Free agency is just about one month away. Let’s take a look at what could be an “‘all in” type haul for the New England Patriots in 2023. With cap space and draft picks, the Patriots have a chance to make some serious noise in this free agency period.
Bill Belichick will once again return as the head coach, and I’m not sure he has many years left. For that reason alone, it would make sense to see the team invest quite heavily in the free agency market to try and turn this roster around as quickly as possible.
The AFC East is a very good division, so this might turn into an arms race like we saw with the AFC West last year.
Let’s create a free agency haul for the Patriots that indicates going “all in” for 2023.
New England Patriots free agency: Getting an “all in” haul
Patriots send: 2023 fourth round pick (114th overall)
Patriots get: WR Brandin Cooks
The first move is to acquire a WR1 who can help open up the offense, and Brandin Cooks is that type of player. He played for the Patriots back in 2017 and had over 1,000 yards and also did overlap a little with Bill O’Brien in Houston, so the connections are there.
He’s got over 8,000 career receiving yards in nine seasons and will be just 30 years old when the 2023 season begins. Something would likely have to be done with his contract as his cap hit is high, but at least the team were to acquire a dynamic playmaker in this scenario.
New England Patriots free agency: Getting an “all in” haul
Patriots sign RT Mike McGlinchey, four years, $60 million
According to spotrac.com, McGlinchey’s market value is $10.7 million per year, but I don’t buy that number. It seems too low, and with the league being short with quality offensive line play, the Patriots may have to invest heavily to fix the OL.
Isaiah Wynn is likely not returning, and Trent Brown’s future could be up in the air. Well, New England settles one tackle position by bringing in McGlinchey, who has spent the first five seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
He isn’t elite, but he’s very good, and would solve an issue for the team for the long-term, and it would also hammer home the idea that the team is not playing games this time when it comes to fixing the offense.
Perhaps in this scenario, New England keeps Trent Brown at the left tackle position, or perhaps the team looks elsewhere for their starting left tackle…
New England Patriots free agency: Getting an “all in” haul
Patriots send: 2023 third round pick (76th overall)
Patriots get: LT David Bakhtiari
This would be a major trade that could shake up things in a good way for the Patriots. David Bakhtiari has been one of the very best at his position for years, but has played in just 12 games the last two years in trying to return from a knee injury.
He’s also 31 years old turning 32 right as the season starts and has a nearly $30 million cap hit in 2023. Well, the Green Bay Packers, his current team, are around $17 million over the cap, according to spotrac.com.
With the uncertainty with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers always being able to find quality offensive linemen, it would make sense to try and trade the veteran. Why wouldn’t the Patriots have interest?
They’d like have to restructure his deal to bring down that cap number, but I don’t think they’d have to give up much at all to get him given the circumstances. The team could also save $8 million against their cap if they were to cut Trent Brown as well.
A potential offensive line of
Bakhtiari/Strange/Andrews/Onwenu/McGlinchey is about as good as a team could possibly get.
New England Patriots free agency: Getting an “all in” haul
Patriots sign Jamel Dean and Marcus Peters
PFF thinks highly of Jamel Dean, a third round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2019. He’s got a grades over 70 in each of his four seasons in the NFL and has seven interceptions in four seasons for the Bucs.
He’ll turn 27 in 2023, so this is someone the team could lock up for the foreseeable future.
Marcus Peters is a veteran cornerback who likely won’t be retained by the Baltimore Ravens. He was drafted by the Chiefs and quickly established himself as one of the best ballhawks in the entire NFL
He’s likely lost a step, but Peters could still come in and help the team, and if they were to sign Jamel Dean, Peters may not have to handle as much as he would if he were to come in as the CB1. Both of these moves as solid veteran pieces to the secondary that needs it quite a bit.
Losing JC Jackson was a big loss, and the Patriots should work until they fill the void that he left.