Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Free Agents in the Trenches: Offensive and Defensive Lines; Gronk Backs Mac?

Starting point is 00:00:00 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. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to follow locked on Patriots,

Starting point is 00:00:50 wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike debate. I cover your new England Patriots for Patriots country of sports illustrated. So reach out to me, let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDA, BAT,

Starting point is 00:01:02 E NFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, and they help you do it faster. Post your job for free at LinkedInin.com slash locked on NFL. Pats fans, if you're viewing us on YouTube, as you can probably deduce, some technical video difficulties today.

Starting point is 00:01:33 But that wasn't going to stop us from bringing you the latest and greatest from Foxborough. So thank you for taking time out to join us here on the pod. And today we're going to be talking the main man the quarterback the guy under center for the New England Patriots Mac Jones and it's been a little bit since we've talked about Mac here on the pod few things in the news that have been keeping us a little distracted Tom Brady's retirement of course the Shrine Bowl Senior Bowl the draft coming up a lot of different things going on in New England but ultimately if the Pats are going to show any improvement this year, Mac's got to step his game up. We all know it, but he just got a recent big endorsement from a pretty big Patriots legend,

Starting point is 00:02:14 and that legend is definitely qualified to give his opinion. Folks, we're going to talk about that today and more, and as you can see from the title of today's episode as well, I'm going to be taking a deep dive into the Patriots free agents in the trenches. That's the offensive line and the defensive line. Who stays, who goes. We're going to be talking about it all today here on Locked on Patriots. So stick around and stay locked in to Locked on Patriots. And if Mac were to pick out a theme song for his 2022 season, folks, I'm venturing to guess it might be David Bowie and Queens Under Pressure. That's one of my

Starting point is 00:02:52 favorite songs. If I just got that stuck in your head and it's not one of yours, I apologize. If it is, you're welcome. But I digress. Mac Jones struggled to maintain his presence in the pocket in 2022. We all saw that. We know it. And he found himself under duress an awful lot. We've blamed coaching. We've blamed inadequate protection on the offensive line. And I think both of those are really the two main culprits. And you have to also lay some of the blame at his feet as well. But the teams that had the most success against Mac this year, those teams that deployed those blitzes from the second and the third level of the defense and that pressure confused Mac. And we've talked about this with several guests here on Locked On Patriots numerous times

Starting point is 00:03:40 in the past. But what the pressure really does to a quarterback, what it did to Mac Jones, is it causes you to open at the top of your drop in the past but what the pressure really does to a quarterback what it did to Mac Jones is it causes you to open at the top of your drop in the wrong direction when that happens everything goes wrong all of a sudden you're missing players you're not seeing open receivers you're running for your life you're under duress and really mostly what you're doing is you're making poor decisions and that's exactly unfortunately what happened to Mack in a lot of respects in 2022. Now, that was due to inadequate protection on the offensive line, gave him insufficient time to operate,

Starting point is 00:04:16 and then the play calling really wasn't to his maximum ability. It really wasn't to his strengths. Because he had such little time, Mac had little to no choice but to accept and take those short yardage checkdowns which didn't really elicit a whole lot of confidence or really a whole lot of joy from the fan base I was on Twitter as well I saw it some of it was warranted some of it wasn't but again I understand the frustration on a lot of fans watching this offense last year without any question but when the perimeter corners were able to take away his preferred routes they made mac pretty ineffective when he had his routes and he could choose them

Starting point is 00:04:57 mac was able to complete the ball and you saw several instances in which he was able to take shots downfield make plays happen happen, escape, make, you know, give the opportunity for his receivers to make the play and then even maybe get some yards after the catch. But when he didn't do that, he really, really struggled. And the numbers bear this out ranking in the bottom 10 of NFL quarterbacks in terms of completion percentage and positive plays when pressured. And that's a stat that i used here on tuesday when i gave my final report card for the patriots but there is an endorsement that the new england patriots could hang their hat on someone who knows a thing or two about playing with

Starting point is 00:05:38 prolific quarterbacks someone who knows a thing or two also about playing under new Patriots offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien. And that guy is Rob Gronkowski. With any question, you know, if you're talking about a guy that knows his stuff when it comes to the Patriots offense, Rob is at the top of that list. And making the media rounds during Super Bowl week, Rob was recently a guest on the Next Pats podcast hosted by Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. Phil's a great guy.

