{"id":15897,"date":"2018-03-05T08:46:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T13:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=15897"},"modified":"2018-03-05T08:46:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T13:46:23","slug":"daily-patriots-notebook-3-5-reasons-beyond-money-likely-play-solder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/03\/05\/daily-patriots-notebook-3-5-reasons-beyond-money-likely-play-solder\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Patriots Notebook 3\/5: Reasons Beyond Money Likely In Play For Solder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timing is everything, and for Patriots left tackle Nate Solder, instead of being able to enjoy potentially being courted by other clubs this offseason and learning his market value as a football player, he finds himself in a difficult situation where factors beyond the gridiron will likely play a big part.<\/p>\n

A year ago, Solder’s outlook might have been different.\u00a0 His son, Hudson, back then, had seemed to have a more positive outlook after undergoing previous treatments for kidney cancer.\u00a0 The tumor he had on his kidney had seemingly stopped growing, allowing Solder and his wife, Lexi, to breathe a little easier.\u00a0 But this past season, the young parents found out that their son wasn’t out of the woods yet and had their worlds turned upside down again in October when they learned Hudson’s tumor had again started growing and he was forced to resume treatment.<\/p>\n

Prior to that, almost a year had passed where things looked like they had finally taken a positive turn.\u00a0 Solder said back in January that it was quite a blow, but they were just forced to deal with it.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The tumor] wasn\u2019t growing, wasn\u2019t growing, wasn\u2019t growing \u2014 boom, it started growing again, so they had to reinsert the port, start chemotherapy again, and that\u2019s where we\u2019re at now,\u201d Solder said via the NY Post<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

What’s surprising is that despite such an intense off-field distraction, Solder managed to still finish with another solid season.\u00a0 He and his wife spent each Tuesday – the team’s off day – driving to The Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston (located over 2 hours from their home) so Hudson could receive treatment, all the while having to deal with the intensity of another Super Bowl run going on.\u00a0 It was a lot to deal with, and anyone with a child can only marvel at the struggle he and his wife must be going through in dealing with something of this magnitude.<\/p>\n

With free agency looming, Solder now finds himself with an opportunity to cash in for his talents on the field, but he’ll likely find himself brutally torn between the opportunity to receive a substantial raise for his family if a team outside of New England makes him an offer he can’t turn down.\u00a0 On the other side is the prospect of leaving the region where his son has received such terrific care.<\/p>\n

As a result, it’s going to be interesting to see how things play out.\u00a0 According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, the team may be bracing for the possibility of losing him<\/strong><\/a> in the open market, but as everyone knows, there are ways to get creative when it comes to contracts.\u00a0 For the Patriots, their number one goal, if they want to keep him, will be making sure that they figure out some way to offset the annual salary with\u00a0at least coming in close with the guaranteed money in order to keep him in the fold.<\/p>\n

Howe reports that the two sides haven’t spoken yet but other reports have revealed that Solder’s situation is obviously well-known within the building, with owner Robert Kraft among those who have Solder’s family close to their hearts with what they’re all going through.<\/p>\n

Solder’s kept up his half of the bargain with his play on the field and has definitely earned another big payday.\u00a0 Now it’s up to the team to hopefully make a difficult decision a little easier by coming close.\u00a0 They pulled off a similar situation last offseason with Dont’a Hightower after the linebacker reportedly received more money than he ultimately received in New England, with the team structuring the deal in a manner that obviously worked for both sides.<\/p>\n

With quarterback Tom Brady being the team’s most important asset, making sure they have the right person protecting his blind side is obviously a priority.\u00a0 The team knows what they have in Solder and like other past free agents, one would have to believe they’ll get a shot at matching any offer he receives.\u00a0 But knowing Solder’s backstory, while money is certainly part of the equation, if the team can somehow figure out a way to make it work, that would definitely be ideal.<\/p>\n

They’ve been through enough in the last two years, and through it all, Solder has emerged as one of the more important and endearing players in recent memory.\u00a0 While the NFL may be just a business, hopefully the Patriots can figure out a way to make the money work and keep Solder in the fold, while making sure that he won’t have to find a new destination on Tuesdays for his son in a new city.<\/p>\n

