Tom Brady may be their most notable player hitting free agency, but the New England Patriots have plenty of tough decisions to make with other key players.
It’s not all about Tom Brady in this free agency cycle with the New England Patriots.
Though the greatest player in franchise history will be testing the market entering his age-43 season, New England has several other key players hitting free agency this spring as well. The Patriots are about league-average when it comes to available cap space at roughly $43.2 million, but do they have enough financial resources to bring some major players back into the fold?
Among the Patriots’ most notable free agents hitting the market include guard Joe Thuney, free safety Devin McCourty, inside linebacker Kyle Van Noy and outside linebacker Jamie Collins. Collins came back to the Patriots after a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns. New England will prioritize bringing back McCourty. One would think Van Noy returns to the Patriots on a new deal.
Then, there’s Thuney, who is poised to make bank as the top offensive guard hitting free agency this year. With offensive line play being as suspect as it is in the league these days, teams with bad offensive interiors will often overpay players hitting their second contract. Since Thuney was a former third-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2016, this will be his first bite at the apple.
If the Patriots want Thuney to return, he won’t come cheap because the market will view the two-time Super Bowl champion as a high commodity. So he and Brady are the two biggest names to watch in free agency this spring regarding the Patriots, assuming McCourty does work out a deal to return to New England to play with his identical twin brother Jason McCourty.
One would think Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will move off a key player or two if he feels there’s not a lot left in the tank. It’s been a key part to all of his success since taking over in New England over two decades ago. However, the Patriots don’t have a ton of draft resources to reload this spring. Losing a second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Mohamed Sanu definitely hurts.
Overall, Brady should ask for at least $30 million annually. He’s never been paid the value he’s worth by the Patriots. That’s a tad pricey given their salary cap space, but with so many other key players hitting free agency, no, it doesn’t seem likely the Patriots will be able to bring everybody they want and then some. They will have some tough choices to make here in the coming days.