MORSE: A Look at the Patriots’ DL, Camp Dates and Stevenson new contract
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With Training Camp a few weeks away let’s do a deep dive into the D-Line as we head into the season.
Last year the D-line was a strength of the team, as the team ranked 4th in the league giving up less than 100 yards a game (93.2). Overall, the Defense ranked 7th. What will be the differences between 2023 and 2024.
The loss of Bill Belichick’s defensive genius may be most felt on Defense. Assistant coaches Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo are no longer calling the day-to-day defense as Steve Belichick took a Defensive Coordinator job with the University of Washington, and Mayo is now running the show at the helm of the Patriots. In what everyone considers a good move, the New England Patriots retained DeMarcus Covington as the Defensive Coordinator. Covington, 35, spent 5 years in the college coaching ranks before coming to the Patriots in 2017. He was a coaching assistant for two years and an outside LB coach for a year before taking over the D-line in 2020.
The replacement for Covington in the Defensive Line assistant position is the very experienced Jerry Mongomery. Prior to his 9-year stint as Defensive line assistant, Defensive Line coach and Running Game Coordinator, Montgomery coached for 11 years in the college ranks. That’s 20 years’ experience brought to the table by Montgomery. He is a very capable coach who had two Pro Bowlers while he coached in Green Bay.
Can Montgomery bring out the beast in Christian Barmore. Last season Barmore showed signs of being a dominant force on the line. He earned a large contract (something the Patriots have not traditionally done under Belichick) and that has irked some aging veterans, especially Davin Godchaux. Barmore should ascend to the All-Pro ranks. Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked Barmore #8 overall and #3 in the AFC. He should have made the All-Pro team last season.
Godchaux is “Holding-In”, that is attending mandatory workouts like mini-camp, but not participating in any drills due to mysterious ailments. He wants his contract re-worked with at the very least some guaranteed money in 2024. This is like what Matt Judon did last year and what he has done again this year. Godchaux is in the final year of his contract, and he will turn 30 during the season. The two-year extension he signed in 2023 was for $20.8M. However, none of his $7,150,00M is guaranteed for 2024 and that is the crux of the problem.
CBS Sports reported earlier this month that according to Head Coach Jerod Mayo that Godchaux was negotiating with the Patriots about a new contract. Godchaux played all 17 games last season and has played at least 600 snaps in each of his 3 seasons. He is not flashy but is very steady and eats up blockers. The funny thing is that as soon as a vested veteran plays in the 1st game their salary is guaranteed for the season. Godchaux doesn’t want to play under that risk of Training Camp, and Pre-season games. I truly believe he is angling for a contract extension with guaranteed money. That’s a tough sell at league age 30.
Armon Watts was signed away from the Pittsburgh Steelers in Free Agency. This was a sneaky good signing. Watts was ranked #18 overall by PFF for all Interior D-linemen (DT and NT). His run rating was #10. Lawrence Guy was not re-signed, and the 34-year-old remains a Free Agent. In July Watts will turn 28 and enters his 6th NFL season. Last season he had 15 tackles in 15 games while playing 253 snaps.
Detrich Wise is coming to the crossroads of his career. The 6-year veteran turns 30 in July. Always a bit of a tweener, not fast enough to be an edge player and not big enough to be a regular down lineman. Wise is 6’5” 280 lbs. He ran a 4.92 at the combine but that is DT time. He is best used as a DT in passing downs. In 2023 Wise had his 2nd best season with 54 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 16 games. He signed 4-year contract extensions in 2021, and it runs through 2025. The veteran is one of the 4 team captains remaining on the team. His leadership in the locker room and on the field is very valuable to the team and organization.
Daniel Ekuale had a very good season in 2022. He started the season with a two games suspension from the league for undisclosed reasons. He had 10 tackles and 2 sacks and flashed his quickness. In 24 he played in only 3 games before a bicep tear injury took him down for the year. The Samoan is 6’3” 310 lbs. and shows good ability on 3rd down pass rush but doesn’t seem to hold up on 1st and 2nd down running downs.
Sam Roberts is an interesting player that also seems to be a bit of a tweener. Another great DII Defensive Player of the Year (Cliff Harris Award) that the Patriots drafted in the 6th round of the 2022 draft out of Northwest Missouri State. The 6’ 4 5/8”., 287 lb. D-lineman is light for the position like Deatrich Wise. In his two seasons with the Patriots, he has only played in 12 games with a total of 7 tackles. I see just 6 D=linemen making the team and Roberts will be fighting for that last spot.
Jeremiah Pharms is 6’11/2” 300 lbs. DT out of JUCO and Friends College. He played for the Wichita Force of the Indoor league and Pittsburgh Mauler of the USFL in 2022 before signing with the Patriots in 2022. In 2023 he played in 12 games for the Patriots and had 9 tackles. In his lone season in the USFL he had 31 tackles.
Trysten Hill was a 2nd round selection (#58) by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 draft. The 6’2 3/4”, 308 lbs. DT is very quick (5.04 40) for his size. Hill was signed by the Patriots last October when he was waived off the Browns Practice Squad and assigned to the Patriots Practice Squad. He was never elevated to the 53=man roster by the team in 2023. He signed a futures contract for 2024 and is in camp fighting for a job. Hill is the only true Nose Tackle other than Godchaux.
Training Camp will be open to the public starting Wednesday July 24th, 25th and 26th. On Sunday the 28th camp resumes through August 6th, which are also open to the public. Camp finishes on Aug 12 and 13th with a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles which are open to the Public.
Rhamondre Stevenson and the New England Patriots have agreed to terms on a four-year, $36 million extension that will included $17 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.
Stevenson, 26, is entering his fourth season with the Patriots, who selected him with the 120th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The former Oklahoma standout has rushed for 2,265 yards and 14 touchdowns during his time with the Patriots. He rumbled for 1,040 yards and five touchdowns (with a career-high 5 yards-per-carry average) during the 2022 season. Last season with the Offensive line woes, Stevenson ran for only 615 yards and a 4.0 average. I expect a big season this year in new Offensive Coordinator Scott Van Pelt’s offense. I think the Patriots envision that with their vote of confidence and a new contract.
It was a joy watching the Celtics shred through the Playoffs matching their best record in the NBA. This team will go down as one of the best overall teams in NBA History. They were top 2 teams in Offense and top two in Defense. The Dallas Mavericks are a very good team and they were stuffed by the Celtics defense. In the four wins by the Celtics in the Championship seroes, the Mavericks never score 100 points, not once. The Celtics dominated losing one game on the road (I think they gave that game away so they could win it at home). All of the important players will be back next year, and we could see a repeat in 2025.
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The pats are a bit thin with size guys at tackle. They had no injuries to the 3 DT starters last year, which is not typical ( Baremore, Godshaux. Guy)…. and now Guy is gone. Interesting if Keion White, Wise, Equale get a lot of snaps in the DT/middle on passing downs. They need another anchor in the middle.