Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 3/2/17- Discussing Dont'a Hightower, Malcolm Butler, and which 2017 Offensive Line Free Agents The Patriots May Target

Episode Date: March 2, 2017

Chris Simoneau, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, discusses the contract situations of Dont'a Hightower and Malcolm Butler, and also examines the 2017 offensive line free agents and who could be targeted by the Patriots. #patriots #nflfreeagency2017 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, where are you going, Jim? The elevator's over here. Taking the stairs. But our meeting's up on 8. Yeah, I know. But that's 8 floors up. That's like 8 times... I don't... a lot of stairs. That's the point. I've already lost a few pounds and earned almost $100 in wellness incentives. Whoa, you're getting rewarded for working out? Yeah, I know. I'm just as surprised as you are, Bob.

Fearless is full of surprises. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program. Learn more about our healthy benefits and sign up at fepblue.org slash choose blue by December 11th. Good afternoon. I'm Chris Simino, Patriots inside of a scout.com and also your host of Locked On Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Thursday, March 2nd, 2017. Today we're going to examine, going to start to examine the free agent offensive line market, get an idea where the Patriots might want to add some quality depth. I think they have a pretty good idea of what their starting line is going to be, not much different than what they had last year, but you never know. It could be a situation where they're looking at guys that just could be an upgrade over Shaq Mason or some of the David Andrews.

You never know. It could be an upgrade over Nate Solda for all we know. But I don't believe that's going to happen. I do think what they're going to be doing is looking to add depth. They have a good offensive line. But if you don't have quality depth, that's going to be a major issue as far as trying to get all the way to the Super Bowl. And it also, when you have quality depth, it does

a good job because it pushes the starters and it makes them play better. So there's a lot of reasons why offensive line, I believe, is the most important position on the field. You know, defensive line is important too because you got to be able to stop guys. But the best defensive teams have said, you've even heard those teams say, you look at Houston last year, they had the number one defense in the league. It doesn't matter if you're giving up zero points all the time, if you can't put the ball in the end zone, too. You've got to be able to do both.

And the only way that you can do that is by having an offensive line. You can have a bad defense and have a great offensive line and probably be a better team than you would be with a great defense. That's just my philosophy on things, especially in today's NFL. Maybe back in the day that's a little different, but in today's NFL, it's essential to have a good offensive line and to have a good offense in order to succeed. And if your quarterback's not getting any time in the pocket, if your running back's getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage, then you're not going to be able to win any games. Also, obviously we're going to talk offensive line today. There was some big news out of Foxborough two days ago, and yesterday it was made official the Patriots had decided not to use their franchise tag on Dante Hightower

or anybody else for that matter. There was some talk that they might want to use it on Malcolm Butler to give him at least a one-year type. It would have been a $16 million deal, but that didn't make sense. That was something that was floated by some of the local radio shows around here in the Boston area. I never really thought it made a lot of sense. I actually think they're on their way to a long-term agreement with both Hightower and Butler,

but we're going to get into that shortly. It's been reported that Hightower wants to test free agency, but again, there have been rumors that there's already a deal in place. So we're going to get into the Hightower situation first, talk a little bit about Butler 2, and then we'll get into the free agency and talk offensive line. But before we get started, again, I just want my listeners to know that I can be found on Twitter under the handle Chris underscore Simono. It's C-H-R-A-S underscore S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U.

And if you have any questions for the show, be it about the Patriots, myself, Patriots Insider, or if you're looking to advertise here on Locked On Patriots, you can email me directly at simono.christopher5 at gmail.com. That's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U dot C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R, the number five, at gmail.com. If you're a member of Patriots Insider on scout.com, you can contact me directly on the site via message. So there's a lot of different ways you can get a hold of me, all right, so I'm not hard to find. All right, let's get this offensive line free agency party started. In fact, we're not going to start with offensive line.