Starting point is 00:06:06 He's been a guest here on Locked On Patriots. And Rob opened up to him a little bit about Mac Jones. And in my opinion, this sounded a lot like a ringing endorsement. And I'm going to read to you exactly what he had to say. Rob's words exactly, folks. Quote, he had a great season. Obviously, it kind of went downhill a little bit in 2022, but I really feel like the sky could be the limit for him this year.

Starting point is 00:06:31 Now, this to me sounds like Rob trying to maybe pump the tires of Mac a little bit, folks, but also he knows a lot about which he speaks. He spent 11 seasons catching passes from Tom Brady. Now, I'm not comparing Mac to Tom in no way, shape, or form. Tom is arguably the greatest in the history of the game to ever do it. I think he is the greatest. Some would argue that point, but you get the point. Rob knows a thing or two about catching a pass from a very good quarterback.

Starting point is 00:07:01 He's no stranger to this. Now, he also has a working knowledge of playing for O'Brien. He knows that O'Brien designed defense. In his first two seasons with the Patriots, Rob had pretty good success with Bill O'Brien as his offensive coordinator. Solid rookie season in 2010, emerged as one of the best young NFL tight ends at the time and continued to do that, working his way all up to, I believe, being the best tight end to play the game so far. 90 passes, 1,327 yards, 17 touchdowns in 2011. Those were all career highs, and Rob did it in his second year under a Bill O'Brien offense.

Starting point is 00:07:39 So he knows that Bill O'Brien's offense can work to the advantage of a quarterback when he's got solid players around him that can make plays, that can do what they can to help the quarterback achieve his goal. And he believes at this point that Jones might be the proper guy to work under Bill O'Brien, that there's enough here in New England for these two to really set the world, I don't want to say on fire, folks, but there is an opportunity to really set the world straight in terms of what the Patriots can do offensively. They won't be a laughingstock like they were in 2022. I don't think they belong being a laughingstock. I think they were a little

Starting point is 00:08:20 better than people gave them credit for, but nationally, you hear it. I hear it. We all hear it, and we're still hearing it this year about the Patriots offense. That's why I think so many people are excited about Bill O'Brien coming in. You have competent play callers calling the shots this year, and that's all I'm going to say on that, but Rob went on. I want to focus on what Rob had to say because I think it really is something that Patriots fans can feel excited about. Quote, in order to be successful as a player, sometimes you just got to be in the right system. I feel like having Billy O come in is going to be the ultimate test. And that's interesting. We'll come back to that in a minute. But if he doesn't improve under Billy O, well, I think the

Starting point is 00:09:01 ceiling is closed. But if he improves under Billy O'Brien and showcases his talents the right way I think he can go as far as he wants and I believe that's the case as well Mac had a very good rookie season without any question about it one of the better statistically sound seasons for a rookie that we've seen in recent memory but again just didn't have the ability to put it all together in 2022 some of that is on his shoulders some of that is the circumstances around him and that to me really I think speaks volumes about what the pressure is going to be on him this year a lot of prat falls for Mac at the Patriots offense in 2022 but Gronk believes that O'Brien's system is going to give him the ability to have greater

Starting point is 00:09:46 security and if Mack is more secure I absolutely think he'll be better this year Gronk goes on quote I think Bill O'Brien is going to put Mack Jones in the best possible situation that he can be in week in and week out throughout every single play you're not going to really see a play where you're just hitting your head like what was that I feel like Billy O does a great job utilizing his talent all around him from the quarterback position all the way to the tight ends and the wide receivers. And I think Mack realizes this as well. He issued a pseudo statement, kind of came through a source. Mark Daniels of MassLive was the guy that was on this right from the start and said Mac was very excited about Billy O'Brien joining the coaching staff excited about working with a coach quote-unquote now

Starting point is 00:10:31 that you have a working relationship with and someone that you've had the opportunity to work with in the past that speaks volumes as well uh Mac Jones I think it was uncomfortable at times last year with the play calling with the coaching staff and even though all parties involved said the right thing you have to give credit where credit is due to mac finding that synergy now with bill o'brien he's not going to have that same communication breakdown type excuse that he had last year he's got to step it up but here's where bill o'brien's system i think is really going to thrive with him. During the time that Mack spent at Alabama, Jones was quite proficient at running the type of offense that Bill ran in 2021 and 2022 at Alabama. An offense, by the way,

Starting point is 00:11:19 which Mack helped him get acclimated to when Mack was on his way out of Alabama as a senior quarterback ready to get drafted and when Bill was coming in as the new offensive coordinator, Bill has said that he really helped him develop his synergy with this offense in a very challenging system. And Mack Jones was one of the guys that was right there to help him. So there's that working relationship. I know a lot of people think these guys share the field as together as player and coach. That's going to happen for the first time this year. But at the same time, there is that ability for guys to be able to make the plays that they need to make. That's where Mack, I think, is going to really, really appreciate someone like Bill O'Brien on

