It was a successful season, but the New England Patriots were bounced early from the playoffs at the hands of the division-rival Buffalo Bills on Wild Card weekend. Not much that could’ve been done. This Patriots team clearly has its limitations. No rebuild happens in less than two years.
At the very least, Bill Belichick has his franchise quarterback, numerous weapons on offense, and a defense that’s probably always going to be a top-10 unit. That’s a foundation most other franchises would kill for.
But now that the 2021 season is over and changes are inevitably on the way, we’ve zeroed in on a number of guys who probably won’t be on the roster next year. Some of it has to do with poor play, lack of a role, or the team’s salary cap situation. All reasons are valid and must be taken into account.
The Patriots already have $184.6 million committed to the 2022 salary cap, which is $208.2 million. With $3 million in dead cap, Belichick and Co. have $26.8 million to spend in the offseason, which is good for 19th in the NFL. It’s not a bad budget whatsoever, but it’s going to restrict their flexibility. That means some beloved in-house players might be forced to sign their desired contracts elsewhere.
Though there are numerous others who might find themselves on a new team either when free agency opens or when the summer arrives, but we’d put our money on these five departing New England when the new league year begins.
These 5 Patriots won’t be on the 2022 roster.
5. LB Dont’a Hightower
Hightower feels like a Patriots lifer, but after opting out of the 2020 season and missing out on a chance to cash out a year early, it’s not farfetched to think the former Alabama star might try to get paid one last time.
He just wrapped up a four-year, $35.5 million contract and was the 19th highest-paid inside linebacker in the league. Do you really think there are 18 better inside linebackers than Hightower, who has arguably been the most valuable player on this defense for the better part of the last decade?
Perhaps … but at this point he might want to test his value on the open market rather than negotiating to remain on a team that could still be another few years away from true Super Bowl contention. The Patriots are certainly headed in the right direction, but the AFC has evident powerhouses that aren’t going away anytime soon.
The bright side? Should Hightower depart, there’s always the likelihood he finds his way back to New England when the fit isn’t right with whatever new team he may join.
4. LB Chase Winovich
Yup, we have some non-free agents on this list. Nobody is safe from Belichick’s roster revamp. Nobody! So we’d love for someone to justify why Chase Winovich would remain on the 2022 roster.
In the offseason, there were reportedly character concerns with the former Michigan star, though it’s unclear how true they were. Then again, if you look at Winovich’s downright laughable playing time in 2021, you’ll realize that there’s no way he’ll justify a $1.2 million cap hit next year.
After playing in a career-high 594 defensive snaps (58%) in 2020, Winovich’s snap share diminished to 113 (14%), though in three fewer games. He was more of a special teams contributor than anything, so it’s clear something has impacted Belichick’s decision-making here.
The former third-round pick logged 74 tackles, 11 sacks and 22 QB hits in 2019 and 2020 while (cumulatively) still playing under 50% of the snaps on defense. That wasn’t enough to show he’s a playmaker off the edge? Though the Patriots have beefed up their pass rush with Matt Judon last year, it’s clear Winovich has value in the right package/defensive scheme.
Maybe the Patriots moved away from what was maximizing his efficiency. Maybe Winovich’s reported attitude problems affected his playing time.
Either way, if Belichick can save $1 million against the cap here, he’s going to do it because he’s likely not willing to pay that price for a reserve defender and part-time special teams contributor.
3. QB Jarrett Stidham
Do you think the Patriots are going to want to watch the dynamic play out with an Alabama alum in Jones effortlessly beating out an Auburn alum in Stidham for the starting quarterback job? Especially when Stidham was believed to be next in line after Tom Brady?
Just kidding, they don’t really care about that. They definitely care about Stidham entering the final year of his rookie contract, though, which will run the team over $1 million. However, they can save nearly $1 million by cutting him loose after June 1.
Stidham has gradually become more and more useless, and reports from 2020 training camp suggested the team was frustrated with him after he suffered a hip injury. Then came July of 2021, when he needed back surgery and wasn’t activated off the PUP list until Nov. 9.
He spent most of the year injured or on the practice squad as the Patriots carried just Jones and Brian Hoyer on the active roster. He didn’t log a single snap in his third NFL season, and his showing in 2020 when relieving Cam Newton at times certainly didn’t inspire any confidence (though it’s hard to fully blame him for that — the 2020 version of this team was almost unwatchable).
Stidham’s spot on this roster would be justified had Jones not been impressive during his rookie season, but it’s evident he’s likely the franchise quarterback, meaning any investment in a backup will be a veteran and anybody beyond that will probably be an option the Patriots will want to develop … not somebody wasting away on the practice squad.
2. CB JC Jackson
It’s not fun to discuss this … but there’s really no way to avoid it. JC Jackson, who has been an interception machine ever since making his NFL debut after going undrafted back in 2018, had a career year in 2021.
He led the league with 23 passes defended and started all 17 games (after not starting more than 11 in his career). He stepped right in as the new No. 1 option following Stephon Gilmore’s injury and eventual trade without a hitch.
Cornerbacks are among the most sought-after talents in free agency and there will be plenty of teams out there willing to pay top-dollar for a ball hawk such as Jackson (25 interceptions in 62 career games) and Belichick rarely gets into bidding wars or has one player taking up a significant percentage of the payroll.
Jackson will, unfortunately, cost more than Gilmore’s “bank-breaking” (for the Patriots’ standards) five-year, $65 million contract years ago. We can expect something in the $80-$100 million for Jackson based on what we’ve seen handed out to his peers Marshon Lattimore, Marlon Humphrey and Tre’Davious White.
When you realize the Patriots still have a capable group of cornerbacks with Jalen Mills, Myles Bryant and Jonathan Jones, it wouldn’t be crazy for Belichick to add to the group with a more cost-effective free agency signing and then a high draft pick (this year’s class is loaded with cornerbacks).
After the massive spending spree that occurred last year, we just don’t know if there’s enough bandwidth for Jackson if he’s going to attract almost league-wide interest.
1. WR N’Keal Harry
How much can we truly say here? N’Keal Harry was a healthy scratch in Week 17. Drama engulfed him in the offseason when he requested a trade. It didn’t help the Patriots brought in a number of pass catchers that effortlessly lapped him this year.
Harry finished the regular season with 12 catches for 184 yards in 12 games. He’s been unable to develop a rapport with three different starting quarterbacks since making his NFL debut. He’s continuously had trouble getting separation against opposing defensive backs. He’s had trouble catching the ball (his drop against the Bills in Week 16 proved to be beyond costly).
Throw in another injury (due to another dropped pass on a diving play in the preseason) that didn’t see him activated until Week 4, and it’s largely been a disaster for Harry during his time in New England. He’d been labeled a bust much earlier in his career, and it’s hard to argue with it now. Harry’s been unable to even carve out a role as a secondary option in the passing game.
It’s not entirely his fault, but he’s done himself no favors and has been unable to shine when he’s had plentiful opportunities. Julian Edelman out-performed him in 2020 despite playing in eight fewer games.
At the moment, New England has no leg to stand on in trade talks, but we wouldn’t be surprised if another team was willing to part with a seventh-rounder for the former Arizona State star. It’s either late-round draft pick compensation or saving $1.2 million against the cap (it sounds cheap, but why pay for a guy who isn’t playing?).
This past season was the final straw for Harry’s time with the Patriots. No more offensive skill position players in the first round, please.
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