New England Patriots: Eric Rowe locking down starting cornerback spot

New England Patriots cornerback, Eric Rowe, is looking like he is ready to take over the starting spot opposite of Stephon Gilmore.

The New England Patriots suffered a big loss at cornerback in the offseason. Mainstay Malcolm Butler left in free agency, signing with the Tennessee Titans.

It was an outcome that should have been expected. Butler was benched for Super Bowl 52 against the Philadelphia Eagles, as the Patriots pass defense had no answer for Nick Foles and the Eagles. While the Super Bowl benching looked like writing on the wall, it is still a big loss.

New England did what they could to retool their secondary in the offseason. Duke Dawson was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Jason McCourty was acquired in a trade from the Cleveland Browns.

While the Patriots added some outside talent to help replace Butler, the answer to their problems could have already been on the roster in the way of Eric Rowe.

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Rowe spent his first season in the NFL with the Eagles before being traded to New England on Sept. 7, 2016. He has played in only 17 regular season games the past two seasons but was pressed into duty when Butler was benched.

While the performance of Rowe wasn’t great in the Super Bowl, he knew he had an opportunity this offseason with a starting spot opening up. Thus far, he has done everything he could to lock down that starting spot.

Rowe has had more success on the outside compared to the slot. Last season, Rowe allowed 11 receptions on 19 targets, going for 221 yards and one touchdown while defending in the slot. The passer rating against Rowe in the slot was 116.3. On the outside, he allowed only five catches on eight targets for 49 yards, equaling out to a passer rating of 79.7.

This week, head coach Bill Belichick spoke highly of Rowe.

"“Eric’s a player with good versatility,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. “He played safety in college, has played on the perimeter, he’s played inside, he’s played in some dime situations for us, rarely as a linebacker, obviously passing situations, but he has multiple skills. He’s a smart guy. He’s able to handle multiple assignments. So, again, we need players like that. Every team needs players like that on the roster. Every guy doesn’t have to be able to do that, but you’ve got to have somebody that has some versatility. He certainly falls into that category.”"

At this time, it seems likely that Rowe will be taking over as the starting cornerback opposite of Stephon Gilmore. It is something that Rowe is ready to do.

"“It’s definitely easier in a sense of in the middle, everything’s kind of moving fast, little more assignments in the slot,” Rowe said. “On the outside, it’s man or zone. Obviously, it’s not easier covering your man, but it’s man or zone, I got the sideline to help me. The transition, now that I know both ways, is kind of a little bit easier to play outside than inside.”"

While nothing is official yet, Rowe is in the driver seat for a starting job. He has performed well this offseason, providing no reason for the Patriots to remove him from the starting lineup.

With just over two weeks until the regular season begins, there is still time for things to change. However, with how Rowe has played, it looks like the starting spot is his to lose.