Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Homecoming Weekend? Jimmy, Jacoby or Jarrett as Patriots QB in 2021 — 2/19/2021

Episode Date: February 20, 2021

The New England Patriots may not have made a significant push to acquire quarterback Carson Wentz, but that does not mean that New England is ready to stand pat at the position. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub.com. The duo discuss the Carson Wentz trade and whether it will impact the Patriots plans at pursuing a quarterback for 2021; the potential of either Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett returning to Foxboro, the Pats’ prognosis on Jarrett Stidham and the hopeful of DL Adam Butler.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is finally Friday, February 19th, 2021. And might it just be homecoming weekend here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.

Locked On Patriots is presented today by Built Bar. Go to BuiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON to get 20% off your next order. Patriots Nation, thank football in Foxborough. It is Friday here on Locked On Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day,

that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed, very much appreciated. So share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there giving the weekend nod and saying, how you doing to the Twitterverse,

please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, at least for the last couple of weeks, and if I'm being honest, maybe since the Patriots season ended back in early January, we've been talking a lot about the quarterback carousel here in New England. Who might be the starter in 2021? Will it be Cam Newton? Will it be Jared Stidham? Will New England go outside the organization and bring in a veteran option like a Marcus

Mariota or maybe even a Ryan Fitzpatrick? Will they go all in, make a blockbuster effort to try to snag Deshaun Watson away from Houston? Or there are even rumors that the Patriots might be interested in a little homecoming, either in the form of Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we could safely cross off Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford from that list. Neither one of those guys are coming to New England. And yesterday, we found out that we can cross off one more name from the list, former Philadelphia

Eagles starter Carson Wentz. Wentz is reportedly on his way to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third round draft pick and a conditional 2022 second rounder that could turn into a first rounder. Logistically, the Eagles will receive the 85th overall pick in this year's draft and the conditional second rounder could become a first round pick based on Wentz's playing time. Now Wentz would need to play at least 75% of the Colts offensive snaps for the 2022 conditional pick to convey into a first rounder. Also, the pick could become a first rounder if Wentz plays at least 70% of the snaps and the Colts reach the playoffs. But the worst the 2022 pick can be is a second rounder,

meaning that the Eagles are assured of netting two value picks for their former quarterback, Carson Wentz. And this ends approximately two weeks of speculation as to where Wentz would end up. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles and the Colts had spent much of the last two weeks trying to finalize this trade. Of course, the Chicago Bears were also mentioned as a potential suitor for Wentz's services, but ultimately he ends up in Indianapolis. And of course, we remember that the trade cannot officially be processed until the new NFL year begins on March 17th.

For the Eagles, this allows them to start over, and it allows them to shed themselves of a relative malcontent. Not that Carson Wentz was any type of a disruptive force in Philly, but quite frankly, he just didn't want to be there anymore. As a result, the Eagles are taking a $33.8 million dead cap hit. That's the largest dead cap hit that any team has ever taken for a player, while the Colts will assume the balance of Wentz's $128 million extension, including the $10 million guaranteed roster bonus that he's due on March 19th.

As for the Colts, well, they once again feel that they have a bona fide starting quarterback, and the trade also reunites Carson Wentz with his former offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, now head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Reich. If there's anyone out there that can rebuild Wentz, not just from a physical standpoint, but also from a confidence and mental standpoint, it's got to be Frank Reich. This move has the opportunity to pay dividends for the Indianapolis Colts, especially if Wentz can reclaim some of that magic he had in the 2017 season. Of course, we haven't seen that from Carson since.

We all remember the pain of Super Bowl 52 and losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, Carson Wentz wasn't the starter that day, folks. Nick Foles was. And yeah, I know what you're all thinking. I'm not even going to mention it. It never happened. But it's safe to say that Wentz has seen much more struggle than success since that time. Maybe a change of scenery, getting out of Philadelphia, and restarting his career in Indianapolis is just what the kid needs to once again be considered one of the top tier quarterbacks in the NFL. I think it's safe to say that Indy's taken a risk with this one,

