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Report: Patriots Won't Use Franchise Tag On Joe Thuney

BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots spent a whole lot of money on Joe Thuney last year, using the franchise tag on the guard in order to retain him in 2020. They won't be doing the same in 2021.

That much was widely expected, but ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed it on Tuesday, stating that Thuney is likely to hit the free-agent market.

Thuney, 28, has been among the most reliable linemen in the entire NFL during his career. A third-round draft pick in 2016 out of North Carolina State, Thuney has started in all 80 regular-season games since entering the league, plus another 10 playoff games. He was on the field for 100 percent of the Patriots' offensive snaps from 2016-18, before "dropping" to 99 percent in 2019 and 97 percent in 2020.

The Patriots are slightly better positioned to lose Thuney this year, after reacquiring tackle Trent Brown on Tuesday morning. That addition currently gives the Patriots three starting-caliber tackles in Brown, Isaiah Wynn, and Marcus Cannon, which allows the team to move second-year lineman Mike Onwenu to the interior to replace Thuney.

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