The New England Patriots are losing starters on defense — and fast. They decided to trade safety Duron Harmon to the Detroit Lions on Wednesday.
Linebacker Jamie Collins and defensive tackle Danny Shelton are also headed to the Lions. Center Ted Karras and linebacker Kyle Van Noy are headed to the Miami Dolphins. Oh yeah, and Tom Brady is expected to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That move feels like one worth mentioning.
Bill Belichick seems OK with a significant roster overhaul. It’s not a total overhaul, however. The Patriots retained safety Devin McCourty, guard Joe Thuney and special teams standout Matthew Slater, among others. They will be anchors in terms of talent and leadership for New England. But Harmon could have been the same, considering he has years of experience in Belichick’s system.
And yet, the Patriots ditched Harmon for a few late-round picks.
It all comes down to money. The Patriots free up $4.5 million in cap space by moving on from Harmon. He’ll leave behind $1.5 million in dead money, but apparently, the Patriots are content with that sunk cost when considering they can replace him. It’s not totally clear how they’ll do that. He played 65% of snaps in 2019 and played a free safety role which might be a challenge for Patrick Chung or Terrence Brooks to fill. Perhaps New England sees sufficient safety talent in the draft — or the Patriots intend to make an increased usage of their cornerbacks next season.
Ultimately, Belichick deemed Harmon an expendable asset. So he flipped him to the Lions for cap relief. Maybe it leaves a hole in the defense. Maybe Belichick trusts himself to get creative to fill the absence. It’s a typically ruthless move from Belichick, who has a reputation for moving on from starters like Harmon in just this cold, calculated fashion.
