LaAdrian Waddle leaves Pats to sign with Bills in free agency
Valuable swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle has reportedly agreed to leave the Patriots and join the Bills on a one-year deal in free agency.
The Buffalo Bills reportedly poached free agent swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle from the New England Patriots on Saturday afternoon. Waddle is set to sign a one-year deal with the Bills, although the exact monetary value of that contract is currently unknown.
Waddle signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech back in 2013. After spending almost two seasons in the Motor City, he was cut in December of 2015 and claimed by the Patriots off waivers the very next day. While largely inactive and irrelevant in 2016, Waddle saw his value increase monumentally in 2017 when he subbed in for the injured Marcus Cannon at right tackle during four games.
All in all, he played in 12 games with the Patriots in 2017.
Waddle again saw snaps as the starting right tackle last season, again filling in for an injured Marcus Cannon, across three different games. His game action overall increased as well, with Waddle earning snaps in all 16 regular season games in 2018.
Losing Waddle represents arguably the biggest blow to the Patriots in free agency behind Trent Brown and Trey Flowers. New England is especially thin along the offensive line with its current offseason roster, and Waddle represented the top backup and insurance policy behind not only Marcus Cannon at right tackle, but also Trent Brown at left tackle as well.
Especially now that Brown is gone, the Patriots suddenly find themselves in dire need of reinforcements along the line – particularly at the blindside.
The hope is that last year’s first-round draft pick, Isaiah Wynn, can make a complete return from the Achilles injury that cost him his rookie season. If he’s fully-healed in time for training camp, the preseason, and then the season opener, hopefully that takes some pressure off the reserve linemen still on the Patriots roster: Cole Croston, Dan Skipper, and Ryker Mathews.
Next. The Patriots added five new players in free agency. dark
Even if Wynn is good to go, however, the Patriots need to address their offensive line before the season starts – either in free agency, the draft, or both.