Trent Brown

Trent Brown Expected To Reach Free Agency; Michael Onwenu Addresses Extension Talks

January 3rd, 2024 at 12:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Among the list of shortcomings in New England this season, the team’s tackle position — a concern during the offseason — has seen its expected starters run into health shortcomings. Riley Reiff played in just one game during the most injury-plagued season of his career, and Trent Brown has seen injuries intervene once again.

In Year 3 of his second Patriots stint, Brown has missed five games. Ankle and knee injuries have hampered the Pats’ starting left tackle, but some internal frustration with the big-bodied blocker has developed within the building, according to the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi.

Brown, 30, has not started a game since Dec. 3, though he has played in two since that contest while missing two more during this span. The Patriots removed Brown from their injury report last week but made him a healthy scratch. Indicating some believe he has prioritized — as this season has gone south — making it to free agency healthy, Giardi adds (via NESN.com) Brown has also caused issues with tardiness. It does not look like Brown will be re-signed before free agency, and the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed points to a likely separation taking place soon.

“We already had that opportunity. We have had plenty of opportunities to get that done,” Brown said of a Patriots extension, via Sophie Weller of A to Z Sports. “I mean, I’m not opposed to it, but we are at the end of the season. … It’d be kind of like, I feel like I’d be kind of doing myself a disservice to not see what other opportunities are out there, just at this point.”

After working as the Pats’ left tackle on their Super Bowl LIII-winning team, Brown did remarkably well as a free agent back in 2019. The Raiders gave him a then-tackle-record four-year, $66MM accord. Brown made the 2019 Pro Bowl, but a COVID-19-marred 2020 season — a campaign in which he played five games — led to the Raiders trading him back to the Patriots. Playing both left and right tackle since returning to Foxborough, Brown has started 33 games in his second Pats stint.

The Patriots have Brown on a two-year, $13MM deal that features weight bonuses and playing-time incentives. The team added the usage-based bumps this year, but Brown’s health issues have impeded him on that front. The former 49ers draftee also expected the Patriots to give him another contract after last season, when he played 17 games. Nothing transpired, and the ninth-year tackle is two months from free agency.

“It would have been done when they said it was going to get done. When I signed the last one,” Brown said, via Weller, of his contract. “The one I signed two years ago, I was told that I would, if I had a good year then I would; we should get it fixed. It never happened.”

Pro Football Focus grades Brown as this season’s No. 10 overall tackle. Even considering his unreliability with regards to health, the 370-pound lineman will be poised to generate interest once again on the market. As of now, Brown is positioned to join Jonah Williams, Tyron Smith, Mekhi Becton and Patriots teammate Michael Onwenu as notable tackles in free agency. Brown and Onwenu departing would give the Pats work to do up front, as both have been regulars for years.

Onwenu may generate interest at two positions, considering he has spent extensive time at both tackle and guard as a pro. The former sixth-round pick has been a regular Pats starter for most of his career, but he said (via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss) extension discussions have not picked up. Onwenu said discussions have taken place, but it does not sound like they have been substantive. While mentioned in trade rumors before the deadline, Onwenu joined contract-year cogs Kyle Dugger and Josh Uche in being retained. All are weeks away from free agency.

With Reiff unavailable, the Patriots kicked Onwenu back outside midway through this season. PFF rates the Michigan product in the top 30 among tackles. Although the Pats have paid for their offensive deficiencies in the form of a 4-12 season, they have seen productive tackle play — when Brown is available, that is. The team has until the March legal tampering period to keep Brown and/or Onwenu off the market. Not doing so will obviously create major needs up front. It remains to be seen if Bill Belichick will be making those decisions.

Patriots Notes: Dugger, Cunningham, Offseason

December 21st, 2023 at 9:18pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots have 15 impending unrestricted free agents, a group that’s headlined by safety Kyle Dugger. The former second-round pick has turned into one of New England’s most dependable defenders, but there’s a good chance he hits free agency after the season.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, “prior extension talks didn’t generate much momentum” towards a long-term deal, leading to the belief that Dugger wants to test the market. The Patriots are armed with a bit of leverage, as the team could choose to slap Dugger with the franchise tag. Doug Kyed previously noted that the franchise tag could be in play if the two sides don’t agree to a long-term deal. The 2023 franchise tag value for safeties was at $14.46MM.

