It has been a trying month and a half for the New England Patriots.
First, in early February, the team lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Immediately after that, rumors began to circulate about the possible retirement of Rob Gronkowski. This was followed closely by the departure of Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia. Hopes were high that the Patriots could acquire a big name on defense during free agency to bolster what was clearly their weakness in the Super Bowl. Not only did the Patriots miss out on players like Aqib Talib, Richard Sherman, and Michael Bennet, but they have even lost key members from last year’s roster.
First, New England was unable to resign AFC Title Game hero, Danny Amendola. Amendola finished third on the team in both receptions and receiving yards. He has been one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets over the last five years he’s spent in Foxboro. However, Amendola has famously been taking pay cuts the last few years, something that has been viewed as a “hometown discount.” Statistically, Amendola had his best season since 2012, which was before he wore a Patriots uniform. Ultimately, Amendola wanted to be paid what he felt he deserved after a career year, and agreed to sign a three year, 24-million-dollar contract with the Miami Dolphins.
While the loss of Amendola stings the most for Patriots fans, he is far from the only New England casualty during the free agency frenzy. The next domino to fall was former all-pro cornerback Malcom Butler. The once Super Bowl hero is not a surprising loss after his benching in Super Bowl LII. Clearly, Butler had fallen out of the graces of Bill Belichick, and while we still don’t know why, it was easy to see that Butler’s time in New England was coming to an end. Butler ended up accepting a five year, 61-million-dollar contract with the Tennessee Titans, now lead by former Patriot Mike Vrabel as head coach.
Butler wasn’t the only Patriot joining the Titans. Not long after that, Dion Lewis soon agreed to terms on a contract with Tennessee. Lewis was New England’s leading rusher this past season, and looked like he was becoming a focal point of New England’s offense since getting past his injuries. However, Lewis had grown upset with his usage early in the season and in the Super Bowl, according to Mike Giardi of NBC Sports Boston. This has been a problem for New England running backs in the past, and clearly, Lewis had grown tired of the running back carousel in Foxboro. Lewis’ deal is for four years and is worth 20 million dollars. However the hardest hit to the Patriots was on the offensive line.
Nate Solder, also departing from the Patriots, accepted a four year, 62-million-dollar contract with the New York Giants. Solder had spent his entire career with the Patriots after being drafted in the first round by New England back in 2011. He has been protecting Tom Brady’s blindside for seven seasons now, and the left tackle position isn’t exactly easy to replace. Solder’s impact has been felt off the field as much as on, gaining a lot of recognition for his support of his son Hudson, who is battling kidney cancer. Being the best offensive tackle on the market, it was imperative that the Patriots keep Solder, but when the price got too high, they decided to walk away. Only time will tell if this was the right decision.
New England certainly has a lot to replace after this slew of losses in free agency. While the Patriots will be far from a rebuild as long as Tom Brady is under control, talent at key positions like cornerback and left tackle could be the difference between a Division Title and a Super Bowl.
Brady will not be around forever, and if the Patriots hope to squeeze one more championship out of him, giving him a good defense and offensive line is a good place to start.