New England Patriots: Grading recent free agent signings

We hand out some grades for the New England Patriots signings thus far in free agency.

Free agency is a wild time in the NFL, and the New England Patriots have been right in the middle of it. Things didn’t get off to a good start for New England. When you are as successful as they are, organizations want players from your team. At the beginning of free agency, that is exactly what happened.

New England lost multiple key players at the onset of free agency. They were hit hard on the offensive side of the ball. Wide receiver Danny Amendola signed with the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins. Running back Dion Lewis signed with the Tennessee Titans. The biggest loss came along the offensive line, where left tackle Nate Solder was lost to the New York Giants to a record contract.

Defensively, the Patriots lost cornerback, Malcolm Butler. While his departure was expected, it still hurts to lose a top-level cornerback. Butler is heading down south with Lewis, as he is also signing with the Titans. Another cornerback, Jonathan Bademosi, also left, signing with the Houston Texans.

Replacing all those players will not be easy, but the Patriots wasted no time plugging the holes. They have been active on the trade market, making two deals with the Cleveland Browns and one with the Oakland Raiders.

In the first trade with the Browns, the Patriots acquired run-stuffing defensive tackle, Danny Shelton. In the second deal, they landed cornerback Jason McCourty. In the deal with Oakland, New England acquired wide receiver and special team extraordinaire, Cordarrelle Patterson.

The Patriots have also signed a few free agents, one of their own and three from outside the organization. We break down those free agent signings and hand out some grades for the moves!