Like we said, we're going to get right into the Dante Hightower situation. So there was only one player this offseason that I firmly believed was indispensable, and that was linebacker Dante Hightower. So the Patriots make their announcement that they're not going to place a franchise tag on him on Tuesday and that he would test the market, which I believe is a dangerous scenario for the Patriots if they want to make sure that they keep their playmaking linebacker. Now Hightower is a type of game-changing linebacker

that helps teams win huge games, as he's done throughout his Patriots career. He's made big plays in every single big game you can think of. that helps teams win huge games, as he's done throughout his Patriots career. He's made big plays in every single big game you can think of. I understand he's had some issues with health, but this isn't Razai Dowling we're talking about here. And most of the time, he's played through an injury that would sideline most for an extended period of time, between his knee and his shoulder and his back

and some of the things that he's dealt with and toughed it out and played through. Linebackers get injuries. It is what it is. It's a violent position, and he plays a violent style of football. You have to take the good with the bad. I understand, and I say it all the time, that staying on the field is a talent in itself. He doesn't stay on the field as much as everybody, but he's out there most of the time, and when he's out there, it makes a difference.

And he is out there for every big game. There are rumors, like I said, that he's going to resign. But here's the thing. The other reason they need to find a way to keep him, I don't think he's done improving. He's gotten better every single year that he's been in the league, and he's about to enter his prime. He turns 27 in 10 days.

He's played 67 out of the 80 possible games over the course of his Patriots career, and he's started 64 of them. So that's pretty impressive. He doesn't put up crazy numbers. He's compiled 251 solo tackles, 153 assisted, 17 sacks, 2 safeties, 13 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. One for a touchdown in his first game of his career. Again, the numbers don't jump off the page because that's over a five-year period, but

he's the glue to the defense, and they have plenty of cap space to make it work. Again, some people out there saying he's already agreed to a new deal. Patriots just wait until the 2017 NFL calendar year begins, but we'll see how that goes. I think it would make sense, though, because although the Patriots have wait until the 2017 NFL calendar year begins, but we'll see how that goes. I think it would make sense, though, because although the Patriots have been known to let players go, that seems shocking. Hightower doesn't really fit into that category, but Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins, they did.

So I just don't think that Hightower is one of those type of guys that they want to let go. I think the only way the Patriots let Hightower walk is if someone offers them crazy money that they refuse to match, which happens a lot in today's NFL, especially with the amount of cap room that a lot of these teams have. I'm not backing off my stance, though. He needs to be re-signed,

and they shouldn't be afraid to give him more guaranteed money to keep his cap hit down and make sure that they keep him in town. If they do go that route, I would say it most likely will be a shorter-term deal, maybe three, four years, $36 million to $48 million, with $22 million to $28 million guaranteed. Something similar to the deal we saw McCourty sign after 2014. The thing with McCourty is it got dragged out a little bit and the Patriots ended up having a match.

I believe it was Baltimore or Philadelphia. I'm sorry. It was Philadelphia who had offered him a big deal. But they got it done. And I think they're going to do the same thing with Hightower. No matter what happens, this is going to keep things interesting in Foxborough like they always are. Now, as far as Malcolm Butler

is concerned, I'm not going to get too far in depth with that because I do think that both sides are working on a new deal. I know last season that they got pretty far on working on a new contract. It got to the point where they actually were close. That was reported by Mike

Reese yesterday. Mike's a great reporter. We thank him for all the information he's able to provide for us here at Locked On Patriots. He talked about it yesterday, how far down the line they were as far as contract discussions. And the fact that the Patriots didn't apply the franchise tag

to him yesterday says, I think it says that they have a good idea that they're going to be able to keep him in town. Now, he's another kid that's 26 years old. He's going to be 27 when the season starts up. He's in his prime. He is an excellent, excellent quarterback. He's top eight, I would say, in the NFL. They have to re-sign him. They got to get the deal done, because if they don't get him re-signed, they're going to be back in that position again with this searching for corners. And that's something they had a problem with up until 2014. And it just concerns me that Logan

