The New England Patriots don’t want guard Joe Thuney to get away in free agency, according to MMQB’s Albert Breer.
While the Patriots had been quiet with Thuney in the days leading up to the tampering window on Monday, when all 32 teams can negotiate with pending free agents, New England has made a more aggressive push to retain Thuney. He played on the franchise tag in 2020, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick has referred to him as one of the team’s best players.
Thuney plays at left guard, but has the flexibility and talent to play any position on the offensive line in a pinch. Apparently, the Patriots want to stay in the mix, even with Thuney likely to be the highest paid guard in the NFL.
Here’s what Breer wrote on the topic:
“[W]ashington taking Brandon Scherff off the market should really help New England’s Joe Thuney. It seemed the Patriots were resigned to Thuney’s 2021 departure after tagging him last March — they had very minimal discussions on a long-term deal with him thereafter, and no progress had been made right up to when the Patriots agreed to deal for Trent Brown last week. But since then, the lines of communication have reopened, and the Patriots have expressed that they’d like to keep Thuney. Whether the sides can meet on a price remains to be seen.”
New England has plenty of talent to fill in for Thuney, if he signed elsewhere. Still, the Patriots want him back.
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