Patriots’ Joe Thuney Signs Franchise Tender

Done deal. On Thursday, offensive lineman Joe Thuney inked his one-year franchise tag tender with the Patriots, according to agent Mike McCartney (on Twitter).

For weeks, we heard that the Patriots were unlikely to retain Thuney. Then, this week, they threw everyone a curveball by assigning him the franchise tag. Initially, many speculated that Thuney would be a tag-and-trade candidate, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Patriots are already discussing a long-term deal with the 27-year-old, so it sounds like he’s in their plans for 2020 and beyond.

With the deal signed, Thuney is slated to earn $14.8MM in 2020. The two sides can continue talks on a potential extension up until the summer deadline for franchise tagged players. If they can’t reach an accord by then, they’ll have to wait until after the 2020 season to pick things up again.

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