Ryan and Malcolm Butler have the opportunity to possibly leave here. And the Patriots don't really have anybody behind them that could step up and take over. If anybody feels comfortable with Cyrus Jones, raise your hand hand Okay, now take your hand Put it back down again because you're an idiot There's no way that Cyrus Jones is going to be able to come in And be a top two corner for the Patriots It's not going to happen This is a team that goes to the AFC Championship

Essentially every single year And they need to make sure that they have strong cornerback play So the Butler situation needs to be resolved I do think it's going to be resolved. I think they're going to give him a five-year deal. I would say five years, $75 million. That way he gets what he deserves, and I think a lot of it will be guaranteed,

so that way they can save some money on the cap. Obviously, they'll protect themselves with some clauses where they can cut him after certain years, after the third year, things like that. So I do think that they'll get the Butler situation resolved. But some of you fans out there, I know, are a little freaked out that we may lose him. But stay patient. They know what they're doing.

They have a game plan. They always do. They have a ton of cap space. They've got a good amount of draft picks, and they know what they're going to do. So let's take a minute to tell you about one of our sponsors. PatriotsInsider on Scout.com. We provide daily news, video from NFL.com, which is great stuff. Fantasy football updates, advice, and you can even play on there.

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And you get Sports Illustrated free for a year and you get discounts to Fanatics. So again, check it out. NWE.scout.com. $5 a month, $49 for the year. You can't beat it. Go sign up today. Okay. We're going to move on. We're going to talk about offensive line free agents.

So, Patriots had a strong season up front offensively in 2016, but again, there's always room for improvement, especially when you have a 39-year-old quarterback that you're trying to drain every single bit of production out of in his illustrious career. I've examined this free agent class, and there's a few guys that would make sense for the Patriots,

but the rest of them are either older starters that are going to demand big money that aren't better than the guys you already have. A lot of them are just retreads, guys that have been around, bounced around the league as backups, but really don't fit what the Patriots do. And a lot of them are just busts from the last five drafts that teams just haven't decided to re-sign. And some of those guys are going to be the guys we look at. So let's take a look at a few. We're not going to go too far down.

We only have about five guys that we want to look at here because I just don't think there's a lot of guys in unrestricted free agency that New England's going to take a run at. So let's take a look at some of the offensive linemen that could help in 2017. So the first guy on my list is Luke Jekyll. I probably pronounced his last name wrong because I always do, but he hasn't played well, not even close to as expected after being the second pick in 2013. And now that he's an unrestricted free agent, there is a very good chance that the Jaguars are going to move on from the former Texas A&M Aggie.

Now, they have a new GM. They have everything. They're brand new down there. They've already talked about not committing to Blake Bortles. So clearly, they're not going to go out and re-sign a bust number two pick. Tom Coughlin doesn't roll that way. He's going to want to clear out a clean house and get a team in place

that's his type of team so we can expect to see Jake will not be re-signed by them. So, injuries have been a big reason for the stunted development of the former star, but staying on the field, I said it before, it's a talent in itself. And if a guy can't stay on the field, then the team he's struggling with is going to move on

the thing is the patriots love to sign high draft picks that have struggled especially those that have started every possible game when they are healthy um the jags they wanted him to move to guard which isn't a bad idea but he was resistant to that move so if he wants to take a chance at competing for a job and you know being a number one backup or possibly, who knows, maybe come in and beat somebody out for a guard or even a tackle position, I think coming to New England would be a very good idea for him and give him a chance to start all over again. And either as a tackler or a guard, like I said.

And he's going to have a chance to get coached up by Dante Skarnackia, which should help him with some of the issues he may be having with his technique. I think he's worth taking a gamble on. They traded for Jonathan Cooper last year, and that was obviously a throw-in, but that wasn't just a throw-in for them. The Patriots looked at that kid and said, listen, he was a top-ten pick three years ago, four years ago. What are we thinking? We have to take a look at this kid.