but the reward might be worth it. But don't worry, folks, I haven't forgotten that this is Locked On Patriots. What exactly does Carson Wentz coming off the availability board mean for your New England Patriots? Well, in the short term, not really much. There were fleeting rumors circulating that the New England Patriots might have interest in bringing Carson Wentz in, but yesterday, shortly after Wentz's trade to the Indianapolis Colts was announced, it was reported that the Patriots had shown little to no interest in making Carson Wentz their quarterback in 2021. But we all know that moves like this can be the catalyst for much bigger moves down the line, almost like the first domino to fall in a series of big moves across the league. The question is, will your New England Patriots be in on any of

those big moves? Does the price that Indy paid to snag Carson Wentz mean that the Patriots might be in line to pay a lesser price for a quarterback like Marcus Mariota? Could a move like this light a fire under the Patriots and entice them to inquire on the availability of old friend Jimmy Garoppolo? Or with Carson Wentz obviously heading to Indy to be their starter, could the Patriots now be in line to bring back another old friend in Jacoby Brissett? Pats fans, there are a great deal of questions out there, and here today on the pod, we'll address those questions. And to help me address those questions,

I will be joined here today on the hot seat by 98.5 The Sports Hub's Alex Barth. Alex is always one of my favorite guests here on the pod, always candid, always complete, and always spot on in his analysis. Quite simply, he tells it like it is. And today, I'll seek his opinion on the Wentz trade, what it might mean for the Patriots' pursuit of a signal caller in 2021. I'll also seek Alex's wisdom and counsel on the seemingly forgotten man in the possible Patriots quarterback list

for 2021. Someone who's already under contract here in New England. And I'm talking about Jarrett Stidham. Could it be that there's a reason why we haven't heard enough about Stidham possibly getting a shot to start in 2021? And last but certainly not least, we'll discuss the possibility and probability for a Foxborough homecoming from one of the Patriots' most valued defenders in 2020.

Folks, an action-packed agenda today to send you into your weekend. I'm always excited to welcome Alex to the pod, and in just a moment, we'll take a deep dive into some of the most burning questions of the weekend here in New England when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Locked On listeners, you've often heard the phrase, often imitated, but never duplicated. After all, when you're in the mood for a healthy, low-calorie snack, the only ones who could provide the best healthy,

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Hosted by the great Peter Bukowski, it's all the sports you need every morning in under 20 minutes. Subscribe to the Locked On Today podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, we close the week in style here on lockdown patriots with a guest that is among the best in the business at blending professionalism with a little hometown flavor mixed in you know him from his amazing audio video and written work covering the new england patriots and really all things boston sports for 98.5thesportshub.com. He is also the co-host of the Patriots Beat Podcast alongside CLNS Media's Evan Lazar, another great friend of the program.

Today, folks, it's my honor to be joined by Alex Barr. Alex, welcome back to the Lockdown Patriots Podcast, my friend. Thanks for having me, Mike. Have some fun. Anytime. Anytime. Always fun when you drop me, Mike. Have some fun. Anytime. Anytime. Always fun when you drop by, but especially on a Friday, a weekend listen doesn't get any better than this.

And eventful week, I should say, in the NFL. Of course, major dominoes falling in the quarterback carousel, one of which is Carson Wentz. And we all saw the reports yesterday being dealt to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2021 third round draft pick, a conditional 2022 second rounder that could turn into a first rounder based on playing time, based on incentives. And I went into the details of the trade to open the show today, but Indy seems to be a logical destination for Carson. He reunites with Frank

Reich. He's heading to a team that has enough talent on both sides of the ball to give Carson the chance to rebuild his career. So, Alex, when you saw this deal yesterday, what were your thoughts on the trade for all three parties involved, meaning the Eagles, the Colts, ultimately Carson himself? And do you believe there was a clear-cut winner here? I mean, I think everybody made out relatively well. You know, there's certainly – I'll start with the Colts. There's certainly risk involved. But, you know, I think that's what you give up. You're taking a risk.

But that whole group of kind of, you know, mid-2000s first-round draft pick cast-offs or early draft pick cast-offs, right, whether it's Wynn, whether it's Mariota, whether it's Jimmy, you know, Kirk Cousins might be in that group. We've heard his name floated a bit, Derek Carr. Like if you're going to trade for somebody from that group, right? I feel like you're just looking for raw upside at that point because none of those guys have been good recently.

