"DE" Weakest Link

[mgteich]

We have to talk about DE/EDGE as the weakest position on the team.
With Jacas a no-show so far, and Landry still working through his knee injury... it is time to get real about a FA DE.
We can't count on Jones & Ponder all season.

Barth mentioned the idea of signing Clowney for a 1 year lightning bottle type of role. And I'm not dismissing it.
He had nearly the exact same stats as Landry last year in half the starts in DAL.
Sure, he's way past his prime, but he's still very strong and can set the edge and still get to the QB.

If we can't figure out a big trade (Thibodeaux, Highsmith) would you consider Clowney or Bosa?

In this thread, we argue aout whether our biggrest weakness is ILB or EDGE (depends on health). It is clear to those who post here that we need an addition to one or both positions to do real damage in the post season.

In another thread, one poster thinks that anyone that thinks that we aren't the best team in the AFC is trolling. Others agree that we are the best.
============
I guess that this is normal for June.

 

[Thelonious]

I suppose the reasonable default is to take on one or two decent cast-offs or free agents for this year, then make the defense the priority next draft, as the offense essentially was in the recent one. No rebuild is ever truly "complete," and this one certainly isn't. These things take time, especially when one coach loses his reason and chucks the team into the grave out of some weird, spiteful neurosis, and his hopelessly incompetent successor shovels dirt over it.

 

[Clonamery]

I guess Jacas is the missing link.

 

[Thelonious]

I guess Jacas is the missing link.

Well, he is the missing player, but I don't think we know yet where he falls on the evolutionary scale.

 

[Huckleberry1]

This ^ makes no sense.

We’re talking “edge,” which really isn’t a position.

Landry, Ponder, Jacas, Swinson at OLB.

Milton Williams and Dremont Jones more traditional DE’s.

I don’t see the ”thin” here unless some of these guys have already been IR’d…. are you privy to inside information?

Off the Ball Linebackers play in the middle, Edge players play on the Edge, thus the designation Edge. I will however grant that you personally have the authority to redesignate the terminology you wish any position at will any time you want.

Let us know what you come up with.

 

[Ian]

Vrabel actually did talk about this today and he seems pretty happy with who they have:

On what he said yesterday about Diggs and the receiver position, and if he feels similarly with the edge with Gabe [Jacas] and Harold Landry rehabbing and that position:

“No, I like— that’s a good group. I’m glad, I’m excited about adding Dre [Dre’Mont Jones], the development of [Elijah] Ponder and [Bradyn] Swinson, added [Jesse] Luketa and some young guys. And, I think that, that, I mean, again, we’ll continue to try to look at every position and make it stronger, but that group has done a nice job. And, again, we’ll continue to look at it, but, we’ll have to see where we’re at from a numbers-wise. And then when we get into training camp, but, just how many guys you can rep, based on the practices."

TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 6/11 | PatsFans.com

Here's the full transcript of what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Thursday, June 11th, 2026.

www.patsfans.com

 

[Huckleberry1]

This ^ makes no sense.

We’re talking “edge,” which really isn’t a position.

Landry, Ponder, Jacas, Swinson at OLB.

Milton Williams and Dremont Jones more traditional DE’s.

I don’t see the ”thin” here unless some of these guys have already been IR’d…. are you privy to inside information?

You responded to my post, which was agreeing with Tommy that IOff the Ball linebacker is the thinnest position. If you wanted to discuss edge you should have responded to someone discussing edge. Your inability to understand what you are responding to is your issue.