That's why they brought in Cooper. It's no different with Mr. Jekyll here. Jekyll, however you pronounce his name. His situation is exactly the same. He's had injuries, but he started pretty much every game because the team knew that he could play. He had some good games, but he struggled a little bit with his technique. Offensive linemen do struggle with technique early in their careers.

It can be fixed. So I think that he's a number one guy on the market that New England's going to look at and say, if we can get this guy at our price, let's bring him in on a one-year deal and see if we can fix him and possibly turn him into what he's supposed to be. And maybe, who knows, if it works out, they might be able to get him to stick around. Second guy on the list, same deal.

He's the same thing, except he's a guard. Chance Wormack. Wormack is basically, like I said, he's in the same shoes as Jokel, but he knows he's a guard, so that isn't a problem. The problem with Womack is he's struggled since being the number 10 pick in 2013. So again, this is the number 2 pick and the number 10 pick from 2013. Womack has started all 48 games that he's appeared in since he was drafted,

but he only played two games in 2016. Womack may have a team offer him a decent contract. Philadelphia is one of those teams that I've heard that might be looking to add him because they like him. But most likely, I think he's going to have to settle for a one-year prove-it type deal. The Patriots are always looking to solidify the interior of their line, and Wormack looking to prove that he can play. I think this could be a natural fit. I hate to keep bringing up Dante Skarniecki, but I have to

because when you've got guys that are high draft picks that are struggling with their technique, and you've got a line coach here who's basically the line doctor and the technique doctor, this is a good place to come and recoup your career and get things going. And Womack is young enough to be able to get that done. So I wouldn't be surprised if New England is one of those teams that takes a long, hard look at him because they know they have the coaching to get him up to speed,

and I think they could help him fix his issues. And I think that's something that his agent needs to look at and something that he needs to look at too. A lot of these players, when you're young, you're 23, 24 years old, 25 years old even, and you're at that point in your career where it's like, you know, I've played for a few years, I know that I'm getting off my rookie contract, but I haven't performed like I have. It's worth it to take a one-year prove-it type deal. Go to a team that you know can fix your issues. Go to a team that has excellent coaching. Learn from those coaches. Learn from what you've struggled with. And even

if you don't stay with that team the next season, you've at least gone and had a full year with one of the better programs, allowed yourself to improve in the areas that you struggled with, make sure that you keep film on yourself so that way when you're going forward you don't come back and make the same mistakes, and then you can go off and flourish somewhere else. New England has no problem with that. They do it all the time. They bring guys in for a year, they play great, and they move on.

Chris Long, I know he's older, but that's going to happen with him. There's nothing wrong with Chance Womack signing a one-year deal with a team, or even Luke Jekyll signing a one-year deal with the Patriots to come here, fix his issues, play with a good team, get that feeling back again of, hey, I can do this. I'm a good player. That's important, and I think that one of these two guys is absolutely going to be targeted, if not both of these guys are going to be targeted by the Patriots. They're two top ten picks, they're not that old, and they've started pretty much every possible game that they could have when not injured. So keep an eye on those two.

Luke Jekyll, Chance Womack, I think have a very good chance of being signed by the Patriots. Next up, this is more of just a depth-type signing if they go after him. Ted Larson. Larson was originally drafted by the Patriots back in 2010, but he was traded to the Bucs because the Patriots, they didn't have any room for him at the time. Since then, the former North Carolina State Wolfpack Center started 65 of a possible 101 games,

which is pretty good for a sixth-round pick. Last season, he only started eight games, but he did appear in 15, so he still does provide value as a spot starter and a swing guy. Patriots need to add depth and they clearly liked Larson when they drafted him. So they wanted to keep him. They just didn't, again, they didn't have room for him. So if the money is right, Larson, I think would be a good depth signing for a team that needs to ensure that their interior stays strong if someone is to go down. Next up, this guy actually is a Patriot. He's restricted. Cam Fleming. Yes, I know, Fleming is a Patriots free agent.