That's the reason they're available to be traded in football. So what have you done for me lately? Sport. So if that's the guy, if you're going after those guys, you must be looking at solely raw potential. And if that's the case, Carson Wentz is the best option, and it's frankly not close. The guy was basically an MVP in 2017. Obviously, he gets hurt and doesn't finish the season, but we know in the right circumstances he can be an MVP player.

That doesn't mean he's going to return to that form. We'll see what happens. But, you know, again, I like the upside. I like the risk. And what it kind of turns into for the Colts is I look at Wentz a lot like a rookie quarterback because you have a lot of the same question marks here, the mental elements of things, how he adjusts to the system. Those are the same things you'd be looking at with a rookie.

So, you know, if you're the Colts and they're picking, I forget, it's either 19th or 20th, they're back-to-back with the Bears down there. If you're picking 19th or 20th, you're not going to get a shot at the top five quarterbacks. Maybe, maybe an outside chance at Matt Jones, and you'll have a shot at Trav, but you're not getting into the other guys. So if you want to make that investment at quarterback,

you're either investing draft capital to trade up or you're investing cap space to bring in Carson Wentz. You end up with essentially the same in the same spot. And one's not necessarily better than the other. I like the Colts sacrificing the cap space because they already have a pretty complete roster. And now they'll still have some draft picks to add to, you know, what they gave up for Wentz is a lot less than what they would have had to give up

to move into the top 10 or the top 15. So I like that deal for them. I think Wentz is going to have a chance to succeed in Indy. And then for Philly, you know, I ultimately thought that's about what they should get. The Stafford deal kind of threw things out of whack, and I know they would have liked to have gotten more, but I think that conditional pick ends up turning into a first. And you're going to have two first-round picks next year,

and if Hurts doesn't work out and you need a quarterback, you'll have two first-round picks. You'll be able to move up, and it's a strong quarterback class again next year. So, you know, the biggest winners are the biggest winners. Carson Wentz, because he gets out of a bad situation. The Colts did well, the jobs on them now to turn the guy around and fix them.

That's not just going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen on cruise control. There's work to be done, but they have a guy who, you know, again, he can play MVP football. He can do it. They got to get him back to that spot, but he can do it. And, you know, anytime you bring in a guy like that, at that position, you did something right. Absolutely.

And I completely agree with you. Look, Carson Wentz is going to a system now where he does have a good amount of talent on both sides of the ball. Every chance in the world to succeed, it's going to be whether or not he can carry the load. And I think that's going to be the ultimate deciding factor when we look at either the success or the failure of this trade I agree with you about Philly I think that's probably exactly what they should have gotten for him um the Stafford trade definitely did set the bar a lot higher and I think a lot of people may be overvalued and sometimes it's good for trades like this to happen because I think it sets reality a little bit back into what the quarterback market might be for other teams out there.

And ultimately, the real winner, I think, in this is Carson. Like you said, he gets out of a bad situation in Philadelphia. Chance for a fresh start, so we'll see what happens. But it also does lend me into my next question for you today, my friend. And Carson's name had been mentioned in tandem at times with the New England Patriots, which we now know that New England's interest in him was very limited at best and probably even nonexistent in some cases. But a trade like this can be a catalyst for a flurry of activity.

And now the rumor mill is starting to churn when it comes to the Patriots not that it wasn't before but it's going to go into overdrive once that first domino falls and Alex Cam Newton's name continues to polarize Pat's nation some would be enthralled by his return others would be appalled by his return uh it really does go back and forth a lot but we're hearing about Marcuscus mariotta being available for a reasonable price maybe a mid to late round draft pick give or take uh we're hearing a fifth rounder could be actually be enough uh to be the centerpiece in a deal like that uh we're also hearing rumors now of a couple of former pats that are still being bandied about uh jimmy garoppolo

parting ways with the 49ers a lot of people still are beating that drum. And with the Colts in the news, Jacoby Brissett's name starting to creep back into Patriots fans' collective consciousness. Alex, as you evaluate the market, now that Carson Wentz has been moved, how might this trade impact the Patriots' decision to quarterback this season? Well, I mean, first off, it lowers the price, right? And Evan Lazar had the report yesterday that Marcus Mariota, now the asking price is a fifth. That, to me, should go down, but that's doable.

