Patriots: NFL insider claims Jets may have screwed NE over with Joe Thuney situation

Did the Jets screw the Patriots over with Joe Thuney?

When the Patriots slapped offensive lineman Joe Thuney with the franchise tag earlier this offseason, they were clearly convinced that they’d be able to ink him to a long-term extension prior to the July 15 deadline.

As many fans expected, however, that didn’t happen as New England wasn’t able to maneuver around its salary cap constraints.

Now, the organization’s hands are tied between two options: Let the season play out and attempt to re-sign him in free agency, or cash in on him now via trade before he hits the open market and is free to sign with any team. Spoiler alert — it probably won’t be the Pats.

These are normally predicaments the Patriots manage to avoid, but the latest buzz suggests that the New York Jets actually helped persuade the reigning AFC East champs to hold onto Thuney.

“There is some belief that the Jets’ reported interest in Thuney helped inspire Bill Belichick to keep him off the market,” insider Gregg Rosenthal wrote in his latest piece for NFL.com. “It will be harder to do again in 2021, especially considering Belichick’s history of not paying interior linemen top dollar. Thuney’s tag-team partner at guard, Shaq Mason, signed a below-market deal in 2018, which could complicate any negotiations with Thuney. Like many Patriots over the years, Thuney will probably have to leave to max out his money.”

It would appear that New England’s refusal to watch its former third-round pick play for and get paid by a division rival ultimately coerced Belichick to keep him in Foxborough for at least one more season.

That’s downright shocking when you consider the Patriots never let their emotions interfere with business. In normal circumstances, Thuney, like so many players before him, would’ve been shown the door as a result the franchise’s renowned cutthroat mentality.

https://twitter.com/NBCSBoston/status/1283752928541585410

Did the legendary head coach just forget that he NEVER gives offensive lineman top dollar? Look no further than how the respective tenures of Trent Brown and Nate Solder turned out. But now they’re stuck paying $14.78 million for one year of Thuney, and it’s seemingly all thanks to the Jets, a team that’s missed the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons.

If nothing else, Gang Green bamboozling the wizard that is Belichick proves that general manager Joe Douglas is the right man for the job … maybe?