It’s not often you find yourself rooting for a team to do the right thing by a player, but with such an amazing family and someone who has done all the right things since he got here, Solder will certainly be one most fans in New England will likely be rooting for in the coming months.<\/p>\n

To make it even more clear when it comes to the type of person he is, Solder spent Friday lifting spirits of elementary school kids after three young children and an adult were found dead in West Brookfield.<\/p>\n

According to the Worcester Telegram, the veteran tackle met with students and staff<\/strong><\/a>, autographing photos and posing for pictures to help brighten the day for those who were affected by the tragedy.\u00a0 Solder was reportedly set to hold the event in a couple of weeks, but he and his wife were moved and decided to come sooner to help.<\/p>\n

Yet another reason to hope he sticks around.<\/p>\n

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Lewis is already reportedly garnering interest around the NFL.<\/strong><\/font>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Four Teams Likely in Play For Lewis –\u00a0<\/strong>In addition to Solder, the Patriots also have the challenge of trying to keep free agent running back Dion Lewis from departing and it appears they’ll have some additional teams in play as they trying to keep their leading rusher from changing uniforms.<\/p>\n

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio<\/strong><\/a>, in addition to the rival Jets and Colts, the Texans, 49ers and Raiders are potential teams that could be in play for Lewis.\u00a0 Florio believes up to six or seven teams could be vying for his services.<\/p>\n

San Francisco is obviously the most intriguing as it’s an opportunity for Lewis to rejoin Jimmy Garoppolo for a 49ers team that will likely be looking to surround their new quarterback with as many weapons on offense as possible.<\/p>\n

Lewis’ stock certainly couldn’t be any higher.\u00a0 He finished with a career-high 896 rushing yards during the regular season in 2017, as well as 135 more during the postseason, giving him a total of 1,031 for 2017.\u00a0 The next closest player was Mike Gillislee, who finished with 383 yards during the regular season.<\/p>\n

Losing Lewis would be tough, as the Patriots would find themselves heading into 2018 with plenty of questions at a position that Lewis had solidified quite well.\u00a0 The Patriots are no stranger to dealing with turnover at running back, and if a bidding war ensues for Lewis, the likelihood that they’ll have to do the same next season seems like it might be a foregone conclusion if his price escalates too high.<\/p>\n

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Harmon is still feeling the sting of last month’s loss.<\/strong><\/font>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Harmon still not over February’s loss –\u00a0<\/strong>If fans out there feel like they’re the only ones still anguishing over how things ended against the Eagles last month, there’s one player who still is having a tough time dealing with the outcome.<\/p>\n

Veteran safety Duron Harmon told ESPN’s Mike Reiss that he thinks about that game all the time<\/strong><\/a> and he’s not yet over it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a day that goes by that I don\u2019t think about that game. I\u2019m pretty sure everybody on our team feels the same way,\u201d said Harmon<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cThe only thing you can do is just learn from it \u2014 what put us in position to lose that game and how to never do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the sting from that loss, Harmon seems upbeat about the future.\u00a0 He told Reiss that he’s confident that they’ll rebound and put together another good year of football when they get back to work in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

“I always feel great about my team,” said Harmon. “Coach Belichick does a great job of putting a good team together each and every year, and getting the most out of us. As far as putting expectations on the year, I can’t do that because we’re still trying to get over the loss in the Super Bowl. ”<\/p>\n

“Like I said, I’m glad to be a part of this team; each and every year, we play good football, we try to play it the right way, and it’s been good for us — since I’ve been here [2013] and before I got here. I’m pretty sure Coach Belichick isn’t going to let that change, and we’ll see how that goes.”<\/p>\n

White Gets Married –\u00a0<\/strong>Congtratulations to running back James White, who got a different kind of ring added to his hand this weekend after marrying his girlfriend, Diana Civitello.<\/p>\n

Former Patriots running back, LeGarrette Blount, was on hand for White’s wedding and posted a photo of his former teammate, with White looking quite dapper with his lovely wife.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Legarrette Blount (@lgblount)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n