So, you know, if you're looking to make that move, again, I said it before, like, none of these other veterans are really close to Wentz. So, again, I'm giving up a day three pick for Mariota. I'm asking for a pick back if I have to take on Garoppolo's contract at this point. So if they want to go out and get one of those guys, one of that group, it's very doable now. In terms of some of the names you mentioned, yeah,

I can't get excited about Cam. I just think that physically there's too many issues at this point that, you know, 30 is going to be what, 32 next season? That's old in the NFL. It really is. And he's, he's not, you know, it's not a young 32 either. The guy coming, going into this, this past season entry, I haven't actually updated these numbers, but entering the 2020 season, if you combined carries that don't end with the runner going out of bounds and you take out Neil Bounds and sack and QB hits, so essentially how many times was he hit by a defender, right,

between being tackled, being sacked, and just being knocked down? Cam was hit more than double the next closest quarterback in his time since entering the league. So that's not a young 32. So that's just a tough sell for me because I don't think the issues he had last year are necessarily fixable. Do better weapons help? Yeah, it's not going to look as bad. Is it going to look good? I don't think so. Garoppolo, like I just said, I don't want him. I don't want him. I don't see the interest, unless you're somebody who's really looking to push a narrative and you want it for talk radio fodder. I don't see it because the guy doesn't play.

I'm not even going to say, you know, he's only played 16 games once, but it's more than that. He's only played more than half the games he needed to play once, right? In 2016, they needed him to play four games while Brady was suspended. He played one and a half. And for that contract, that's just a ridiculous ask. You're not going to get your money's worth there. You're going to tie yourself up in a ton of money with a contract that's hard to get out of. I can't get excited about that one. I think that, well, you know, on pure skill, he might be slightly better than Bursette, but give me Bursette all day if you're going to put those two head to head. Because Bursette's a gamer. He's going to

give you 16 games. He can make some exciting throws. He can do some things with his feet. I would, if we're talking about former Patriots quarterbacks, bring me Jacoby Brissett all day. Yeah, and again, I'm surprised that his name doesn't come up a lot more and possibly being linked to the New England Patriots. I know there's a 2020 romanticized hindsight when it comes to Jimmy Garoppolo. I'm more in agreement with you than not on him. I think that there is definite concern over the durability, over his ability to be able to play a full 16-game season and give you what you need in order to be the quarterback of this team. There is talent and there is the ability. We've seen him make plays. We've seen him do good things on the football field, but can he do it on a consistent basis? That's a concern of mine.

I also share your concern on Cam Newton, and I've been back and forth on him a lot this offseason. But there are questions about his ability to throw the football. There are physicality questions that you brought up and articulated very well. And you look at Brissette, and Brissette kind of gives you the opportunity to be not only the bridge quarterback, but someone that knows the system. He knows Josh McDaniels in here and fit fit well in him or a guy like even Marcus Mariota, which again, a lot of opportunity there.

I'm not knocking Mariota as a fit for this team. I think he actually could be. He's a dual threat. He knows when to hold on to the football, can extend plays with his legs. We've seen him make some dynamic throws. So these could all be options, but ultimately the New England Patriots definitely have a decision to make. And Alex, I thank you for always being candid, always being complete

in your work and your analysis, because you'll tell it like it is. And that's something that I think we needed to hear, especially going into the weekend here on Lockdown Patriots, while you're one of my favorite guests here on the pod. But folks, fair not, because we've just scratched the surface on our weekend discussion here on this Locked On Patriots podcast. In just a moment, Alex Barth and I will discuss the forgotten man, or is he really a forgotten man, in the Patriots quarterback carousel, Jarrett Stidham. Last but certainly not least, we're going to get Alex's thoughts

on a report from a trusted and reliable source that a key cog in the New England Patriots defensive front might just find his way back to Foxborough in 2021. More with Alex Barth of 98.5thesportshub.com when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, football might be over, but the NBA, college basketball, and the NHL are all in full swing, and the NFL offseason is starting to heat up. It's the perfect time to put your prognostication skills to the test. And if you'd like to do just that and make it worth your while, there is only one place

