The 2015 season is in the books, the Patriots came up short in their efforts to repeat as Super Bowl Champions and it is time to move on. As Bill Belichick would say\u2026\u201dwe\u2019re on to 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, compared to other teams, the Patriots are a bit behind in terms of looking at impending free agents and free agency in general as they\u2019ve had their eyes on the postseason. It is a familiar problem and one that that they\u2019re used to dealing with.<\/p>\n
The Patriots currently have 74 players on the roster, the 53-man unit that faced Denver in the AFC Championship and 21 players who are on IR. Of those 74, the team has 11 un-restricted free agents, four restricted free agents and three exclusive rights free agents, those players only the Patriots can make offers unless they decide to let them go to free agency.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll break down the roster by position and list the free agents for the team. In the coming days and weeks, we\u2019ll break down each free agent individually and make a case for them to stay or go as the team will have a lot of thinking to do.<\/p>\n
Unlike last season there is no huge pending free agent contract pending with a player like Darrelle Revis. There will have to be decisions made in regards to contracts already on the books but overall the team is great shape to add some free agents in 2016 and with the salary cap. First up is the offense…<\/p>\n
Offense:<\/strong><\/p>\n Quarterback: Questions as to whether or not Brady would be distracted by off-field issues and\/or age were answered when he had a fantastic MVP-type season in 2015. His numbers tailing off at the end of the year had more to do with injuries to his supporting cast and offensive line than it did with his play.<\/p>\n I would expect the team will add a QB or two during the spring to reduce the wear and tear on #12 as he\u2019ll turn 39 in training camp in August. But the team is set there with no worries moving forward.<\/p>\n Running Back:<\/strong> Free Agents: Change is coming here again, While the third down passing back situation seems locked down with White and Lewis, the only question there is whether Lewis will be ready for September. But in the big back territory, they only have Bolden and the unproven Gaffney right now.<\/p>\n Belichick loves Blount, and vice-versa and he\u2019s been very dependable in New England. Expect him to be re-signed with a team friendly, incentive laden contract again. Then they can still poke around free agency and possibly get some competition started. But with Jackson probably retiring, they need help there.<\/p>\n Develin was a valued member of the team at fullback and they\u2019ll move to bring him back. But he\u2019ll have competition with Iosefa.<\/p>\n Wide receiver: Free agents:<\/strong> \u00a0Brian Tyms (RFA\/IR), Brandon Gibson (UFA)<\/p>\n Ch-ch-changes are undoubtedly coming here. Edelman is their most dependable receiver. Amendola had an impressive year and gutted through some tough injuries. But the team will probably look to lower his cap hit.<\/p>\n LaFell may be cut loose; his 2015 was a nightmare compared to the year before. And his playing time in Denver showed that he didn\u2019t have the coaches\u2019 or Brady\u2019s confidence as he played in only 33 snaps while not being targeted. They could bring him back for training camp since he\u2019s due no roster bonus and his contract is straight cash. That would allow him to earn his trust back into the offense.<\/p>\n Boyce and Dobson are probably gone at this point, they\u2019ve had three years to show what they can do and we\u2019re still waiting. Tyms and Gibson (who had strong summers), will probably be brought back as well.<\/p>\n Look for the team to look for a free agent upgrade or possibly a mid-level draft pick.<\/p>\n Tight end: Free Agents:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n The team went with a two-man tight end look for much of the season featuring Gronkowski who had a fantastic year and surprisingly Michael Williams. Scott Chandler who we thought was going to have a big year opposite Gronk, never fit in the offense and has to be considered a disappointment. Although he was slowed by a knee injury, if he\u2019s still around at training camp it will be a surprise.<\/p>\n Derby was the converted QB from Arkansas who was hurt in camp last season. They\u2019ll look to add a veteran tight end for short money this season. And can use another receiving target next to Gronk.<\/p>\n Offensive line:<\/strong><\/p>\n Bryan Stork, Sebastian Vollmer, Marcus Cannon, Shaq Mason, Josh Kline, David Andrews, Tre Jackson, Nate Solder (IR), Kevin Hughes (IR), Chris Barker<\/p>\n Free agents:<\/strong> Ryan Wendell (UFA\/IR), LaAdrian Waddle (RFA), Cameron Fleming (ERFA)<\/p>\n Nate Solder is locked up and should be healthy next season after landing on IR with a torn bicep. He was sorely missed in both pass protection and in the running game. The Pats need a veteran upgrade both at tackle and inside.<\/p>\n Look for them to cut down on Vollmer\u2019s cap number and scour free agency for a veteran RT. \u00a0Then perhaps he could be moved to the swing position. Waddle will be brought back as his cap number shouldn\u2019t break the bank.