Starting point is 00:12:01 the sidelines. So I know some of you are probably shaking your head listening to this saying, what does Gronk know? He hasn't been in New England in quite some time. We don't know what is going to happen here, but I will say this, give it a shot, folks. Mac Jones is someone that does do well when he's well coached and when he's coached hard. That's something that Bill O'Brien is going to give him without any question. If Mac is not able to get the job done, as Rob Gronkowski said, then you know that maybe you haven't got the right fit here in New England. But I do believe this year is going to be a better year for him.

Starting point is 00:12:37 I believe it's going to be a more comfortable year for him. And at the end of the day, we may be looking back at Rob Gronkowski's words of wisdom and saying, boy, Gronk knew bill he knew mac he knows the patriot system this ended up working out pretty well so hopefully i know from our lips to the football god's ears patriots are definitely hoping for that improvement but in order for them to improve, they need players on the field. And that is where free agency comes in. You got to take care of your own house before you start searching for additions, searching for upgrades. And that's what the Patriots are going to do on the offensive line and the defensive

Starting point is 00:13:18 line. And we're going to talk about all of those in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by our friends over at LinkedIn Jobs. As a small business owner or a hiring manager, you know that success in 2023 all depends on the team members you surround yourself with, and that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. With LinkedIn Jobs, you can hire qualified candidates more efficiently by matching open roles with people who have the skills, the values, and experiences to help you achieve your goals.

Starting point is 00:13:54 LinkedIn Jobs helps you attract the qualified candidates to your job posts through your me and through their 875 million number profiles to put your post in front of the most qualified candidates. It's why small businesses rate LinkedIn jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, and they help you do it faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans, it is Thursday here on the Live on Patriots podcast. Thank you so much for joining us here today.

Starting point is 00:14:50 You made us your first listen. Make your second listen, our good friends over at Bell. All the news you need regarding the game, including amazing coverage from Super Bowl 57. You want to check it out and definitely do that wherever you get your podcasts. And also give my good friends over at Locked On Eagles and Locked On Chiefs a listen as well. They are absolutely crushing it with coverage this week. And definitely we wish them the best in Sunday's game and Super Bowl 57. But even though it's Super Bowl Sunday is not the same in New England. It just isn't. There are members of the New England Patriots that have to take center stage when it comes to the attention of the Patriots brass.

Starting point is 00:15:31 That's right. I'm talking about the Patriots offensive and defensive free agents. And by their own admission, folks, the Patriots organization is serious about returning to their winning ways. They want to make the significant changes they need to make both strategy personnel wise especially on offense you're already seeing it with the coaching staff phil o'brien coming in adrian clem coming in this is something that's big for the new england patriots will lawing coming in is probably the new tight ends coach that's definitely have a new voice in town or several new voices in town, but you need players on the field in order to be able to execute these new game plans. And one of the most prominent reasons why Mac Jones struggled so much last year was the

Starting point is 00:16:16 offensive line. And we just talked about Mac's struggles and what Rob Gronkowski brought to the table in terms of believing that this year will be different and maybe better for Mac. That's all well and good, but the Patriots are going to need those offensive line free agents or those basically retained offensive line free agents in order to make those changes and in order to make the year better. And because they have 22 members of their own roster headed to free agency they're going to face some critical decisions on whether to retain these internal commodities or allow them to hit the open market so we're going to talk a little bit about the internal free agents on the offensive

Starting point is 00:16:57 line this year we're going to start with isaiah win and i know folks there's a collective groan coming from wherever you are right now about Isaiah. Look, he's headed for unrestricted free agency. I think seems to be a lock to continue his football journey elsewhere next year. Wynn went from a solid starting left tackle without any question. I thought he was one of the better guys in the league at being able to adapt. I wouldn't consider him top five, maybe even top 10, but I would consider him in the top half of what you see in terms of starting left tackles in the league. Went through a positional switch during training camp. Now, a foot injury definitely hurt his chances of making an impact on the field this year,

Starting point is 00:17:42 and I'm certainly not going to discount that. There was a lot of reasons why Isaiah was not able to live up to expectation. But when you allow 17 pressures and four sacks while committing eight penalties, yeah, you're a liability at that position. And unfortunately, New England just wasn't the fit for him this year. And I don't think ultimately it was the fit for him right along. Isaiah is going to be someone that is going to command some money on the open market because tackles absolutely are hard to come by, especially competent ones and athletic ones.

