Three free agents to not re-sign for Patriots in 2023
The New England Patriots have a solid amount of free agents in 2023, and there are a few that stick out to not re-sign when the season ends. Not every free agent from every team gets re-signed, obviously.
A lot of times, there are other players to take a higher level of priority over others. This could be due to the nature of the position they play or their performance on the field. For the Patriots, there are a few players, all on offense, that stick out to me as players who don’t really fit in the plans for the team going forward.
This is not to say they are bad players or are being punished, but merely players who have either been overtaken on the depth chart or simply did not perform well in 2023.
Three free agents for Patriots to not re-sign in 2023
1. Nelson Agholor, WR
After a career best year in 2020 with the Raiders, Nelson Agholor signed a two year, $22 million deal with the Patriots. Unfortunately, he has not lived up to that contract at all and is as good as gone when the season ends.
He accumulated 896 receiving yards in 2020 with the Raiders and has a combined 835 yards in his two years in New England as I type these words. He’s also struggled with drops in the past but has been able to carve out a respectable role in the NFL.
Given that the team should be focusing on re-signing Jakobi Meyers and also because they recently drafted Tyquan Thornton, I don’t see where Agholor fits in 2023.
2. Damien Harris, RB
Damien Harris had over 900 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns in 2021. He looked like a prime candidate to explode in 2022. However, that has not been the case. Between being injured and Rhamondre Stevenson looking good in the primary RB1 role, Damien Harris looks to be on his way out.
The running back free agent class is deep, but I do think that teams will be willing to outbid any offer the Patriots would make to retain Harris. Given that Stevenson still has two years left on his rookie contract, it’s likely that the Pats use him up and also perhaps rookies Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong going forward.
Damien Harris is a talented player, but his long-term outlook for the Pats is not good.
3. Isaiah Wynn, RT
Wynn has played in nine games this year and just has not been good since essentially being demoted to right tackle. What makes this situation even more interesting is that Trent Brown hasn’t exactly played well at left tackle either.
Could there be a scenario where the Patriots re-sign Wynn, stick him back at left tackle and move Brown back to right tackle? Could that fix the inconsistent tackle play this year and help the offensive line as a whole?
Maybe, but I’m not sure that Wynn is going to receive any type of offer from the team. The Pats seem to be able to draft offensive line well, so perhaps they feel confident enough to replace what Isaiah Wynn brought to the table in prior seasons.