Dugger previously expressed an interest in sticking around New England, but there haven’t been many updates this season regarding an extension. The fourth-year player has started all 14 games for the Patriots in 2023, collecting 88 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

More notes out of New England…

There’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding Bill Belichick‘s future in New England. Regardless of who’s running the Patriots front office this offseason, Doug Kyed of the Boston Globe expects the organization to spend big. Thanks to the league’s cash-spending floor, the Patriots will need to spend at least $98MM to hit the $216MM requirement. The front office should have far more money to play with; if the Patriots take a similar approach to their pricey 2021 offseason, Kyed projects that they could commit upwards of $194MM to free agency (especially via signing bonuses).
Belichick told reporters that the Patriots attempted to keep quarterback Malik Cunningham before he landed on the Ravens’ active roster. The undrafted rookie spent the entire season shuffling between New England’s active roster and practice squad, with the organization experimenting with the player at both quarterback and wide receiver. As Reiss notes, the Ravens ultimately sold Cunningham on their system and the presence of Lamar Jackson.
Considering the Patriots’ struggles at the quarterback position this season, it was a surprise that Cunningham never got a shot to run the offense. Offensive tackle Trent Brown told Sophie Weller of AtoZ.com that “everybody on the team” thought the rookie should get a look under center. Brown also admitted that Baltimore was an ideal spot for his former teammate. “It’s funny because I told him months ago if they ever called, if anybody, that’s the team where he should go,” Brown said of the Ravens. “It was almost like I saw it coming…And that’s really good for him to actually get a real chance to play his real position.”
Tight end Mike Gesicki inked a one-year deal with the Patriots this offseason, but things haven’t gone as planned during his first season with the team. Through 14 games, the veteran has hauled in 22 catches for 189 yards and one touchdown, and he’s on pace for his lowest offensive output since his rookie campaign. Despite the struggles, Gesicki is remaining positive about his experience in New England. “Control what you can control, coming in here every day and having a good attitude and being positive and enjoying it,” the tight end told Reiss. “Because at the end of the day, you’re playing in the NFL, meeting new guys, and playing for the greatest coach to ever do it. So there’s a lot of things you can take away from it. And we still have another four games. You never know how we can finish this thing and have some bright spots.”

AFC East Rumors: Eichenberg, Hines, Pats

December 10th, 2023 at 7:53pm CST by Ely Allen

With a little more time and a lot more publicity, Dolphins offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg could have a case for Comeback Player of the Year. Not really, but Eichenberg has done an impressive job of turning around his career, which was trending downwards through his first two years in the league.

An offensive tackle at Notre Dame, Eichenberg struggled as a rookie full-time starter at left tackle in Miami. In 2022, Eichenberg slid inside to the left guard spot and delivered a more admirable performance before having his season derailed by injuries.

Eichenberg opened this year as a sixth-man for the Dolphins’ offensive line, specializing on interior play. When injuries held out starting center Connor Williams, Eichenberg stepped in to complete his trifecta of starting at every position on the left side of the line. Later on, he filled in with starts at right and left guard, as well. He’s reportedly more comfortable at right guard, but the Dolphins opted to start him at left guard last week ahead of Lester Cotton, who had started there the past two weeks.

In fact, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Miami’s staff has been so impressed with Eichenberg that, barring a miraculous return by Isaiah Wynn from a significant quadriceps injury, Eichenberg could have won the starting left guard job for the remainder of the season.

Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC East:

Patriots star pass rusher Matt Judon has now missed the team’s last nine games on injured reserve. Judon has certainly missed enough time to come off of IR, but there’s been no word of that possibility yet. According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, when head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the possibility of Judon returning this year, the long-time skipper replied, “We’ll see. That’s a good question.” He continued, “I know he’s working hard. Matt’s been in here, works hard on a daily basis, but again, that’s a medical question that I wouldn’t be able to answer.”
When Bills running back Nyheim Hines suffered an off-site jet ski injury that would end his 2023 season before it even began, that put the veteran rusher in an uncomfortable position concerning his contract. Since the injury occurred away from play, Hines was placed on the non-football injury list, “which technically doesn’t require the team to pay him anything,” per Zak Keefer of The Athletic. Hines was out millions in incentives and bonuses. It took the two sides a few months to hammer out the details, but eventually, they “agreed on a smaller sum” than the $9MM over two years that they had originally agreed to. This allows the Bills to stay on good terms with Hines when he’s able to return to the team next year while saving them from having to pay his full contract for a year in which he won’t see the field.
When it was reported that Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown failed to make the trip to Frankfurt with the team for personal reasons, Brown took exception to the speculation that followed. Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Brown felt the need to clarify that the reason he was unable to make the trip was because of the second opinion he sought on his ankle sprain. While he did attend a funeral during the team’s visit to Germany, he was not able to spend much personal time with his family as he was due back in New England for rehab.

