


On Monday, NFL teams will officially be allowed to discuss contracts with the representatives of impending free agents.
Let’s answer some of your burning questions in this week’s Patriots mailbag.
My educated guess is Eagles free-agent defensive tackle Milton Williams will be the first free agent they go after and their top priority.
Defensive tackle is among the Patriots’ biggest needs, and Williams might wind up being the highest-paid free agent on the open market. He’s expected to have a big market.
But the Patriots have many front-office execs who can quickly work out a deal Monday at noon when the tampering period opens up. It wouldn’t be surprising if Eliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden and Matt Groh were all making phone calls.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Charvarius Ward and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley are also expected to be priorities.
It’s a good question. Two guards (Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson) and one wide receiver (Christian Kirk) have been traded so far.
My best guess: The Patriots are prioritizing spending money at positions other than guard like at offensive and defensive tackle. They already have one high-priced guard in Mike Onwenu, and if they have to be weak at one position on their offensive line, guard isn’t the worst-case scenario.
And you should be hopeful that the Patriots are aiming higher than Kirk. Godwin would be a better fit than Kirk. And DK Metcalf and Brandon Aiyuk — both trade options — are also better.
Realistically, one tackle would probably only get you another win or so, but with how bad the Patriots’ tackles were last season, especially on Drake Maye’s blind side, an improvement at left tackle might have got you two extra wins last season.
So, signing Stanley would be huge for the Patriots next week.
Apparently it is for NFL players.
I understand that NFL players might not want to move to the northeast, but I can’t understand why it would be a less attractive destination than the midwest. At least New England isn’t landlocked, and sure, it gets cold up here, but no colder than Minnesota or Green Bay.
I think the franchise is moving in the right direction under Mike Vrabel, but I certainly can’t tell anyone what to do with their $3,400. It should serve as a wake-up call to ownership that fans are even having this dilemma.
It’s not a destination, so the Patriots will have to pay market value or above to land free agents.
Gone are the days when the Patriots could attract a veteran free agent hoping to play for a contender, and the hope is that the franchise returns to that status soon.
I believe the Patriots will spend money in free agency. I don’t think they’ll pay a player much more than they’re worth, but I do expect them to be aggressive.
At this point, with the amount of cap space the Patriots have, their free-agent spending has little to do with the Krafts. The Patriots need to spend money to reach the cash floor. And I think ownership does understand that if this is an unsatisfactory offseason, fans won’t return in droves.
Fan attendance was ugly late last season.
I think they’d consider it, but I haven’t heard anything decisive about Meyers actually being available via trade.
I will say that if new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll believes that recently cut Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett can replicate Meyers’ production, then it could make sense to trim some cap space by signing Lockett and trading Meyers.
Obviously, Meyers had some good years under returning offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He’d be a reliable security blanket for quarterback Drake Maye.
It’s seeming more and more likely that Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp will wind up being a cap casualty cut. But if the Rams are willing to eat some salary, then perhaps the Patriots could trade a late-round pick to ensure his services.
It’s pretty rare for two wide receivers of the caliber of Metcalf and Aiyuk to be available in the first place. Aiyuk didn’t want to come to the Patriots last offseason, but it seems like he ultimately just didn’t want to leave San Francisco. So, that might not have been the biggest knock against New England. Metcalf said this offseason that New England isn’t a desirable place to play.
So, the Patriots have some obstacles to overcome to acquire either player. But Aiyuk and Metcalf would fill a major need without having to turn to the draft.