Starting point is 00:18:17 When he's healthy, Isaiah does have the quickness, he has the strength to win his battles when he's going one-on-one against the edge rushers. He can create openings for the running game very well. I'd say he's above average in that category. As a result, I think someone is going to offer him decent money. I don't think the Patriots are going to be able to match what he's going to get on the open market. As a result, I look for Isaiah Wynn to continue his football journey, as Tom Brady would say,

Starting point is 00:18:43 elsewhere. And I think in a lot of ways, it's probably best for both sides to move on. There's always a chance that Isaiah's market is very weak. He comes back to the Patriots. Pat signed him to a very minimal risk deal, and he continues his career here. But I would call that highly unlikely. I definitely think Isaiah is on his way out. Now, the rest of the free agents that the Patriots have on the offensive line, not so

Starting point is 00:19:09 easy to figure out. We'll start with the fellow unrestricteds because the Patriots have three of them. James Ferentz, not an everyday starter. I really like James, and I think that he definitely gave everything he had in every position the Patriots put him in, and he did it to the best of his ability. But his knowledge of the system, his tenacity make him a solid reserve option at center, at tackle, or at guard. He can play all the positions. And I think that's why the Patriots do their due diligence to try to bring him back. Saw action in 12 games, made three starts. He was charged with allowing four pressures and two sacks this year

Starting point is 00:19:45 but i think a lot of ways he brought stability when david andrews went down when cole strange struggled really you know when they had their problems at right tackle ference was always a guy that you could plug in anywhere and count on him to give 110 those guys are not players that just automatically grow on trees. This is something where New England saw something in him, and I think they're going to continue to see something in him. So I would look for the Patriots to do whatever they can to sign James back on the field. Maybe he comes back as a practice squatter. Maybe he gets a roster spot. If teams are going to start shelling out big money for offensive linemen this year,

Starting point is 00:20:26 then I think the Patriots might be in danger of losing him because you saw this with guys like Ted Karras, spot starters, people that you believe can really do better maybe in another system. Teams are going to take flyers on them. Now, I'm not comparing James to Ted. Ted is starting caliber. There's no question about it. Doing great things over there with Cincinnati, but James is someone that I think may have been a little bit underrated because of the manner in which he's deployed. If he can get halfway decent money, you might see him go elsewhere, but I would like to see him come back. I think it's a 50-50 shot on James right now. Connor McDermott is an interesting free agent for me in terms of whether he's going to be retained or whether he's not. This was a homecoming for him. Obviously, we all know,

Starting point is 00:21:11 drafted in the sixth round, 2017. Didn't play a regular season game for the Patriots, though, until this year. He allowed eight pressures, but he didn't surrender a sack. And this is where I think this is going to be a savvy retention. He can be a veteran swing tackle. He can play on the right. He can play on the left. You're looking for someone that can come in, plug and play. This is your guy. And I think he's going to thrive more under the type of system that's run under Adrian Clem. I think Adrian is going to be able to utilize Connor a little bit better. I think he's going to see his strengths a little more, and I think he's going to put him in a better position to succeed. So I think Connor McDermott comes back. I like him. 70-30 is my split right now with him being retained. Keep a sharp eye on this one, folks. This could be a good solid reserve option. Marcus Cannon is really a favorite of mine. I just, I

Starting point is 00:22:01 really enjoy covering Marcus. I really enjoy seeing him back in New England. It was a good story to see him come back last year, but I think in a lot of ways, we're seeing the handwriting on the wall that retirement might be an option for him. He's going to turn 35 in May. And even though, you know, the concussion sidelined him for the remainder of the season, he performed adequately. He started four of the five games that he played, 11 pressures he was charged with. So obviously that's not that great in a small sample size, but he only allowed one sack. If he wants to continue his career, it's going to have to be on a league minimum, on a very team-friendly deal with the New England Patriots. But I think that retirement right now is probably something he's seriously considering. I don't have inside information on that, folks. I am not reporting

Starting point is 00:22:51 that. I don't have anybody in with Marcus Cannon's camp, but this is just my own personal observation. He could prove me wrong. He could step back out on the field and perform very well. Problem is, I just think that the Patriots are facing a logjam at this position. And unless Marcus comes back as a practice squatter or at a very affordable deal, I think they try to upgrade and give the kids a chance to be able to get some playing time. When I say kids, I mean the draftees from last year, Chasen Hines, Cody Russe, Andrew Stuber. Don't forget, he's still out there as well.