NFL Injury Rumors: Seahawks, Woods, Ward

November 22nd, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks already face a tall task tomorrow night as they host the 49ers in the last of the three Thanksgiving Day matchups. That challenge is only made more difficult by the fact that Seattle is dealing with multiple injuries to key players as quarterback Geno Smith and running back Kenneth Walker both head into tomorrow with injury designations.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier today that Smith hadn’t been able to test his bruised elbow much at all yet in the short week. Smith spent today’s practice determining just how much he could throw in order to set expectations on his availability for tomorrow. Later on in the afternoon, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo relayed that “all indications have (Smith) tracking to play” against the rival 49ers Thursday night.

In the case of Walker, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Walker suffered an “oblique strain that was legit,” per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It sounds, based on Carroll’s press talks, that Walker is in danger of missing some time, but Schefter went on to report that the team doesn’t consider him to be an injured reserve candidate. Walker likely would’ve missed a week on regular rest, but with a short week, it would be extremely unlikely for Walker to make an appearance tomorrow, hence his doubtful game status.

In addition to Smith and Walker, the Seahawks will also be without rookie safety and special teams standout Jerrick Reed II, who reportedly tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season, according to Schefter. The sixth-round New Mexico product hasn’t been asked to do much on defense this year but is currently third on the team in special teams tackles.

Here are a few more injury rumors from around the league:

The Colts placed second-year tight end Jelani Woods on IR with a hamstring injury just prior to the start of the season in order to open up a roster spot for wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. It became a given, at that point, that Woods would miss at least the team’s first four games, but to date, he has yet to make his 2023 debut. He’s eligible for activation from IR, but according to Joel A. Erickson of FOX59/CBS4, Woods experienced a setback in his rehabilitation with his opposite hamstring that will keep him from returning for now. Head coach Shane Steichen stated that he “does not know” if it will be a season-ending setback.
The Browns may sport one of the league’s best defenses this year, but their secondary is limping into Week 12 as all four starters hold questionable game statuses as of Wednesday. Safeties Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill and cornerback Greg Newsome II all hold a decent chance of playing on Sunday, but cornerback Denzel Ward is dealing with a shoulder injury that may not only hold him out of this weekend’s game but perhaps beyond that, as well, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The team isn’t quite ready to rule Ward out yet, but they are bracing themselves for the idea that they will be without him for multiple games.
We have seen high ankle sprains claim the playing time of multiple players this season. Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown sought out a second opinion on his ankle injury yesterday, per Mike Reiss of ESPN, and was diagnosed with both high- and low-ankle sprains, as well as an MCL sprain. Players have missed time with less, but Brown reportedly plans to play through the ankle and knee injuries.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Patriots, Eichenberg

November 17th, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Buffalo-Kansas City has been one of the 2020s’ defining NFL rivalries. The AFC squads have played five times this decade, twice in the playoffs, with the Chiefs’ two postseason wins playing a role in the Bills‘ roster construction. The AFC powers’ plans intersected during the 2022 first round as well. When the Chiefs moved up from No. 29 to No. 21 in the ’22 first round, they took the player the Bills eyed. The Bills sought Trent McDuffie with their top pick last year, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, but the Chiefs were able to make a deal with the Patriots to move in front of Buffalo.

