has plenty of time to make as much money as his talent and work ethic allow.
93 – Lawrence Guy – Staying
Some decried Lawrence Guy’s signing last offseason when the contract details came out. His four-year, $13.4 million contract seemed excessive for a player that has been on five teams in six seasons. The move so far has been arguably one of the better Free Agency signings that the Patriots made.
In Guy, the Patriots got a very versatile Richard Seymour-type player in that he is as comfortable rushing from the outside as he is plugging the rush up the middle. His cap number in 2018 is $2.8 million. Guy’s contract is back-loaded and his cap number is $4.2 million in 2020 that might be the time he is moved on from.
94 – Ricky Jean-Francois – Going
The Patriots have already informed Jean-Francois that they will not be looking to keep him going forward. He is currently out of contract but with Valentine coming back from injury, they have a ready-made replacement. Jean-Francois was decent this year when called upon and he will most likely be available if the Patriots require his services during the regular season.
97 – Alan Branch – Going
Alan Branch’s situation is probably easier than most to determine and the Patriots also agreed. Branch, a defensive tackle, was inactive for the Super Bowl on a team that struggled to stop the run in 2017. He also has a $4.5 million cap number in 2018. Whilst Branch was an excellent player for the Patriots pre-2017, his form last season was poor, and he looked every bit of his 33 years.
99 – Vincent Valentine – Staying
Like many of the players on the Patriots defensive line, Valentine is still on his rookie deal, which means he is still quite cheap to retain for another season. His 2018 cap hit is just over $800K and he is under contract again for next season too. Unfortunately, for Valentine, 2017 was a dead year lost to injury. He was a decent addition in 2016 so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back in 2018.