The New England Patriots are still under construction. They have hit the roster limit of 90 men, but are continuing to shuffle through players despite barely getting organized team activities underway.
Still, they have probably made the bulk of their important moves in free agency, with the initial free agency period passing and the second wave – which doesn’t impact the compensatory pick formula – also coming and going. We’re starting to get a pretty good look at New England’s roster.
With that in mind, let’s hand out some grades for the team’s signings. Here’s a look at each signing, from bottom marks to top marks.
Terrence Brooks, S
Grade: C
Brooks signed a two-year, $3.25 million contract with the Patriots, which includes $1.305 million in guarantees. That’s a fairly significant deal for a player who stood out mostly on special teams. It seems Brooks will take over the role vacated by Jordan Richards, a special teams standout (who was not really a safety).
Brandon Bolden, RB
Grade: C
While his deal is for two years and $3.7 million, he is guaranteed $2 million at signing, which is one of the top figures among the 2019 free agent class. The Patriots know they want Bolden on their roster in 2019 to contribute on special teams. And it will likely be almost exclusively special teams, because the team’s running back depth chart is deep. So why did they pay him so much?
Benjamin Watson, TE
Grade: C+
The Patriots may be paying Watson handsomely at $3 million for one year, though it’s not totally clear how much of that money is guaranteed. That seems a bit rich for a 38-year-old tight end who has faded in recent seasons — and was widely considered a bust during his first stint in New England. What if Watson again struggles to work with Brady? What if Watson’s game has hit a full-stop?
Phillip Dorsett, WR
Grade: B-
Dorsett clearly struggled to garner interest in free agency, which must have been why he returned the Patriots for $2.5 million with just $500,000 guaranteed. Even so, there’s a good chance Dorsett doesn’t make the team, considering how many players with upside will be in the building. Dorsett is a known quantity — he’s a terrific teammate and a hard worker. But he hasn’t put up production in New England’s offense.
Dontrelle Inman, WR
Grade: B-
We’ve yet to see the terms of this deal, so that could slightly adjust where this grade falls. But in all likelihood, it’s a very small deal that forces Inman to prove his worth to New England. Inman is worth a shot for the Patriots, considering how productive he was during a 2016 campaign when he had 58 receptions for 810 yards and four touchdowns. But Inman is anything but a roster lock. He’ll be in competition for a depth role in New England.
Matt LaCosse, TE
Grade: B-
LaCosse doesn’t do any one thing well. He doesn’t do anything poorly. He needs improvement as a pass-catcher and blocker, but isn’t a liability. The signings of Watson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins mean that LaCosse will have a tough fight for a roster spot. At two years and $2.8 million with $500,000 guaranteed, the Patriots can walk away from LaCosse, though they’d have to see him as a sunk cost.
John Simon, LB
Grade: B
Simon doesn’t have a big name. He doesn’t put up huge stats. But he’s a good football player who doesn’t make many mistakes and has enough versatility to play in the Patriots’ tricky edge linebacker role, which has been a carousel of talent since Rob Ninkovich retired. Simon manned that position fairly well in 2018, and could share the spot with rookie Chase Winovich in 2019.
Jonathan Jones, CB
Grade: B
The Patriots’ decision to tender Jones at a second-round level means he will earn $3 million in 2019. That shows the value of cornerbacks in today’s NFL and the amount of trust the Patriots have in Jones. Even though his contract doesn’t seem like much, he got one of the biggest per-year sums from the Patriots this offseason. He played well on special teams in 2018, and even displayed surprising skill in shutting down Tyreek Hill in last year’s AFC championship. While it was surprising that Jones got Hill as an assignment, that served as a precursor to this solid contract.
Maurice Harris, WR
Grade: B
The Patriots like Harris’ upside. Even the Washington Redskins, who let him walk in free agency, liked Harris’ potential. It’s just that “injuries” impeded the receiver’s development, according to Redskins coach Jay Gruden. Availability is of the utmost importance, and if he can’t stay healthy in New England, he’s unlikely to make the team. But after watching the film of his 10-catch, 124-yard performance against the Falcons, you can see that he’s worth a shot, especially with just $90,000 guaranteed.
