A Quick Look Ahead Patriots 2019 Offseason

There’s no better weekend than wild card weekend when you’re on the bye week. There’s wall-to-wall playoff football and no stress if you’re a Patriots fan.

It’s easy to overreact to how the season ends so now’s a good time to take a quick glance ahead at the storylines we’ll turn the page to as soon as we know the final fate of the 2018 Pats.

Here are the six areas to get a jump on:

1. Trey Flowers

The defensive end is one of the best two players in the front seven and the only major disruptive force of the front four pass rushers. The Pats will go as far as Flowers takes them with his game-changing plays. Personally I’d cut ties with anyone it took on defense to keep him, but it’s a very real possibility that he is gone.

2. Left Tackle

Trent Brown turned out to be a really solid replacement for Nate Solder and was arguably more consistent than his predecessor was. But Brown was just on a one-year deal and now the Pats must choose to either pay him or play Isaiah Wynn at left tackle after he spent his rookie year on IR with a torn achilles. Wynn seemed to be settling into the tackle position despite his size last training camp, but making the leap to left tackle coming off a major injury like that is asking a lot.

3. Cuts and Re-Structures

The Patriots are no strangers to cutting ties a year too early rather than a year too late. This off-season, with an aging safety group and a tight end on a huge contract who might retire, there are some major ways the Pats could open some space up for Flowers and perhaps Brown. Here are contract situations to monitor:

1. Adrian Clayborn – $6 million cap hit, $2 million dead cap: Clayborn still should make some impact plays this postseason despite not playing in run-stoppers-needed games to end the season. But $6 million is too much for just a pass rusher, he’ll at least get restructured. Might have to keep him if Flowers walks.
2. Rob Gronkowski – $12 million cap hit, $2 million dead cap: I think everything is on the table for Gronk this offseason — retirement, restructure, cut, maybe even him just playing out the last year of his contract.
3. Devin McCourty – $13.4 million cap hit, $3.9 million dead cap (out): McCourty has been the cement of the defense since he moved to safety full time in 2013. But at 32 is it a year too early?
4. Dont’a Hightower – $10.4 million cap hit, $5 million dead cap (out): I don’t think Hightower is the dead lock to stick around that he once was, but I think he exceeds the value even if he’s not ever going to excel in space.
5. Marcus Cannon – $7.5 million cap, $2.8 dead cap (out): Gotta think they’ll keep Cannon with more uncertainty at left tackle.
6. Dwayne Allen – $7.5 million cap hit, $0 dead cap: I think they Allen more than people realize. An extension could make sense here, especially if Gronk taps out.

4. Development

Players who should be expected to improve and take on more significant roles include:

1. Ja’Whaun Bentley – Continued development should make him and Kyle Van Noy the every down linebackers for the Patriots. Hightower and Elandon Roberts can play specialty roles and be more consistent and productive.
2. J.C. Jackson – He’s entrenched himself as a rookie starter and has made Jason McCourty a free agency after thought this offseason.
3. Isaiah Wynn – Wynn will either be thrust into the starting lineup at left tackle or get a year as a rotational player, possibly both inside and outside. It would be crazy to see a second new starting left tackle for a second year.
4. Dietrich Wise – He’s come on in recent weeks after being mostly just a pass rusher early in the season. Is he ready to be an every down right defensive end? It’s looking possibly necessary if Flowers and Clayborn aren’t around anymore.
5. Obi Melifonwu -Melifonwu has gotten his feet wet this season and has good size to be a contributor. Enough to unseat Devin McCourty or Patrick Chung? It’s not unthinkable.

5. Other FAs

As always there are plenty of lower level interior free agents to consider.

1. Ryan Allen – Any other left footed punters out there? Allen’s as solid as they come, but it always gets interesting with kickers and punters and money.
2. Chris Hogan – No doubt a disappointing season but I think the Pats would still like to keep Hogan. It’s too late to totally turnover the offense under Brady. He shouldn’t be expensive thanks to his year and I’d bet he has some key catches in January. He’ll have to.
3. Cordarrelle Patterson – Patterson’s brought an exciting element to the offense and been a great off-field addition as well while taking the Pats kickoff unit to the top-5. I think he’s 50/50.
4. Malcom Brown – Brown just never mastered the Pats defensive front, though he’s had his moments. He’ll be better on another team that doesn’t ask as much,
5. John Simon – I think Simon’s done some good things in limited pass rushing chances. He’s always fit the mold, I’d keep him around on a cheap middle class deal.
6. Gone – Danny Shelton, Jason McCourty, Eric Rowe

6. Team Building

My favorite part, team building goes on year-round but gets special focus in external free agency and the draft. Here are my five areas needed for depth and improvement.

1. Defensive Tackle – Quickest way to upgrade this team is to upgrade the spot next to Lawrence Guy by a dominant interior presence.
2. Wide Receiver – The Pats have tried plenty at wide receiver and through injuries and other circumstances they’re stuck with what they’ve had the last few seasons – Edelman and Hogan with TBD, currently Phillip Dorsett. Josh Gordon was such a tease but showed how good a reliable outside receiver can make this offense.
3. Tight End – Let the quest to find the next two-way Y tight end who can replace Gronk begin!
4. Tackle – Even with Wynn in the mix it’s never a bad time to look for another bookend tackle.
5. Quarterback – It’s always a need now.