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especially here in New England right now, but probably the team's biggest question mark. A lot of the talk surrounds cam Newton making a return to the team. And in the previous segment, we talked about guys like Mariota, Jimmy G, Jacoby Brissett. But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of chatter around Jarrett Stidham getting the chance to compete for the starting job. And there may be some truth to the fact that the Patriots might have seen enough of Jarrett and realized that it's time to move on. Or he still may be lurking below the surface, ready to make a jump and ready to actually compete for a starting job in 2021. We've seen various reports out there that maybe there wasn't much faith in the building when it came to Jarrett or that, quote unquote,

there could be a debacle from one source that said that the team was just not comfortable handing the reins over to Jarrett Stidham, even when Cam Newton was struggling last year. Alex, I'm not asking you to validate any of these reports either way. Rather, I'm asking you in your opinion, should Jarrett Stidham be given the chance to once again compete to be the starter on this team, or might the Patriots have seen enough of him to know that it's time to consider an alternative, both in the short term and in the long term? Yeah, I think they've seen enough.

I can't imagine these people who haven't seen enough. The people on Twitter who are still saying, you haven't seen him, you haven't seen him. He has the fourth highest interception rate in NFL history among players who've thrown at least 25 passes. And that's not a lot of passes, but that's still significant. Because the reason that number is so low is most guys don't get many more chances than that after they've thrown interceptions at that rate. So he just – the hype kind of – there was this weird thing where basically post-Garofalo, any quarterback the Patriots brought in,

the speculation was that guy was the plan to replace Brady. I mean, people thought Danny Etling was that guy at one point. And I think that speculation turned into this false trust that if he's brought, okay, if the Patriots bring in a quarterback, that quarterback must be here to replace Brady. If the Patriots are bringing in a quarterback to replace Brady, that quarterback must be good.

Like, you kind of have this weird line of thinking. These, like, fallacies that people just followed. And the reality is, Jared Stidham was a day-three pick who struggled at Auburn. Like, he never showed me anything at Auburn that led me to believe this guy's going to be an NFL quarterback maybe a little bit at Baylor but that's a much more simple system Jared Stenum's only ever been hype I you know there's spot throws here there you can maybe point to four or five throws the preseason game against Detroit uh in the ahead of the 2019 season

you know the throw to Gunner against the Chargers the 2019 season, you know, the throw to Gunner against the Chargers, the throw to Nikhil against the Chiefs, like that's it. His career is basically, his hype is basically five throws, two of which happened, or three of which happened in the preseason. So I, like, the Patriots not believing in him, when did he ever give them a reason to? When has he given anybody a reason to believe he could be an NFL quarterback?

Again, you're talking about a day three pick who wasn't a world's beater in college. You know, as much as Patriots fans, I hear people, you know, using A.J. McCarron as an insult when we talk about Max Jones, right? Oh, he's just another A.J. McCarron. You know, or people talking about Zach Mettenberger, that kind of thing. That's fit him. That's what fit him. He's an SEC quarterback who's got toberg or that kind of thing. That's Spittum. That's what Spittum is. He's an SEC quarterback who got to play around a ton of talent, and the NFL team took a shot on him.

And the Patriots have seen him a lot more than us, and as bad as Cam was last year, they never put him in. That tells me a lot. I feel like the people who are on that bandwagon externally, like the Patriots have their own thoughts and they've seen them. The people who are on that bandwagon externally, like the Patriots have their own thoughts and they've seen them. The people who are on that bandwagon externally are still kind of in that false sense of thought where he was brought in to replace Tom Brady. Therefore he must be good. That that's not a thing that, that doesn't all add up. So I just, I can't, I can't get behind it.

I can't get excited about it. Could he turn into a decent NFL player one day? Certainly. You know, I think his ceiling is Brian Hoyer, a guy who, you know, hangs around the league for 10 or 15 years because he's smart and he can run a scout team and he can read film. And it's always helpful having guys like that. Do you want to build your offense around him?