Ryan Allen, P
Grade: B+
The Patriots are not committed to Allen, and his contract reflects that. He is guaranteed just $100,000 on a one-year deal. The Patriots also drafted a punter in the fifth round in Stanford’s Jake Bailey to compete with Allen. Clearly, the Patriots wanted to bring in more competition for Allen. They’ve afforded themselves the financial flexibility to do that. And if Allen wins the job, the Patriots end up with a really good directional punter on a small deal.
Jason McCourty, CB
Grade: B+
The Patriots retained one of their top three cornerbacks from the 2018 season, when the secondary was one of the strongest groups in the NFL. And somehow, they retained McCourty for two years at $10 million. That’s a great deal if he continues to start in 75 percent of games, depending upon the matchup. The only problem is that the Patriots are even deeper at cornerback in 2019. There’s a chance McCourty’s snaps diminish next season.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE
Grade: B+
The Patriots signed arguably the second-best tight end in free agency to a one-year deal worth $895,000. They guaranteed him just $50,000. Seferian-Jenkins comes with a long injury history, as he struggles to finish the season. That’s largely why the former second-round pick hasn’t lived up to his billing when he came out of college. But if he does in New England, they’ve got a terrific pass-catching tight end. If he’s more of the same, the Patriots wasted the least possible amount of money on him.
Jared Veldheer, OT
Grade: B+
While the Oakland Raiders scooped up tackle Trent Brown off the free agency market less than an hour after the new league year began, the Patriots waited months to pull the trigger on Veldheer. And that may just work out for New England. The signing won’t impact the Patriots’ compensatory pick formula, which is a plus. Veldheer may also be the starter at left tackle for a few games, if Isaiah Wynn isn’t physically prepared to start in his second season after missing his whole rookie season in 2018 due to an Achilles injury. But even if Veldheer is the team’s backup tackle, he’ll likely contribute, which is a good find for the Patriots in May.
Demaryius Thomas, WR
Grade: B+
Here come a handful of excuses for Thomas’ past two seasons. When his numbers began to regress in Denver in 2017 and 2018, his quarterbacks were Case Keenum, Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch. Maybe Thomas’ game is in decline, but surely, those players exacerbated the issue. With the Houston Texans, Thomas struggled as well, and while he didn’t have the excuse of a bad quarterback — Deshaun Watson is quite good — Thomas was adjusting to a new playbook during the middle of a season. That’s not easy to do. Then he suffered his Achilles injury.
So if Thomas comes back to the Patriots fully healed, he and Tom Brady might be able to get on the same page for a productive season. If the Patriots’ depth chart at tight end is any indicator, New England plans to use a lot of three- and four-receiver sets. That could often include Thomas, whose contract is worth up to $2.9 million with only $150,000 guaranteed. That’s nothing for a potential starting wideout.
Josh Gordon, WR
Grade: B+
Getting Gordon for $2 million for one year is a steal. Surely, the Patriots had this contract in mind when they traded for him last offseason. On the other hand, Gordon may not be able to contribute at all in 2019. This grade factors in the risk that Gordon may be lost to his suspension. However, the NFL has indicated that it hopes to get Gordon mentally and emotionally ready to return to football by training camp. If he comes back, Gordon could be a fun player to watch working with Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry and Thomas.
Stephen Gostkowski, K
Grade: A-
Gostkowski has fallen out of favor among Patriots fans, but not for particularly good reason. He missed a few important kicks in the 2017 AFC championship game, Super Bowl LI, Super Bowl LII and Super Bowl LIII. However, he played well in the Patriots’ most recent playoff run, when he missed just one kick over three games. He got paid like a top-five or six kicker, because he is a top-five or six kicker. And retaining kickers, even ones that are occasionally shaky, is an enormously important thing to do in the NFL.
Mike Pennel, DT
Grade: A-
The Patriots landed a player who may have been underused in New York. He was buried behind defensive tackles Leonard Williams, Henry Anderson and Steve McLendon. And still, Pennel outplayed all of them, according to Pro Football Focus. New England found a diamond in the rough — Pennel is likely to be a Day 1 starter, even if he came with a reasonable price tag (two years, $5 million).