Starting point is 00:23:24 Has to see the field for the New England Patriots. They've got a lot of depth pieces. I don't know if they go the veteran route with Marcus this year, but that's my two cents on where the Patriots stand on their internal free agents. There's also the case of Yannick Adjust, who was a restricted free agent. And Yannick is an interesting case for me as well, because I think he did enough to earn a spot on the Patriots next year, but I don't think he did enough to completely secure it. So if you're looking for a guy that could go either way, Yanni's another 50-50, even as a restricted free agent. 10 games with the Patriots, made three starts, 12 pressures, three sacks allowed.

Starting point is 00:24:03 Not great numbers, not awful numbers, but not great numbers. He got overtaken on a depth chart by Connor McDermott. I think Connor may be a little bit more affordable as an option for the Patriots, a little bit more amenable maybe to take a team-friendly deal. I think that he gets the opportunity to return only if the Patriots value his abilities above what they have on the depth chart right now. Now, Kudras definitely can be a strong lineman when it comes to walling off defenders in the running game. This is his strong, excuse me, folks, this is his strength. This is his forte. If the Patriots value it, he'll be back. If they don't, and they don't offer him a mid-level tender, which I don't think they'll go any higher on that, then he's going to

Starting point is 00:24:50 be a free agent. And if he hits free agency, I don't see the Patriots retaining his services. So there you go. But with the Patriots offensive line free agents, they're the guys in the trenches that either the Patriots retain or they don't but what about the Patriots on the opposite side of the ball the defensive trenches are just as clogged and we're going to talk about those trenches in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up but first folks today's episode brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel. This year, the only app you need at your Super Bowl party is FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. We're really excited about our new sports betting partner for Locked On because they're the number one sportsbook in America. That's right, folks.

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Starting point is 00:26:18 official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Patriots fans, following your New England Patriots 8-9 finish to the 2022 season, the Pats are determined to make those necessary improvements to return to postseason play in the upcoming season. They've done it on offense so far in terms of bringing in a new offensive coaching staff, a new regime in Foxborough under Bill O'Brien, under Adrian Clem, and also under Will Lange. But the Patriots are not just doing it on the offensive side of the ball when it comes to the coaching staff. They're also trying to win games in the trenches.

Starting point is 00:26:57 And we talked a little bit about Patriots offensive line free agents, their internal friends, and what their likelihood is at either coming back or moving on next year. But even though the offense has been heavily criticized for their performance, the Pats defense, strongest unit on the team takeaways, second only to the Dallas Cowboys, and they consistently ranked among the NFL's top teams in total defense, total yards, and yards yielded per offensive play. So the core members of this team, I think a lot of the core members of this team remain under contract for 2023, but there are some interesting decisions on whether to retain a handful of key depth contributors along the defensive front. And here we go. Without further ado, we'll talk about the players along the Patriots defensive front that they may have to

Starting point is 00:27:56 take a look at and determine whether or not they're going to be in the Foxborough fold for 2023. And we'll start with Mack Wilson. Now, we all remember Mack coming in as the trade partner with the Cleveland Browns, Chase Winovich going to Cleveland, Mack Wilson Sr. coming here. And I think a lot of us got caught up in the hype of Mack being that fast sideline-to-sideline operator that was really going to do in a lot of ways what Chase Winovich never could in a Patriots uniform. I think Mack showed flashes of him being able to do that. I love the athleticism, and I love the effort from this kid every single time he put on shoulder pads. Played in every game, all 17 games for the Patriots, 36 total tackles, two for loss, one and a half sacks, and a forced fumble.

Starting point is 00:28:46 But even though he didn't have that sideline-to-sideline impact that we all thought he was going to have, he did demonstrate speed and athleticism, got three starts out of the deal, played mostly off the ball, but he didn't play a single defensive snap over the last five games and was really used exclusively on special teams down the stretch. That, to me, says the Patriots may not be eager to offer him a deal to return next year. Now, if he's willing to sign a short-term deal, a team-friendly deal, I can see the Patriots taking a flyer on him. The athleticism is there, the strength is there, and the-friendly deal, I can see the Patriots taking a flyer on him. The athleticism is there, the strength is there, and the desire is there, but the fit may not be what the Patriots had hoped

