{"id":5041,"date":"2016-02-22T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=5041"},"modified":"2016-02-22T05:57:31","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T10:57:31","slug":"patriots-free-agency-outlook-cornerbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/02\/22\/patriots-free-agency-outlook-cornerbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Free Agency Outlook, Cornerbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Patriots are set to enter the free agency phase of the 2016 off-season and we\u2019ll explore some of the biggest needs of the team moving forward. And some of the names of their own free agents as well as some of their potential targets.<\/p>\n

Next up on the free agency positional list: Cornerbacks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team Need: Medium<\/strong><\/p>\n

Returning players: <\/strong>Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Darryl Roberts (IR), Rashaan Melvin<\/p>\n

Free Agents<\/strong>: Tarell Brown (IR), Justin Coleman (ERFA)<\/p>\n

The Patriots entered 2015 with questions about their secondary especially the corner position having lost all three starters (Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Arrington) from the Super Bowl winning team in the off-season. Gloom and doom was the order of the day.\u00a0Most thought the Patriots would be forced to win 38-35 shootouts and the secondary would revert to the earlier 2010\u2019s when the secondary was the Achilles Heel. The position went from one of strength to one considered a weakness.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t turn out that way, Malcolm Butler parlayed his Super Bowl heroics into a very solid first season of starting, going from a player on a tryout basis, to their starting left corner. No one on the Patriots defense played more snaps than Butler in 2015.\u00a0He\u2019ll be the starting left corner again in 2016 and will be in-line for a big payday soon.<\/p>\n

Logan Ryan rebounded well after a poor second season in 2014. He moved into the starting RCB slot and started 14 games. He was the #11 rated CB according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) in 2015. He too is in-line for a raise and like Butler will become a free agent in 2017.<\/p>\n

Coleman is a restricted rights free agent and should return and played well as the slot corner. Roberts was a 7th<\/sup> Round Draft pick last year, and turned heads in training camp and started the first preseason game against Green Bay before injuring his wrist in that game and ending up on IR. A very physically gifted CB, Roberts will be a player to watch on Day 1 of training camp this year.<\/p>\n

Brown flashed his potential in the first three games (2 starts), but never recovered from his foot injury in 2014 and ended up on IR.<\/p>\n

What the Patriots would really like\u00a0is an upgrade at the RCB position and move Ryan\u00a0into the slot. Bill Belichick loves his veterans on the defense and would like to bring in a veteran presence and allow the others to compete and sort out the rest.<\/p>\n

Roberts and Coleman will no doubt be bolstered by some names both during and after the NFL draft as they look to build depth. But there are some intriguing free agent options out there. Here are a few that could be nice fits for the Patriots defense.,<\/p>\n

Tarell Brown<\/strong>
\nOkay\u2026this was a no-brainer, but Brown did flash both in camp and during games when his foot was healthy enough for him to get out there on the field. He had some solid seasons in San Francisco before moving over to the Raiders in 2014.<\/p>\n

He signed a one-year, $2 million-dollar deal with the Patriots on July 23, just prior to training camp beginning. He\u2019s a fundamentally sound, solid football player. He\u2019s a perfect #2 or RCB for the Patriots scheme. He spoke of New England\u2019s demanding more of their players and having a higher standard put on them as a selling point.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also a smart, analytical player who spends a lot of time learning not just his, but the other player\u2019s responsibilities on the defense. Depending upon the call by the defense, the situation and the opposition, a player\u2019s responsibility can change from play to play. Sometimes players will rotate sides and a hallmark of the Belichick way is knowing what all the other parts are responsible doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta be able to study and be a student of the game,\u201d Brown said. It\u2019s not just about athletic ability anymore. You can get away with that in college, but once you get to the NFL, being able to study, being able to enjoy and understand your craft and when to use things, that\u2019s what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s already proven to be a fit on the defense, and even after going on IR, stayed in Foxboro and helped the younger players break down film. He\u2019s that veteran presence that can mentor the younger players (Roberts, Coleman), and can be brought back fairly cheaply.<\/p>\n

The team may not opt back for him if they feel that foot issue is chronic and will continue to be an issue\u00a0in the future. Next up another veteran with almost 10 years experience.,<\/p>\n

William Gay<\/strong>
\nGay is a long-time Pittsburgh Steelers corner who has had to fight his way into the starting lineup twice and was arguably their best corner the last two years. Just a few days older than Brown, Gay at 31 is still capable of a few years of solid play left in his career but won\u2019t be looking for a big free agent contract.<\/p>\n

If he indeed does leave Pittsburgh, he could be on the Patriots radar. While he\u2019s no superstar or top corner in the league, Gay has proven to be a solid veteran presence who again like Brown could be a mentor to the younger players while grooming them for the future.<\/p>\n

He had good numbers in 2015, despite the other side of the field being targeted frequently. He made 60 tackles, had two interceptions, one for a pick-six and had a sack as well as seven passes defensed.<\/p>\n

For a player with nine years of experience on the perimeter, Gay has been remarkably durable playing in 144 straight games. He\u2019s considered one of the smarter Pittsburgh defenders and is known to be aware of everyone\u2019s responsibility on the field, something Belichick covets in his players.<\/p>\n

Gay was a bargain for the Steelers the past two years at $1.5 million-dollars per year and he\u2019ll be looking for a raise. I still believe Pittsburgh will bring him back for another two-three seasons, but they did let him test free agency in 2012 and he bolted for the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n

Next up one of the more dynamic playmakers on the market.,<\/p>\n

Janoris Jenkins<\/strong>
\nJenkins is one of two starting corners for the St. Louis\u2026.er Los Angeles Rams who is a free agent, the other being Trumaine Johnson. Jenkins was a very important piece of an outstanding Rams defense in 2015. He had good numbers this season, with 64 tackles, 3 interceptions and 15 passes defensed. In his 4-year career in St. Louis, Jenkins has 10 interceptions with half being returned for pick sixes. He also has three forced fumbles with one being returned for a touchdown as well.<\/p>\n

Jenkins is a playmaker but a gambler, and sometimes his decisions can come back to bite him. But that is part of who he is and why he\u2019s been so successful. Jenkins isn\u2019t the biggest guy and his tackling has at times been inconsistent. But if you\u2019re searching for a guy who makes plays, Jenkins is a tremendous talent.<\/p>\n

Both he and Johnson will want to get paid this season and with the year each had, they both will probably cash in. Can the Rams afford to keep both? One would assume not, but they just cleared a ton of cap room with the releases of James Laurinaitus, Jared Cook and Chris Long this week.<\/p>\n

Would Jenkins fit on the Patriots defense? Yes, as he and Butler would give them tremendous presence at the corner position for years to come. He\u2019s only 27 and would have plenty of productive years ahead of him. \u201cJack Rabbit\u201d as he\u2019s known with the Rams was usually tasked to guard the opponent\u2019s top wide receiver. He\u2019s excellent in man coverage and would fit in perfectly with the Patriots defense.<\/p>\n

Why would they pass on him? Money. Jenkins may command some big bucks during free agency and the Patriots right now don\u2019t have a lot of cap room to begin with. Unless they could get creative with him, he may be too highly priced for them to land.<\/p>\n

There are other players out there in free agency that could be of interest to the Patriots, (Jerraud Powers, Leon Hall, Prince Amukamara) and of course the NFL Draft will provide plenty of players that will be out there as well.<\/p>\n

The defense is coming together nicely and there is no reason to assume they won\u2019t be even better in 2016. Butler\u2019s first season as a starter was a very solid one and with the pieces they already have at corner, they could just use some depth and\/or veteran presence to help out.<\/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":"

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