Patriots: 3 players who could make their first Pro Bowl in 2020

2. Joe Thuney

There’s still a decent chance Joe Thuney gets traded before the July 15 deadline, but if he doesn’t end up leaving, he’ll return to the Patriots for his fifth NFL season — and he’ll be on New England’s bank ledger for a whopping $14.78 million this year.

Make no mistake, Thuney is worth a sizable investment; it’s really just a question of whether he’s worth that much for one season … especially playing guard on a team as cash-strapped as the Patriots find themselves in 2020.

That said, Thuney is a veritable iron man. He has yet to miss a game in four professional seasons playing football at the highest level, and he was a major part of New England making three straight Super Bowl appearances during his first three years in the NFL.

Thuney is only just beginning to get his due outside of Boston too. It really wasn’t until his free agency approached this past spring that he became a familiar name to NFL fans around the country who live outside the New England market.

The biggest potential roadblock to Thuney earning his first-ever Pro Bowl nod this year — other than perhaps getting traded to another team — might be his fellow starting guard, Shaq Mason.

Mason is also one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league, and the Patriots rewarded him with a rich five-year, $50 million extension just two years ago.

If Thuney doesn’t get his first Pro Bowl nomination this year, perhaps Mason will.