<\/p>\n Decisions have to be made with Wendell, Fleming and Cannon who is probably the most criticized member of the offensive line. The latter two could conceivably be cut loose this spring. Mason and Jackson were drafted with an eye towards the future, they were forced into starting early. Will their second year jump be enough to improve the interior play? That\u2019s a question the coaches will have to answer soon enough.<\/p>\n Next up the Defense and Special Teams…<\/p>\n Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n Defensive line:<\/strong><\/p>\n Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Jabaal Sheard, Ishmaa\u2019ily Kitchen, Geneo Grissom, Trey Flowers (IR), Dominique Easley (IR), Chris Jones (IR), Joe Vellano<\/p>\n Free agents:<\/strong> Akiem Hicks (UFA), Sealver Siliga (RFA), Rufus Johnson (ERFA\/IR)<\/p>\n The defensive line was a strength of the team all season and they are in good shape moving forward, especially with the return of Easley, Flowers and Jones form IR.<\/p>\n They will probably make every effort to bring back Hicks who rejuvenated his career with the Patriots after coming over from the Saints. Siliga and Johnson will return as well as they provide good depth and camp competition.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect the Patriots to move forward with any contract extension with Jones. They\u2019ll take a wait-n-see attitude with him as he\u2019ll command top dollar on the market. With Sheard, Ninkovich, Flowers and Grissom, they\u2019re deep enough to withstand the loss of him if he\u2019s off next season. Could they dangle him as trade bait at the NFL Draft? With not a definite, it could be an option.<\/p>\n Linebackers:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jamie Collins, Dont\u2019a Hightower, Jon Bostic, Jonathan Freeny, Kevin Snyder, Darius Fleming, Jerod Mayo (IR), Eric Martin (IR)<\/p>\n Free agents:<\/strong> Dekoda Watson (UFA), Dane Fletcher (UFA)<\/p>\n Mayo has been injured the past three seasons and has a $11 million-dollar cap hit in 2016. There\u2019s no way the Patriots are paying him that this upcoming season. He\u2019ll have to restructure or be cut loose.<\/p>\n Both Watson and Fletcher can be easily brought back this spring although the former is a bit of a longer shot than the latter. Freeny was a surprise this season, thought of as a ST\u2019s player mainly, he played more defense than expected. Bostic was the surprise as he played little after coming over from Chicago.<\/p>\n Secondary:<\/strong><\/p>\n Devin McCourty, Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Leonard Johnson, Jordan Richards, Darryl Roberts (IR)<\/p>\n Free agents:<\/strong> Nate Ebner (UFA), Justin Coleman (ERFA), Tarell Brown (UFA\/IR), Tavon Wilson (UFA), Brandon King (ERFA)<\/p>\n The secondary is in much better shape than they seemed a year ago after jettisoning three starters. Butler (due for a pay increase), and Ryan were a much better combination 1-2 at corner than anyone envisioned.\u00a0 With the unheralded but impressive Roberts from last summer returning, they should be in good shape. He should press for playing time next year.<\/p>\n Ebner, Coleman and King should all return. I would expect them to let Wilson and Brown walk via free agency. Ebner and King were key STs players and Coleman performed well as the third cornerback.<\/p>\n Special Teams:<\/strong><\/p>\n K Stephen Gostkowski, P Ryan Allen, Matthew Slater (Gunner), LS Joe Cardona<\/p>\n Free agents:<\/strong> none<\/p>\n The Patriots ST\u2019s are set for 2016; Gostkowski got a nice new deal last year and with Ryan and Cardona locked up, although the latter will spend the offseason with the Navy honoring his service commitment they\u2019re in good shape.<\/p>\n Slater is a Pro-Bowl ST\u2019s stalwart and the team probably won\u2019t bring in camp competition for any of the big four there.<\/p>\n Look for our free agent profiles soon, we\u2019ll give an individual look at each player and reasons why he may or may not return. Be sure to check out our up-dated stats data base and some interesting great fan interactions coming on our PatsFans.com<\/a> web site. The site is constantly evolving and for us there is no off-season.<\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Patriots currently have 74 players on the roster, the 53-man unit that faced Denver in the AFC Championship and 21 players who are on IR. Of those 74, the team has 11 un-restricted free agents, four restricted free agents and three exclusive rights free agents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4447,"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":[11,10],"tags":[185,799,800,48,34,132,37,18,204,802,801,16,14,17,24,15,44,70,8,38,117,36,13],"class_list":["post-4733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-2016-patriots-roster","tag-2016-patriots-season","tag-53-man-roster-projection","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brandon-lafell","tag-chandler-jones","tag-danny-amendola","tag-dion-lewis","tag-free-agency","tag-free-agents","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jimmy-garoppolo","tag-julian-edelman","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>Tom Brady, Jimmy Garappolo<\/p>\n
\nBrandon Bolden, James White, Dion Lewis (IR), Tyler Gaffney (IR), Joey Iosefa<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>LaGarrette Blount (UFA\/IR), Steven Jackson (UFA), James Develin (RFA)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, Keshawn Martin, Chris Harper, Josh Boyce (IR), Aaron Dobson (IR)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Rob Gronkowski, Scott Chandler, Michael Williams, A.J. Derby (IR)<\/p>\n