Here are a few free agents the Patriots should target after losing Dont’a Hightower and Marcus Cannon.
It’s truly wild to think how drastically the Patriots depth was decimated within the last several hours. With the start of training camp looming, a total of six players — Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung, Marcus Cannon, Brandon Bolden, Dan Vitale and Najee Toran — all opted out of the 2020 season due to fears over playing amid the global pandemic.
Given how prominent the coronavirus still is throughout the country, it’s really difficult to fault their decisions, and we fully expect more players to follow in their footsteps.
After all, the NFL‘s schedule is the same as it ever was, meaning that teams are set to travel across the country to potential COVID-19 epicenters for games.
For New England, these are losses the franchise simply couldn’t afford to experience following the roster turnover it underwent this offseason. Now, the front office must scramble to find reinforcements on the open market, where top talent will be hard to come by this deep into free agency.
S Patrick Chung becomes the sixth Patriot to opt out for 2020 https://t.co/INfMl0EnzG
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 28, 2020
With this in mind, let’s attempt to identify potential replacements for the Patriots. However, let’s keep the search focused on linebackers and offensive tackles, because Hightower and Cannon are arguably the two biggest blows.
4. LaAdrian Waddle
The Patriots could target LaAdrian Waddle with their newfound cap space.
If we know one thing about the Patriots, it’s that they champion familiarity, so don’t be surprised if they look to bring back offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle, who appeared in 28 games (seven starts) for them in 2017 and 2018 before signing with the Buffalo Bills last offseason.
Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, he spent the entirety of last year on injured reserve with a torn quad and has yet to sign with a new team. Assuming that he’s fully recovered from that injury, we don’t see a problem with New England brining him back. Not only does he know the system, but he performed well in his limited opportunities as a rotational player.
Waddle might not grab headlines as a potential target, but we have no doubts that he’d be a solid emergency replacement for Cannon. Or is that not what the Patriots are looking for?
3. Mark Barron
Former rival Mark Barron is still available to the Patriots.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were always going to have cap casualties this offseason, and Mark Barron predictably became one of them, even though it wasn’t an easy decision for general manager Kevin Colbert.
Despite playing on a star-studded defense, Barron proved to be a ball magnet for Pittsburgh in 2019, as he posted 82 tackles while playing 750 defensive snaps, which was 69% of the Steelers total. Over eight NFL seasons, the 30-year-old veteran has a whopping 710 tackles to his name, which is pretty impressive for a converted safety.
It’s also worth noting that Barron played college ball for Nick Saban at Alabama. We all know how close the Crimson Tide boss and Bill Belichick are, so there’s no doubting that New England is familiar with the former No. 7 overall pick’s craft. Call us crazy, but this could be a match made in heaven.
2. Demar Dotson
Could Demar Dotson be headed to the Patriots?
The market for right tackles is anything but ideal right now, but the Patriots could do a lot worse than signing Demar Dotson, who’s started at that position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2012 and was surprisingly cut loose this offseason.
The 34-year-old is getting up there in age, but the fact that he’s played at least 90% of the offensive snaps over the last two campaigns proves that he has plenty left in the tank. What’s better than that? The fact that he’s still blocking at an effective level. Pro Football Focus gave him a 71 grade for the 2019 season, which is an extremely respectable mark.
If the Patriots are looking for a player that can jump right into Cannon’s starting spot at RT, they shouldn’t think twice about bringing Dotson aboard. If he was able to keep the erratic Jameis Winston upright on a consistent basis, he shouldn’t have a problem doing the same with the much more composed Cam Newton.
1. Nigel Bradham
Nigel Bradham, come get fitted for your Patriots uniform.
The Philadelphia Eagles declined Nigel Bradham’s option for 2020, which made him a free agent at the start of the new league year on March 18. Surprisingly enough, the 30-year-old linebacker has yet to find a new home, and New England should absolutely reach out to him.
Though his production tailed off a bit in 2019, he’s incredibly durable for an eight-year veteran, as he played 58 of a possible 64 games for Philadelphia over the last four years, which included playing 71% of the defensive snaps in 2019. During that span, he posted 348 tackles, 22 passes defended, two interceptions, five sacks, three forced fumbles and 11 quarterback hits. The Patriots love versatility at the linebacker position, and the Florida State product is more than comfortable dropping back in coverage.
New England has the cap space to make a bigger splash, but they’ll undoubtedly need to make a string of signings to overcome these losses. This makes Bradham, who will surely come at a discount, a perfect signing for the franchise.