The fallout from this miss became costly for the Bills, whose subsequent trade-up — from No. 25 to No. 23 — produced Kaiir Elam, who has been unable to earn steady playing time. As Elam has vacillated between backup or emergency starter and healthy scratch, McDuffie has progressed in Kansas City. Pro Football Focus rates McDuffie eighth overall among corners; the Washington product has been a central part of the Chiefs’ defensive improvement this season.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

The Patriots opted not to sell at the trade deadline, keeping the door open for longer-term futures with some of their contract-year players. New England held onto Josh Uche, Michael Onwenu and Kyle Dugger despite interest coming in before the deadline. Dugger has become a player teams are monitoring ahead of free agency, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noting some teams view the Division II alum as the 2024 UFA class’ second-best safety — behind the Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. This year’s safety market producing only one contract north of $8MM per year (Jessie Bates‘ outlier $16MM-AAV accord) could impact Dugger, but it is clear the former second-round pick will be costly for the Pats to retain.
Benched in Week 9 and left in the States ahead of the Patriots’ Week 10 Germany trip, J.C. Jackson was initially believed to have arrived late at the team hotel the night before the Pats-Commanders game. But the recently reacquired corner did not show up at all that night, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss notes. Jack Jones missed curfew as well, but Reiss adds the since-waived corner did surface later. Both players were benched for Week 9, and despite Jackson’s unavailability, the Patriots further limited Jones against the Colts. Jackson is expected to remain with the Pats, but the ballhawk has not escaped the rough patch that began last year in Los Angeles.
Trent Brown did not make the trip to Frankfurt for personal reasons, and Reiss adds the veteran tackle’s missed game will affect his recently reworked contract. Including $88K per game in roster bonuses, the Patriots set playing-time thresholds for additional Brown escalators as well. The starting LT would collect $1MM for playing 75% of the team’s offensive snaps this season. Hovering at 75% after Week 9, Brown has now missed two games. The low end of this incentive structure is 65%, which Reiss notes will pay out $750K. He would receive another $750K by hitting the 70% snap barrier.
Dolphins contract-year guard Robert Hunt will miss a second straight game due to a hamstring injury. As a result, Liam Eichenberg will complete a rare NFL feat. The 2021 second-round pick began the week practicing at left guard, his primary 2022 position, but the swingman moved to right guard midway through practice this week, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes. The Dolphins view Eichenberg as more comfortable there. Once Eichenberg replaces Hunt on Sunday, he will have started at all five O-line positions as a pro. While the converted tackle could not retain his LG job to start this season, having accomplished this O-line tour of sorts in his third season is certainly noteworthy. Lester Cotton will start at left guard for the Dolphins, who are uncertain to have LG first-stringer Isaiah Wynn back this season.

AFC East Notes: Patriots, Ramsey, Bills

October 12th, 2023 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

While this year featured a modest receiver market, the Patriots made an important update to their pass-catching corps by letting Jakobi Meyers walk and replacing him with JuJu Smith-Schuster. Meyers signed a three-year, $33MM deal with the Raiders, and the Patriots added Smith-Schuster for three years and $25.5MM soon after. Guarantee-wise, however, Smith-Schuster’s $16MM matched Meyers’ locked-in sum. The Pats were believed to be unwilling to go to $16MM guaranteed for Meyers, though Bill Belichick said this week (via MassLive.com’s Chris Mason) the former UDFA find was a priority for the team.

Belichick confirmed the sides engaged in discussions, and the legendary HC said the parties were “relatively” close to a deal. At the time, it did not appear these talks were too close to producing a deal; the Pats were believed to be leery of Meyers’ price tag. Meyers’ comments in the wake of Smith-Schuster’s signing suggested he did not view the Patriots as especially eager to bring him back. Meyers has enjoyed a solid start back with Josh McDaniels. The four-year Patriot, despite missing a game due to a concussion, has 25 receptions for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Smith-Schuster, who led Chiefs wide receivers in yardage by a wide margin last season, is at 14-86-0 through five games.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

