Patriots' Free Agent Needs During 2021 Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's time to tamper in the NFL -- at least legally. Once noon hits on Monday, teams around the league can start to chat with free agents about future deals.
And with a bunch of holes on the roster, the Patriots should be doing a lot of talking over the coming weeks. Bill Belichick has nearly $65 million in cap space to work with, which should give him ample opportunity to improve on a roster that went 7-9 last season.
Things started Friday when the Patriots re-signed Cam Newton to a one-year deal, and it continued over the weekend when they dealt offensive tackle Marcus Cannon to Houston to clear up even more cap space. Here are the key areas of need in New England as free agency gets underway.
Wide Receiver
Whether it's Cam or someone else, whoever is going to be New England's starting quarterback next season is going to need some guys to throw the ball to. Receiver production was one of the team's biggest issues last season, and there are still major question marks surrounding N'Keal Harry and Julian Edelman. Belichick should be doing everything he can to provide an upgrade or two to the receiving corps.
Kenny Golladay is the biggest name available, but chances are the Patriots will likely jump into that second tier of receivers, which would still pose a massive upgrade to what they had last season. Names like Curtis Samuel, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Corey Davis are much more likely to join a patch-work receiving corps in New England.
Veteran Tight End
The Patriots invested heavily at tight end in last year's draft, using a pair of third-round picks on Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, but they got just five catches out of the pair of rookies during the season. Both should be better suited to contribute with a full offseason and training camp this time around, but the Patriots will still be looking to add a veteran to the mix this offseason.
L.A.'s Hunter Henry is the top tight end available and will cost a truckload of money, so perhaps Tennessee's Jonnu Smith -- who caught a career-high eight touchdowns with the Titans last season -- is a more realistic target for the Patriots.
Defensive Line
New England's top three interior defensive linemen -- Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler and Deatrich Wise Jr. -- are all heading to free agency, so the Patriots will have some work to do. The group struggled last season so there will be turnover in the middle, but at least one of those three should be back.
The Patriots could also use a little more help at edge rusher as well, with Chase Winovich and Josh Uche currently their best bet to get to the quarterback.
David Andrews
Andrews is a free agent, and the Patriots should do everything they can to bring back their starting center. No need to really discuss other options -- just bring back Andrews.
Running Back
With Damien Harris and Sony Michel on the books for next season, the Patriots are set on early-down backs. But when it comes to pass-catching, change-of-pace backs, both James White and Rex Burkhead are hitting the open market. There are some serious rumblings that White could be joining an old friend down in Tampa Bay, so the Patriots are likely going to need some reinforcements in the backfield.
Quarterback
Cam is back on a one-year deal, but don't think the Patriots are done at quarterback. Chances are it will be a rookie via the draft, but don't rule out the potential for another veteran to push and compete with Newton in Training Camp.
