MORSE: Pats Strike Gold in 1st Day of Legal Tampering

I said in my Free Agency preview, get ready to be disappointed. However, despite the cream of the crop being removed before the start, the Patriots did pretty well on Day One.

KC tagged Trey Smith, Tee Higgins was tagged in Cincy, Alric Jackson re-signed with the Rams and Ronnie Stanley re-upped in Baltimore, all before Free Agency kicked off. Linebackers Jamien Sherwood and Zack Baun re-signed with the Jets and Eagles respectively the night before Free Agency started.

With the addition of $22M per team under the Salary Cap teams were able to re-sign their own UFA’s, thus diluting the Free Agent pool even further.

I don’t like the plan B or Plan C options at Tackle. Cam Robinson seems to be the top target, but he did not have a good year last season. Robinson is very familiar with Patriots Offensive Line Coach Doug Marrone as he played for him at Jacksonville.

Left Tackle Dan Moore received a ridiculous contract of 4-years $82M with $50M Guaranteed by Tennessee. He gave up 12 sacks last season which was tops in the league.

No Thanks.

The other Tackle that I became aware of the last few days leading up to Free Agency Monday was Jaylon Moore. He signed with Kansas City for 2 years, $30M and $21.5M Guaranteed. Not bad for having just started 12 games. As of this writing, Cam Robinson is still out there.

Chris Godwin re-signed with Tampa Bay, eliminating the only legit #1 WR out there.

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams (93) celebrates a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

(PHOTO: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)

The Patriots decided to concentrate on Defense where the better value was in Free Agency. The Patriots made a couple of splash moves in signing CB Carlton Davis and DT Milton Williams. Davis got 3-year deal for $60M. Williams had been reported signing with the Panthers, but the Patriots swooped in and made an offer Williams couldn’t refuse. The 25-year-old signed for 4-year, $104M making him the 3^rd highest paid DT in the league. Williams only played 50% of the Defensive snaps last season on the talent rich Eagles Defense.

An under the radar signing by the Patriots was LB Robert Spillane, the former Captain of the Raiders. He played for Josh McDaniels. Last season he had 158 tackles and 91 were solo. The year before he had 145 Tackles. I completely missed on him. Spillane signed a 3-year $37M contract. The 29-year-old has 8 years in the league already and he stands 6’2”, 229 pounds. The former Undrafted Free Agent ran a 4.77 40-yard dash and is great against the run, not so good against the pass.

I would have to throw the Harold Landry signing into the mix as well. I thought the 3-years $45M contract was a bit rich for a player that nobody would give Tennessee a draft pick for.

The last signing on Defense was Khyiris Tonga. A 6’4” 345-pound DT. He only had 22 tackles last year, but you need to have some beef on the line in those short yardage situations. Tonga signed 1-year $2.7M contract.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle Morgan Moses (78) during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

(PHOTO: Darren Yamas***a-Imagn Images)

The Patriots did make some moves on Offense, but more on the quiet side. They signed Morgan Moses a massive Right Tackle. He signed a 3-year contract with incentives that could bring his contract up to $28.5M. Moses is 34 years old, and I can’t think that this contract is anything more than a one-year deal. Only the 1^st year is guaranteed.

A sneaky good signing was backup QB Josh Dobbs. He has been in the league 7 years now and last season started (and lost) one game for San Francisco. His completion % was 68.1%. In the evening it was announced they had signed the colorful WR Mack Hollins away from Buffalo. Let’s be blunt, Hollins is a whack job. He goes barefoot to games in Buffalo no matter how cold or how much snow. He is 31 and received a 2-year $8.4M contract with incentives that can bring it up to $10.4M. He only had 31 catches for 378 yards but 5 of those were for TDs. Of the 31 catches 25 were for 1^st downs. I like this signing.

In my preview article I highlighted Williams and Davis as Patriots targets. Spotrac had listed Williams Market Value at 3-year $36M. I said they may have to increase that amount to get him to come here, but I never anticipated it would take $26M a year. They had to outbid Carolina with the 4-year, $104M offer. His guaranteed money is $60M, which is wild. Davis gives them a solid CB opposite of Gonzalez and as expected the Defense can increase the pressure on the opposition QB’s, I think you will see more turnovers from the Defense.

There is more work to be done, especially at Left Tackle, Left Guard and Wide Receiver. I would also like to see a pure Free Safety signed as well. Drew Dalman, the only decent Center available in Free Agency signed with Chicago and I think a Center will have to be addressed in the draft.

Every player with the exception of Milton Williams had a connection to the Patriots coaching staff or front office. The signing of Williams was huge, and they had to outbid a team in order to sign him. Greg Bedard called Williams Vrabel’s Jeff Simmons. If he plays the disruptive style of Simmons, the Patriots Defense will be fun to watch this season.

I’m excited to see what else Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf have in store for us heading into this 2025 season.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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