No, probably not. So I just can't get get super excited about sitting at least not with what he's shown us and look maybe he went out this off season and worked his ass off and he comes back a new man and he's ready like that's totally possible i'm not ruling that out but to this point i think the hype is significantly greater than anything he's he's given us reason to be excited about him. Yeah, and a lot of the points that you've made were actually echoed by a good friend of mine, a colleague of mine here at Locked On, the host of Locked On Auburn, Zach Blackerby,

who covered Jarrett Stidham while he played for the Auburn Tigers. And a lot of the difficulties that you've articulated or things that you've said about Jarrett are concerns that he had as well. Work ethic, ability to make decisions, things of that nature that just haven't instilled a lot of Auburn fans with a lot of confidence in Jarrett Stidham. And maybe this is what the Patriots have seen. Don't forget, you hit the nail right on the head. The Patriots see more of this guy than anyone. They evaluate him in practice.

They know what he can do. They know if he's ready or if he's not. Bill Belichick is not opposed to giving the keys to the kingdom to a quarterback if he feels that he's going to be ready to do it. There has to be a reason why Jarrett hasn't been given that opportunity yet. So maybe things change in this offseason. Maybe he does come in a different player, a different type of quarterback, and maybe there is a little bit of a competition, but I share your curiosity and I share your skepticism on him as well. And this is coming from a guy last season at this time that was really starting to hit

the Stidham stump, thinking that maybe this was the guy when the Patriots were not looking to draft a replacement. But I think this season has proved a lot in terms of how they see Jared Stidham. Alex, I think it's good to end the weekend show on a high note. So you know what, bud, let's do that.

Your good friend and colleague, Evan Lazar, who we've mentioned a lot today here on the pod. And again, I hold Evan in the highest regard when it comes to analysis and inside information. He's just one of the best guys and you know him better than anybody as one of his dear friends. He reported that there is mutual interest in the Patriots bringing back defensive tackle Adam Butler.

And this brought a smile to my face. I love Adam, and I love what he brings to the table in New England. Such a key component in the Pats' front seven this season. He and Lawrence Guy, I thought, did a great job of keeping that interior of the defensive line intact, despite the fact that the Patriots really didn't have a true nose tackle this year. Bo Allen was MIA. Danny Shelton left by a free agency. So there was a lot that contributed to maybe them breaking down in the middle. Butler and Guy really did a great job of keeping that interior intact as much as they could.

Alex, how big would it be for the Patriots defense to bring back Butler? And what do you project is a reasonable deal for both sides? Yeah, I mean, it's an interesting comment. I thought they were going to be priced out of Butler. And they're in this interesting spot. I wrote about this last week or earlier this week on 98.5sports.com, the whole defensive line situation. Four of their five most used defensive linemen from last year pending free agents.

You have Butler, Guy, Simon, and Wise. And then the fifth would be Winovich. He's still got two more years. So if Bill Belichick wants to remake and rebuild the defensive line, which struggled at times last year, especially against the one, he's in the perfect position to do so right now. And Butler's obviously the guy of that group, I think, because, you know, as much as we love Lawrence Guy,

he's been a terrific Patriot. He's 30 years old. He really crappied out of them last year. Just, like, physically he was hurt. I'm not saying he played poorly, but you could see he was going through some stuff physically. So I look at Butler as the guy from that group. He's younger.

I think he's a very unique player. You know, a true pass rush defensive tackle. You don't find a ton of those guys. So I thought they were going to be priced out of him. I think that, you know, he can go out and get high single figures, maybe even $10 million a year, like something like that, in a normal market. Now, this market's weird, and it's hard to project, but you're going to see some guys come back on one-year deals,

just around the league. You're going to see guys that traditionally would go out and get paid come back in a one-year deal and then hit the market again next year when there's just a lot more money to spend around the NFL. And I wonder if that's what's going on with Adam Butler right now, if it's going to be a one-year deal. If they're going to pay him and they're going to lock him up and they're going to give him the full contract, like, I love that.

