Here’s a look at the biggest orders of business for the New England Patriots as they prepare for the 2019 season.
1. Extend or restructure Tom Brady’s contract
Brady’s contract will register as a $27 million cap hit. The Patriots quarterback is known to take a discount for New England, and that figure isn’t exactly cheap. Perhaps an adjustment is coming.
Brady’s deal, like most NFL contracts, is backloaded, meaning the most expensive years come at the end. With his figure increasing and his contract set to expire after 2019, will the Patriots and Brady get together to extend his deal for a few more years?
He wants to play until he’s 45. The Patriots don’t have to extend his deal to that point — but it might be worth extending it past 2019. An extension could alleviate some of Brady’s cap hit. It would also alleviate pressing questions as to why Brady’s deal ends after the upcoming season.
2. Divvy up coaching responsibilities after turnover
Here’s a list of the coaches who left in 2018: de-facto defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brian Flores, receivers coach Chad O’Shea, cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer, defensive line coach Brendan Daly and assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski.
That’s a long list. On defense, they’re left with just incumbent safeties coach Steve Belichick.
Belichick has already made a series of hires, most notably bringing in Greg Schiano to take over as the defensive coordinator. With so many key cogs leaving, Belichick will have to ensure the transition goes smoothly.
3. Solve the puzzle of Trey Flowers
In some years, a free agent like Flowers might float under the radar. He’s a strong edge player, but he lacks production and he fails the eye test. He’s not shredded, nor a tall or long athlete. His nickname is “technique” because he needs to have excellent technique to contribute to the Patriots defense. Those contributions have been enormous. Apparently, word is out about Flowers, perhaps because Belichick’s web of influence extends to Detroit, Tennessee, Houston and Miami. Belichick’s former coaches and personnel executives may already be eying Flowers. At a certain point, Belichick will walk away from the negotiation table — and with an edge rusher, he might do that far sooner than the other bidders around the league.
So if Flowers’ contract exceeds the Patriots’ spending limit, which seems to be growing increasingly likely, they need to have a few contingency plans in the draft and free agency. Lucky for the Patriots, there’s a handful of tweener linebackers and defensive ends who could alleviate the stress of Flowers’ departure, even if they can’t play his true position. Anthony Barr, Brandon Graham and Preston Smith will all be available, and could present value after the major dominoes, like Flowers, have fallen.
4. Fill a potentially barren depth chart at tight end and receiver
Julian Edelman is the only sure thing the Patriots have on contract through 2019.
Gronk? He might retire.
Dwayne Allen? He might get cut.
Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson? They are pending free agents.
Josh Gordon? He’s a restricted free agent who carries tremendous risk of a reinstated suspension, even if he returns in time for training camp.
The Patriots have a group of young, unproven receivers. And it’s fair to imagine some of the players above will return. Gronk may not retire. Gordon might stick around because the price will be right for the Patriots. But it’s not clear how much the Patriots can rely upon Gronk or Gordon for the entire season. They’ll need top-end help.
5. Does a young quarterback catch Bill Belichick’s eye?
The Patriots would be wise to extend Brady, but that shouldn’t deter them from shopping around for a quarterback. Here are a few ideas.
- Trade up in the 2019 draft to nab Kyler Murray as a developmental talent. (Or trade up for another top prospect like Drew Lock or Dwayne Haskins.)
- If the Arizona Cardinals, who are picking at No. 1 overall, are interested in drafting a quarterback, the Patriots could trade for their incumbent starting quarterback Josh Rosen, who was a top-10 pick in 2018.
- New England could also try to trade for Derek Carr, if the Oakland Raiders decided to draft a quarterback. (Carr’s massive contract would probably prove too problematic.)
- The Patriots could patrol free agency to find a diamond in the rough like Trevor Seimian.
- And of course, they could draft a quarterback themselves. The Patriots might have as many as six picks in the first three rounds when considering that they might earn two third-round compensatory picks. During those first three rounds, the Patriots could find a good value quarterback.