Jalen Ramsey‘s meniscus surgery altered the Dolphins‘ cornerback plans significantly, and a return as late as December entered the equation following the procedure. But the 4-1 team looks to be eyeing a Ramsey return commencing a bit sooner. When asked if he could see Ramsey coming back in November, cornerbacks coach Sam Madison responded in the affirmative. “Yeah, speaking with trainers, he looks really good,” Madison said, via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. “Very hopeful and looking forward to getting him on the field.” This marks the biggest chunk of time Ramsey has missed as a pro. Following his March arrival from Los Angeles, Ramsey agreed to a redone contract that guaranteed his 2024 salary, which will provide security after this abbreviated season.
Weeks 4 and 5 gutted the Bills‘ defense. The unit lost its top cornerback, top linebacker and its best interior D-lineman. Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones are each on IR. On that note, ESPN.com’s Graziano offers that the Bills should be expected to look around for defensive help ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline. With Von Miller in his age-34 season and Stefon Diggs turning 30 next month, this certainly profiles as a critical season for the Bills — especially on the heels of a one-sided playoff loss. The team has each of its picks in the first five rounds next year and holds three sixth-rounders. Early-season trades point to the Round 6 selections being relevant regarding potential Buffalo additions.
The Bills fired COO John Roth and senior VP/general counsel Kathryn D’Angelo for engaging in an inappropriate romantic relationship, The Athletic’s Tim Graham reports (subscription required). Roth, whom the Bills promoted this summer, served as D’Angelo’s superior. This issue surfaced in London. Although D’Angelo joined Roth in reporting to owner Terry Pegula, Graham adds Roth recommended her promotion. Josh Dziurlikowski will serve as the team’s interim COO, per Graham, moving up from senior VP of finance and business administration.
In September, the Patriots added $2MM in incentives to Trent Brown‘s contract. Details have emerged, via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss, who notes the adjustment includes $250K in per-game roster bonuses. Seven tiers of playing-time incentives now exist in Brown’s deal, with a $250K payoff in place for hitting each. Brown’s cap number dropped by $375K as well, settling in at $12.21MM. A 2024 void year is now in place, with the Pats set for a $2MM dead-money hit if they do not re-sign Brown before the 2024 league year starts. Brown signed a two-year, $13MM deal in 2022. The veteran tackle, who missed 19 games from 2019-21, has been available for four New England contests this season.

Patriots Not Adding Matt Corral To Practice Squad; Team Adjusts Trent Brown’s Contract

September 20th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:47pm: Some may notice Corral’s presence on the wire today designating that he was taking a visit with his now former team in New England. According to Kyed, this is solely a formality. Kyed informs that “teams are required to report if a free agent is in the building” and Corral was at the facility this morning. His visit, though, had no bearing on his status with the team. Kyed reports that Corral’s relationship with the team is currently unchanged.

11:27am: After Matt Corral cleared waivers Tuesday, the Patriots were believed to have added the young quarterback to their practice squad. While this would mark yet another roster designation for the 2022 third-round pick, it has not come to fruition.

Corral has not returned to the Pats on a practice squad deal, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald notes. While the Ole Miss product was on track to come back on a P-squad pact, Kyed adds he is no longer expected to do so.

The Pats claimed Corral off waivers from the Panthers shortly after roster cutdown day, and while the raw QB prospect practiced with the team for more than a week, he left the team without providing notice and ended up on the exempt/left squad list. The Patriots removed Corral from that list Monday, and no team claimed him. As of now, the Matt Rhule-era Panthers pickup’s career is in limbo.

Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe reside as the quarterbacks on New England’s active roster, while rookie UDFA Malik Cunningham is on the team’s P-squad. Teams rarely keep two passers on practice squads, but the Pats had intended to develop Corral, who spent all of last season on the Panthers’ IR due to a Lisfranc injury. While Carolina was interested in bringing Corral back on a P-squad deal, he is unattached as of Wednesday.

The Patriots briefly demoted Zappe, waiving the 2022 fourth-round pick before extending a P-squad opportunity. Zappe quickly moved back to the active roster, returning after the Corral partnership began to fizzle. Upon returning to the active roster, the Western Kentucky product remains signed through 2025, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. Zappe’s rookie contract ran through 2025, as all drafted players’ initial NFL deals span four years. Despite Zappe spending a short time on the practice squad after struggling in Bill O’Brien‘s system this summer, he is back on track.

Additionally, the Patriots added $2MM in incentives to Trent Brown‘s contract, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes. Brown is attached to a two-year, $13MM deal he signed during the 2022 offseason. It is unclear what benchmarks Brown must hit to cash in, but the Patriots have dangled incentives for the veteran tackle previously. The team put weight-related clauses in Brown’s Raiders-constructed, Pats-adjusted deal in 2021 and included more in his current pact. Barring an extension, the team’s left tackle starter remains on track to hit free agency again in 2024.

OL Notes: Vikings, Bengals, Pats, Nijman

September 14th, 2023 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Garrett Bradbury suffered a back injury last season, and the Vikings center saw his absence extended after he aggravated the malady in a car accident. Bradbury missed the Vikings’ final five regular-season games but returned for the team’s wild-card loss. The Vikings circled back to the former first-round pick in March, re-signing him to a three-year, $15.75MM deal. That contract becomes a pay-as-you go accord after 2023, and Bradbury has run into familiar trouble. The Vikings ruled out the fifth-year center for their Thursday-night game in Philadelphia due to a back injury.