I think he's a really good player. I think he was a great find as UDFA out of Vanderbilt. He's, you don't talk a lot. I feel like a lot of defensive linemen don't hear about football IQ. You know, people think of it just like a brunt and bully position, and it is. But Adam Butler's a really smart player

in terms that, you know, he really works on, he makes sure he has different pass rush moves. He knows how to pair them together. He knows how to use them. He can pick up when linemen are countering. He really is a guy that fits what they're looking for in a football player. So, you know, if they bring him back, if they lock him up, though, the thing is he's just been a pass rush defensive tackle, and he started to become more of a three-down player last year, but the question is, can he be better against the run, and can he become a true, you know,

three-down defensive tackle? I'm not saying he can't, you know, he's been building that way and he's been in the league for a bit now, but that's going to be the expectation. I think if they pay him is to kind of round out his game a bit more. Good point. Very, very good point. And in a lot of ways, I agree with you. I really thought he was going to be priced out. As a matter of fact, I spoke with Patricia Traynor, host of Lockdown Giants earlier this week, and she was talking about potential Patriot free

agents that Joe Judge may want to target. And I mentioned Adam Butler as a possibility, not so much because there's a hand-in-glove fit in New York, simply because I think that this is a guy that Joe Judge sees the value there and may want to target. I thought Butler would probably be the more available of the two, as opposed to Lawrence Guy. But ultimately, I think you're onto something there when it comes to the one-year deal. It's kind of my assessment of the market as well. If it's going to be a return, I think it probably would be a one-year simply because this might be a little bit of a different type year or a different type offseason than we may see with terms of the cap and the implications and still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So ultimately, it is going to be an interesting offseason in New England. It always is, Alex. And we love having you along for the ride here on Locked On Patriots, and we hope to have you back on here really soon. I thank you so much for joining me today. Before I let you go, my friend, for the benefit of our new listeners, and we do have several of them here on Locked On Patriots within the last few weeks, please let everybody know where they can find you on social media. The great work that you have coming not only from your pen, but also from your microphone. What can we expect in the

coming days and weeks from the great stuff from Alex Barth. Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter at RealAlexBarth. Check out my work on 985thesportshub.com. There's a Patriots mock draft up there. That was from last week. I just put up along with Matt Dollop from 98.5. We did a first-round mock draft. That went up yesterday, so you can go check that out. And we're kind of rolling out pieces every Monday

on different Patriots pending free agents and we'll start to get into some external free agent options you can check that all out it actually i should mention it's a brand new website we just updated the website on wednesday so if you haven't seen that yet 98.5 the sports hub.com go check it out absolutely and definitely folks check out the great work that he does also check out the great work that matt does as well uh one two of the greatest tandems that you'll see and never miss an opportunity to Check out the great work that he does. Also check out the great work that Matt does as well. Two of the greatest tandems that you'll see, and never miss an opportunity to check out the Patriots Beat podcast with, again, two of my favorite guys in the business, this man and Evan Lazar.

Evan, thank you, my friend. Stay safe, stay well. Have a great weekend, and we look forward to talking ball with you again here soon in the offseason when some of these Patriots dominoes start to fall into place. Looking forward to it. And so, Patriots fans, we put a bow on the week that was here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And again, a short but memorable week for the pod, as on Wednesday we celebrated our

1,000th episode. I'd like to thank my guests this week, Steve Balistrieri, Thomas Murphy, Taylor Kyles, and Alex Barth for helping me celebrate this week, Steve Balistrieri, Thomas Murphy, Taylor Kyles, and Alex Barth for helping me celebrate this week. Also, and most importantly, I want to thank each and every one of you that took time out to wish me a congratulations this week. Folks, without the great predecessors that I've had here on Locked On Patriots,

without the great colleagues that I have here at Locked On, without the great guests that I've shared the microphone with here since taking the reins as host, and of course, most importantly, without the support of all of you great listeners, Locked On Patriots would not be what it is today. I remain honored and humbled to be the host here, and now that we're kicking off our next 1,000, I can guarantee you folks, you ain't seen nothing yet.

And yes, I mean that in the best possible way. As for me, I'll be back here on Monday to continue to bring you the latest news, notes, and analysis from Foxborough, and to bring you the return of Mock Draft Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. So, to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download and subscribe to Locked On Patriots on platforms such as Radio.com, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you're staying locked into Locked On Patriots.

Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank Alex Barth for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until Monday, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, always be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great weekend, everyone.