Couple of interesting visits being reported today, with veterans Chris Long and Eric Weddle taking a tour of Gillette Stadium and possibly working out for the Patriots. Neither position, defensive end nor safety, are among the top needs for the Pats, which makes the possible additions of these two players interesting.
Note – Tom E. Curran just tweeted this so take the Weddle visit with a grain of salt:
While he surely could visit at some point, Eric Weddle is not in Foxboro today to meet with Patriots
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) March 14, 2016
Let’s start with Long. Look, I don’t see how anyone could ever say no to a second overall pick who is just turning 31 in 11 days known for his high motor. There’s no question that Long’s production dipped last season, but you can never ever have too much pass rush in this league. How would Long potentially fit? Well, it’s certainly a log jam with Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones and Jabaal Sheard atop the depth chart, with second-year players Tre Flowers and Geneo Grissom, along with Rufus Johnson in the mix.
Long has spent his career going forward, not dropping into space, something the Pats do like to do with their defensive ends at times. However, in a sub pass rusher role, where he could be moved around while also having his snaps managed a bit away from running downs, it could make sense schematically. After eight long seasons with the Rams, Long might be rejuvenated playing for a team like New England, and even a two-year deal would give the Pats a tiny bit of security with Ninkovich, Jones and Sheard all entering the last years of their deals.
As always, it will likely just come down to money, but Long is just the kind of situation where you can’t rule out him taking a low-end offer to have a shot to play with the big bad Patriots.
Ex-#Rams DE Chris Long, who is at #Patriots today, has 3 more visits this week. One is #Cowboys. Then he’ll collect himself & make a call
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2016
As for Weddle, it’s a little harder to see the fit as ideally he’d play Devin McCourty‘s free safety role. Still, Weddle can do it all on the back end and is as smart as they come. Again, the Pats are pretty set with their top three safety rotation from the last two years, with second year player Jordan Richards filling in from time to time.
So you have to wonder how Weddle would fit. Would he allow McCourty to stay at free safety at all times instead of using him in tight end coverage from time to time? Those were the snaps Duron Harmon would come on and cover the back end. Or would he compete directly with Patrick Chung for the strong safety spot who primarily plays in the box and covered tight ends on early downs? Chung is coming off his best year as a pro and is signed through 2017 with very manageable cap hits. Weddle is also three years older than Chung.
Here’s the bottom line, the Pats have given plenty of former star veterans from shitty teams a chance to come and compete for jobs, even when there isn’t a clear fit. Rodney Harrison, the last safety to make the jump from the Chargers, is a great example. With two talented guys like Long and Weddle, if you can make the finances work, it’s a no-brainer to add them to the squad and see how it all plays out.
Both players will undoubtedly have a number of teams interested, many of which will pay more than the Pats will. But we have the Patriots winning tradition going for us and you can never rule out players wanting a real chance at a ring.