Starting point is 00:29:31 for early on. That's the case. I think you can expect Mack Wilson to continue his career elsewhere next season, but I don't know if I say the same thing for Raekwon McMillan. McMillan was a guy that came in with a lot of hype. The Patriots got him off a torn ACL. That sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 season. And this year, coming off of the ACL tear, even though he came in from 2020 to 2021 with a lot of expectations from the Miami Dolphins, he had a serviceable year this year as a reserve linebacker. Got a good combination of size and speed. I think infused some athleticism that the Patriots desperately needed from the previous year. He's good at executing his coverage assignments. I like

Starting point is 00:30:16 what I saw from Raekwon in this area. 16 games, 35 tackles, five for loss, got a quarterback hit, and he, of course, we all remember the fumble recovery for the touchdown against the cardinals in week 14 that was his signature moment i think in a lot of ways rayquan might end up coming back to new england because his statistical output not exactly going to set the world on fire it's not going to make his market all that robust. So because of that, I think at the right price, he comes back. Smart retention for New England in 2023 as a depth piece. Not going to crack the starting lineup, but I think he's still got something left to give. We'll see if the Patriots agree. I know a lot of my colleagues and a lot of you out there would

Starting point is 00:31:00 probably say, cut him loose. We don't need him. But keep in mind, folks, you need depth pieces, athletic depth pieces that can thrive in a system once they've been in it for one year. I think Raekwon McMillan gets the benefit of the doubt from me, but if they do move on from him, I also will be careful to say that it's not going to be catastrophic. The next two players I think are going to be really tough for me to say goodbye to because I really like covering both of them. Mostly Carl Davis, really just a great guy to cover on this team. He continues to prove his value in the system. Great two gapping interior defensive lineman can give you a spot start, but he's going to be a guy that's going to come off

Starting point is 00:31:42 the bench and he's going to give you everything he's got size and strength up front no question about it six five three twenty he can do it that's no question but his ability to contribute when defending against uh the you know defending against the double team that is where he has some difficulty he's very good when it comes to defending against the outside zone. This is where Carl Davis really thrives, but those showings against that type of coverage, against the situation where he's holding up against the double team, where defenders start to flow to the inside, that's where he has his difficulties. He can get beaten on his assignments there. Again, if the Patriots value his rotational versatility I like Carl to come back if not then I think they'll probably move on from him maybe go

Starting point is 00:32:32 a little bit younger at the position but again this is going to be another one of those retentions where you get a low risk low impact deal for one year and then they can move on Patriots feel they're not filling out the depth chart properly, I can see Carl Davis being the guy that gets re-signed. The last but not least is Daniel Aquale and I thought Aquale provided himself or proved himself, I should say, to be a really solid depth piece along the defensive line. 14 total tackles for Daniel, two for the loss, three quarterback hits, two sacks. He missed the first two games for the suspension.

Starting point is 00:33:08 We all know that. He came back, played all 15 that he was eligible for, and I thought he showed a great amount of work ethic versatility, something Bill Belichick spoke about very highly in the mid part of the season. That caught the eyes of his teammates and his coaches, and he's got a pretty multifaceted skill set. That's one of the things that makes me worried about him coming back. I think teams saw this in Daniel Laquale. They may be valuing him at a higher level than the Patriots will, considering some of the play that they got along the defensive line this year.

Starting point is 00:33:39 If he's able to be brought back on a team-friendly deal, I think the Patriots jump at this. If not, you may have seen Daniel Laquale play his last game in New England. He may be on the greener pastures elsewhere in the NFL. So if I had to rate his chances of coming back, I would probably say 60-40 in favor of the New England Patriots resigning him. But don't quote me on that, folks. You may have seen Daniel Laquale play his last game in New England. Where do you think these players are going to end up? I would love to hear what you have to say. Drop me a comment in the YouTube comments and the section below the YouTube video.

Starting point is 00:34:15 Or you can always reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATENFL, as well as the Lockdown Patriots account at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, again, thank you so much for putting up with some video difficulty. We'll be back tomorrow. Our main man Murph coming back to close the week in style, just as we opened it, setting the table for Mock Draft Monday. But also, we're going to be giving you our Super Bowl 57 preview, so you don't want to miss that.

Starting point is 00:34:43 And of course, don't miss the opportunity to stay locked into the Locked On Podcast Network by not only making us your first listen, but making your second listen, the Locked On NFL Podcast, who will be breaking down all the national news when it comes to the Shield. And once again, folks, I thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Once again, I am Mike DeBate. Continue, folks, to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world.

Starting point is 00:35:15 Have a great day, everyone. And we'll close the weekend out here tomorrow on Locked On Patriots Friday episode.

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