“We felt positive about him, and he’s done everything and had no issues whatsoever through a pretty physical training camp for us to feel really good about it,” Kevin O’Connell said (via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert) of Bradbury’s back issue. “It’s just how this game goes sometimes, and he’s a tough guy, big part of the interior of our offensive line and we’ll hope to get him back as soon as we can.”

Austin Schlottmann, who returned last week after a broken leg ended his 2022 season, is set to start at center against the Eagles. Here is the latest from the O-line landscape:

The Bengals completed an unexpected transaction this week, releasing La’el Collins from the reserve/PUP list. The team had given Collins a three-year, $21MM deal to step in at right tackle, which he did for 15 games. But ACL and MCL tears ended his 2022 season in Week 16 and prevented him from starting this season on time. The Bengals have Jonah Williams at right tackle opposite big-ticket UFA addition Orlando Brown Jr., but Jackson Carman — who replaced Williams at LT in the playoffs last season — is not the top backup any longer. D’Ante Smith, a 2021 fourth-round pick, is positioned as Cincinnati’s swing tackle now, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Carman has started two playoff games but lost three position battles in his three training camps. Viewed as a project coming out of East Carolina, Smith has played 56 career offensive snaps.
Reliability questions surrounded the Patriots‘ offensive line, and the team responded accordingly when setting its 53-man roster. Before Riley Reiff ended up on IR, the Patriots submitted an initial 53 with 11 O-linemen. No other team’s first 53 included that many, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com observes. Only seven teams kept 10 blockers, though that is where New England’s contingent stands after the Reiff move. The Pats needed to use this depth early. Calvin Anderson, who came off the Pats’ reserve/non-football illness list late in the preseason, started at right tackle in Week 1. Guards Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu were out, moving fourth- and fifth-round rookies — Sidy Sow, Atonio Mafi — into the lineup. Onwenu and Strange have each logged two limited practices this week, though both Sow and left tackle Trent Brown suffered concussions in the opener, leaving their Week 2 statuses in doubt.
The Commanders, Packers and Vikings each restructured an O-line deal recently. Washington created $6MM in cap space by moving $7.5MM of Charles Leno‘s base salary into a signing bonus and adding three void years, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. Green Bay topped that by adding four void years to Yosh Nijman‘s deal, creating $2.54MM in cap space, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. This proves interesting due to Nijman being on a second-round RFA tender; he is due to be a 2024 free agent. Minnesota added $9.99MM in space by restructuring Brian O’Neill‘s contract, per Yates.

Do Patriots Need To Pursue An Upgrade At Tackle?

June 14th, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

As second-stint Patriots OC Bill O’Brien installs his offense, the team has seen improved form — in June, that is — from Mac Jones. Following a strange season that featured a career defensive coach given the play-calling reins on offense, New England looks to be in better shape on the whole on that side of the ball.

The team also has a strong interior offensive line contingent, being set to use the Cole Strange–David Andrews–Michael Onwenu trio it played inside last season. But New England may have an issue at tackle. Trent Brown missed the start of the team’s minicamp this week and could not finish practice Tuesday, per NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran, who notes the mammoth left tackle needed to be relocated to a side field for conditioning work.

Brown signed a two-year, $13MM deal to stay with the Patriots in 2022 and was moved to the left side — where he played in 2018 to set up a monster Raiders payday — last summer. But the veteran blocker has struggled to stay on the field for many years. Brown did play all 17 games last season but missed eight in 2021, 11 in 2020, five in 2019 and six in 2017.

The Patriots have included weight bonuses in Brown’s latest contract. They indicate a preference against Brown playing above 365 pounds, with the bonuses — totaling $750K — rewarding the 6-foot-8 tackle for moving down below that weight over the offseason. Brown carries the Pats’ third-highest cap figure this year ($12.25MM), though only $3MM is guaranteed ahead of Week 1. The former 49ers draft pick worked out on his own this offseason, skipping OTAs. Releasing Brown would create $8MM in cap space for the Pats, though that might be premature given his talent when available.