Like I said, we haven't talked a lot about Patriots free agents, but when I went through the Patriots whole free agent class, we didn't get too far into the restricted. We're going to do that this week, but we didn't get too far into it. So I want to talk about Fleming today. Another team can offer him a contract. So his situation is not in stone. He's not necessarily coming back to the Patriots. That's not a guarantee at all. Fleming's been a pretty good spot starter for New England,

and I wouldn't be surprised if another team actually offered him a decent contract. But his knowledge of the system, his youth, and his flexibility will make the Patriots offer him a competitive contract for a first backup slash swing starter type guy. We should have actually started this whole conversation with Fleming because I think if he's kept, we most likely won't see them take a shot at signing Jekyll just because it wouldn't make sense.

So this will be interesting to see what happens. If it's me, I'd try to keep Fleming and try to sign either Jekyll or Womack just to add depth and to take a shot at that top 10 type talent. But I don't sign the guys, and I'm not the Patriots GM, so I don't get to make that decision. But that's what I would do. And the last person we're taking a look at, this is a rando. A rando is a random guy that you guys probably don't even know of.

But you've got to remember, the Patriots, they pick random guys out of the blue and they end up doing pretty well. His name's Ryan Jensen. He's a restricted free agent. He's been with Baltimore. And we've seen in the past that New England likes to sign restricted free agents. Jensen was a sixth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2013. He's a good player.

He only played in one game his first year back in 2014, but his second year he actually started six of 11 games, and he was effective. He did a good job. And then last season he had some injuries and he missed nine games. He played both sides, left and right guard, appeared in seven, and he did start three games. So in his career he has missed a good amount of time,

probably being inactive and things of that nature, but he's definitely a good depth guy that the Patriots could get for a decent amount of money and not have to break the bank on him. So he started nine out of 19 games over the course of his three years in the league. So Ryan Jensen, 6'4", 310 pounds, played his college at Fort... Actually, where did he play in college? Actually, I'm not really sure where he played in college. I'd have to look that one up.

But he was a sixth-round pick, like I said, in 2013. Doesn't make a ton of money. He's the type of guy that I think could really have an opportunity to be signed just because the Patriots and the Ravens kind of look at guys the same. They do a good job as far as grading their talent. I think that has a lot to do with Ozzie Newsom and Bill Belichick kind of growing up together a little bit with Cleveland back in the early 90s. But I think Jensen's a guy that they're going to look at. So Ryan Jensen, restricted free agent the early 90s, but I think Jensen's a guy that they're going to look at. So Ryan Jensen, restricted free agent from the Ravens, I believe will be a target of

the Patriots in free agency, strictly from a depth standpoint. I mean, he's not going to come in and compete with, you know, any of the starters, I don't believe, but, you know, he's going to come in here and allow us to know that if somebody goes down, you can have a guy come in who's actually started games in the NFL. So Ryan Jensen is our last, not least, our last free agent that the Patriots could be taking a look at on the offensive line. So that's going to do it for us today. I want to thank you all for joining us on this Thursday edition of Locked on Patriots.

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all about getting Patriots fans the most info you need to be the most in the know Patriots fans. So be sure to join us tomorrow. We're going to discuss free agents on the defensive line. And actually, there's already been one that's worked out for the Patriots. I'm not going to tell you that name right now. Some of you guys can kind of look it up. I'll give you his initials, J-O.

Go figure it out, all right? I'm not going to give you too much information because I want to talk about it tomorrow. But again, D-line is an area. Patriots, they have to add depth heading into 2017. Alan Branch is a free agent. He's also not getting any younger, so even if they do sign him, they've got to bring in some guys that are a little bit younger, and they need to get a little bit stronger up front.

So I do think that defensive line is an area they're going to put a big focus on in free agency and in the draft. So we'll get an idea of the best options available, and we'll have that for you guys tomorrow. Again, I'm your host, Chris Simino. I want to thank you guys all for joining us today, and be sure to join us again tomorrow. Have a great day, Patriots fans.

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