Great write up by Doug Kyed and our WR position:
Entering the spring, the New England Patriots were viewed as an attractive landing spot for a veteran wide receiver. Not so much now.
The Patriots currently have five wide receivers taking regular first-team reps with starting quarterback
Mac Jones and the top offensive line in
Jakobi Meyers,
Kendrick Bourne,
Nelson Agholor,
DeVante Parker and rookie
Tyquan Thornton. Even recently it appeared that Thornton was a tier below Meyers, Bourne, Agholor and Parker, but a team source told PFF that the Patriots believe the rookie has earned first-team reps, and they’d like to see how he responds to the increased workload.
If Thornton proves himself with more reps in the first-team offense, then New England simply has too many high-priced wide receivers, especially since they’re expected to deploy more packages in 12 personnel with two wide receivers and two tight ends on the field. The Patriots invested heavily in tight ends
Hunter Henry and
Jonnu Smith in free agency last offseason.
A source close to the situation expects one of the Patriots’ veteran wide receivers to be traded or released, and that source believes Agholor is the prime candidate. Agholor counts for $14.9 million against the salary cap this season. New England would save $9.9 million by trading him and $4.9 million by cutting him. The cap-strapped Patriots could save money by cutting or trading their other veteran receivers, as well. Doing so with DeVante Parker would save $6.1 million, with Bourne would save $5 million and with Meyers would save $4 million.
The team is optimistic about Agholor's progress this offseason after a disappointing first year in the system, however. The Patriots believe schematic changes to the offense have allowed him to play faster in training camp, and he's been productive through two weeks.
We reached out to one personnel executive of a wide receiver-needy team who didn’t believe the Patriots would be able to trade Agholor’s contract. A team acquiring Agholor via trade would take on his $9 million base salary. That same source believed the Patriots would hold onto Agholor at his current cap hit if he was one of the team’s best six wide receivers, which he undoubtedly is. New England does have proficient depth at the position.
Kristian Wilkerson,
Tre Nixon and
Lil’Jordan Humphrey all are young players who have not looked out of place on an NFL practice field this summer.
Ty Montgomery has primarily worked at running back this summer but has experience at wide receiver, as well.
The Patriots might only truly have 2.5 starting wide receivers this season if they play half of their snaps with either two tight ends or two running backs on the field. Barring injury, one or two of these wide receivers — Meyers, Bourne, Parker, Agholor or Thornton — will be buried on the depth chart. New England has
just over $5 million in cap space, according to Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan.
Nothing appears imminent with New England moving on from a wide receiver, and it’s worth seeing if the group can stay healthy through the summer. But cutting or trading a wideout could create valuable cap space for the Patriots to use during the season. As it stands, the Bears,
Carolina Panthers,
Baltimore Ravens,
Tennessee Titans and
Dallas Cowboys could use help at wide receiver.