New England was linked to potentially diving into the robust right tackle market in March. But the top options (Mike McGlinchey, Jawaan Taylor, Kaleb McGary) landed elsewhere. It is not exactly uncharacteristic — 2021 notwithstanding — for the Patriots to stand down in free agency, but their O-line does not include a player earning more than $6.5MM on average. Rather than move into the deep waters at right tackle, the Pats added 12th-year veteran Riley Reiff on a one-year, $5MM deal. That contract features more guaranteed money ($4.15MM) than the Pats gave Brown on his two-year pact, but Reiff entered last season as a Bears backup and missed the second half of the 2021 campaign due to injury.

Reiff did emerge as the Bears’ right tackle starter midway through the season, and Pro Football Focus tabbed him as a middle-of-the-road starter (51st, eight spots behind Brown). But he will turn 35 later this year and, per MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian, spent time with the backups during minicamp. The team added ex-Broncos swing tackle Calvin Anderson and re-signed Conor McDermott, whom it initially plucked off the Jets’ practice squad last season. Fourth-round pick Sidy Sow, a six-year Eastern Michigan cog, is also converting from guard to tackle ahead of his rookie year.

Regarding free agents, three-year Jets starter George Fant (60 career starts) may be the best available. Multi-stint Patriot Marcus Cannon is also unattached, but the Pats look to have their swing spots covered. The Titans released former Pro Bowler Taylor Lewan in February, but knee trouble is threatening to cut the former first-rounder’s career short.

The Bengals’ deep right tackle competition, which is pitting Jonah Williams against La’el Collins and Jackson Carman, is worth monitoring for every team with a shaky tackle situation. Collins’ status, in particular, will be notable once he recovers from the ACL tear he sustained in December. The rebuilding Cardinals now have a healthy D.J. Humphries and a re-signed Kelvin Beachum joining first-rounder Paris Johnson and primary Humphries 2022 fill-in Josh Jones.

New England has a recent history obtaining a starting tackle via offseason trade, nabbing Brown from San Francisco in April 2018 and then reacquiring him in March 2021. Brown’s performance — during his age-25 season — helped the Patriots to their sixth Super Bowl win and earned him a then-tackle-record deal in 2019. Isaiah Wynn, who succeeded Brown in 2019, did not pan out as a Patriot, despite effective stretches, and signed with the Dolphins this offseason.

The Pats passed on the opportunity to draft Broderick Jones in Round 1 this year, trading out of No. 14 to give the Steelers that opening, indicating relative confidence their tackle plan will hold up. But Brown’s health and fitness level again looms as crucial to a team attempting to develop a first-round quarterback. After the Matt Patricia–Joe Judge experiment led to a Jones step back last year, the team is exiting minicamp with a potentially glaring issue on its offensive front.

Patriots DT Lawrence Guy Seeking New Deal

June 12th, 2023 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

One of the Patriots’ longest-tenured players was a no-show at the first day of mandatory minicamp. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, defensive tackle Lawrence Guy didn’t report to the Patriots on Monday and is reportedly seeking a reworked deal.

Per Reiss, Guy wants to redo the four-year, $11.5MM deal ($24MM max value) he signed with the Patriots during the 2021 offseason. The veteran has since changed agents and is hoping to adjust his contract following what sources described as “a challenging negotiation.” Guy is set to earn $2MM this season and could earn up to another $3.5MM via incentives. The defensive tackle has no remaining guaranteed money on his contract.

Bill Belichick didn’t explicitly mention Guy’s holdout today, but he noted that the team was “working through a couple things” when it came to player absences. Per Reiss, Guy would see his daily fines balloon to almost $50K if he isn’t in the building by Wednesday.

This is a bit of a surprising development for one of the team’s few remaining Super Bowl champs. Guy spent the previous six seasons in New England, earning a spot on the organization’s All-2010s Team after starting 60 of his 62 regular-season games between 2017 and 2020.

This past season, Guy started all 14 of his appearances, finishing with 46 tackles, two sacks, and five QB hits. Pro Football Focus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance, ranking him 89th among 127 qualifying interior defenders while giving him the lowest grade of his career.

Guy wasn’t the only Patriots player not in attendance today. Per Mark Daniels of MassLive.com (on Twitter), left tackle Trent Brown also didn’t show up for the first day of minicamp. However, his absence isn’t money-related; Brown’s flight from Texas was cancelled due to weather, delaying his trip to New England.

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