Nate Solder was my centerpiece to this free agency season and now he’s signed with the Giants for four years, $60 million, leaving the Patriots with a giant hole at left tackle.
I’m never one to panic about free agency, especially when we’re not even 24 hours in, but the team currently has just Marcus Cannon on the roster, with last year’s third-round pick Tony Garcia behind him recovering from an illness that caused him to lose a bunch of weight. Andrew Jelks and Jason King are also on the roster, while Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle continue to weigh their options in free agency.
This is new territory for the Tom Brady Pats. They seamlessly transitioned from Matt Light (2001-2011) to Solder, who has locked down the left side for the past six seasons. In 2015 he played in just four games, but otherwise, Solder has been a rock, missing just two games total and starting 95.
It is worth pointing out that Solder was managed through most of the preseason and had a really slow start to the season. We cut him plenty of slack given his personal situation, but it’s not like Solder was the lights out best left tackle in football who made it all work. He was very good, especially by the end of the year, and certainly the best option in free agency, but is he worth what the Giants paid him? We’ll see.
Giants are expected to give former Patriots’ LT Nate Solder a four-year, $60 million deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2018
Aside from the Patriots concerns you have to feel good for Solder who’s faced a ton of off-field adversity. That huge payday for him is something to feel good about. Unfortunately, this is a Patriots football blog so it’s not much consolation and we’ve got to just tip our cap to Solder and move on.
What now? The easiest answer is to make sure to lock up Fleming and Waddle, draft another guy, sign a rookie free agent or two and let them and the other three returners all battle it out. Or maybe there’s a trade to be made out there. Any way you cut it though, this is the first time in 17 years Tom Brady won’t go into a season with a first- or second rounder guarding his blindside and that is a bit disconcerting.
Again, it’s still early and the Pats are still sitting on a good chunk of cap space that we assumed would have a significant portion go to Solder. So in that respect, it opens up some options for them. Maybe not all of our favorite options, but there are plenty of moves to come so don’t jump off the bridge just yet.
I know most people have projected the Pats to draft defense (as they should!) in the first couple rounds, but do you think this changes how the team looks at guys like Mike McGlinchey, Kolton Miller, Orlando Brown? To be fair free agency is just getting started and like you said now the Pats have a bit of extra cap space to use.
Id feel ok with Waddle signed. He’s looked solid when in there. Not sure why they only had Solder on 2 yr deal. Would feel better with him protecting the left side.