{"id":10786,"date":"2017-02-24T08:27:03","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=10786"},"modified":"2017-02-24T08:27:03","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:27:03","slug":"new-england-patriots-free-agent-profile-legarrette-blount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2017\/02\/24\/new-england-patriots-free-agent-profile-legarrette-blount\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots Free Agent Profile LeGarrette Blount"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Patriots will enter the beginning of the 2017 league season with several important decisions to make in regards to free agency. While the team has the third most salary cap room in the NFL this season, they have a slew of free agents including several who are either starters or important role players.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll be doing profiles on each of the free agents in the upcoming days and give you our take on whether they return or move on. One of the players facing free agency is running back LaGarrette Blount.<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots got a career season from Blount in 2016. He was the main back in the running game and logged 299 carries for 1161 yards and a league-best 18 touchdowns this season, all career highs. His touchdown total broke Curtis Martin\u2019s franchise record and he surpassed his three previous Patriots seasons combined of 16 TDs with a tremendous 2016.<\/p>\n<p>However, Blount\u2019s production tailed off down the stretch and in the playoffs, he managed only 109 yards and one touchdown in three games. Blount is now at age 30 when many of the big backs begin to show the wear and tear on their bodies.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10788\" style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10788\" class=\"wp-image-10788 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Brady-Blount-1-1024x730.jpg\" width=\"625\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Brady-Blount-1-1024x730.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Brady-Blount-1-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Brady-Blount-1-1536x1095.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Brady-Blount-1-2048x1459.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10788\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">LeGarrette Blount had a career year in 2016, but will it be a swan song in New England? (SBalestrieri photo)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Blount for a big man (6\u20190, 250 pounds), isn\u2019t a typical short yardage runner. He\u2019s patient and takes his time, looking for an opening and then once he gets to the second level, accelerates, and becomes very hard to bring down. That\u2019s why he needs a lot of work in-game to really see his effectiveness come thru. He may get several carries for little or negative yardage but as the game carries on into the second half, he\u2019ll wear down a defense and provide some big gains.<\/p>\n<p>With him being a free agent, the Patriots really don\u2019t have another big back that can carry the load in the running game. James White and Dion Lewis are primarily effective in the passing game with the occasional runs during the game. Ditto for rookie RB D.J. Foster. Brandon Bolden only contributed on STs during the year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Blount Will Return:<\/strong> The Patriots could easily bring Blount back to Foxboro in 2016 because there probably won\u2019t be much interest in him elsewhere. He hasn\u2019t shown that he can be successful anywhere but in New England.<\/p>\n<p>He could be brought back with an incentive laden veteran minimum type of deal. Bill Belichick has always liked Blount and he seems very happy to be here in New England. As long as the Patriots are interested in keeping him, I don\u2019t see Blount looking to move on to anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>Blount knows the offense, has no issues with being part of a rotation at the running back position and always gives the maximum effort. He seems to be well-liked and admired in the Patriots locker room.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Blount Won\u2019t Return<\/strong>: There are always concerns and justifiable ones when a big running back hits the 30-year old mark. Blount had the most carries in his career in 2016 and he definitely seemed to wear down as the season progressed especially down the stretch.<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots could use an influx of youth at the big back position. There are several in the draft or free agency that could be had that would allow them to keep defenses honest and keep the rotation of the backs going.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike many of the other free agents, money won\u2019t be an issue with Blount.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bottom Line:<\/strong> The Patriots could use an upgrade at the big running back position. Blount has hit 30 and while he was tremendously productive inside the red zone in 2016, his playoff performances weren&#8217;t what you\u2019d expect from him.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d look for them to draft a mid-round prospect replacement for him this spring. However, because he\u2019ll attract little attention on the free agency market, it won\u2019t be surprising in the least to see Blount back in a Patriots uniform in 2017 on a veteran minimum deal with incentives laden in. Blount has made it clear that he wants to remain here.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I just want to make sure that I go to this free agency with an open mind knowing that I definitely want to go back to New England,&#8221; Blount said on\u00a0<em>NFL Total Access<\/em>\u00a0Monday. &#8220;I love it there. I love the culture. I love the players. I&#8217;ve become close with a lot of the guys. Obviously, you know how my running back group is. We&#8217;ll cross that bridge whenever we cross it. On that point, I feel great. I&#8217;m in amazing shape. I feel like I could play 100 more years if I have to.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So, the way we see it, the chances of him returning this year are better than 50\/50.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveB7SFG\"><em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/patspub.patsfans.com\/stevebpatsfans@gmail.com\"><em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to our\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/patriotsfourthandtwo\"><em>Patriots 4<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/\"><em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Patriots got a career season from Blount in the running game and logged 299 carries for 1161 yards and a league-best 18 touchdowns <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1319,11],"tags":[1066,799,800,1325,1329,34,1035,204,78,24,713,117,13],"class_list":["post-10786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2017-free-agency","category-patriots-commentary","tag-2016-nfl-season","tag-2016-patriots-roster","tag-2016-patriots-season","tag-2017-nfl-free-agency","tag-2017-patriots-free-agents","tag-bill-belichick","tag-d-j-foster","tag-dion-lewis","tag-james-white","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-patriots-running-backs","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - 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