Nate Solder Down To Giants Or Texans?
Patriots left tackle Nate Solder probably won’t be a Patriot for long. It sounds like the free agent will be signing with either the Giants or Texans, based on what Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) has been hearing. There isn’t a “lot of optimism” about him staying put with Bill Belichick & Co., according to Rapoport. 
Solder, one PFR’s top ten free agents, also had a serious suitor in the Browns just hours ago. However, after agreeing to terms with Donald Stephenson as well as Chris Hubbard, the Browns are no longer in aggressive pursuit of this year’s No. 1 free agent tackle.
The Giants desperately need to bolster their offensive line, making Solder one of their top targets this March. Ditto for the Texans. Houston agreed to sign Seantrel Henderson on Tuesday, but the former Bill can slide down to right tackle if necessary.
Solder is not expected to take any free agent visits, meaning that he could sign at any time.
Patriots Re-Sign Nate Ebner
The Patriots have re-signed a key special teamer. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that New England has signed safety Nate Ebner to a two-year deal.
The 29-year-old has spent his entire six-year career in New England. After compiling a career-high 19 tackles in 2016, Ebner was limited to only nine games and eight tackles last season. The former sixth-round pick struggled through a shoulder injury early in the season, and he landed on the injured reserve in November after tearing his ACL.
Ebner has also had a successful rugby career. At 17, the Ohio native became the youngest player to join the United States national rugby team, and he proceeded to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ebner didn’t play football throughout high school, and he joined Ohio State as a walk-on during his junior year.
Latest On Nate Solder’s Market
Left tackle Nate Solder is one of just three of PFR’s top 10 free agents that has yet to find a new contract, and his market appears fluid. Two teams that are reportedly in pursuit of Solder — the Browns and the Texans — have signed other offensive tackles today, but both clubs still appear to be in play for Solder.
Cleveland inked former Steelers swing tackle Chris Hubbard to a five-year deal, but the Browns are still interested in Solder, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Franchise icon Joe Thomas hasn’t given Cleveland an indication as to whether he’ll retire, so it’s unclear exactly how many tackles the team needs. But Hubbard’s ability to play several positions means the Browns could land Solder to play left tackle and deploy Hubbard elsewhere, likely at right tackle.
Houston, meanwhile, signed Seantrel Henderson and are expected to give him a chance to win a starting job. But the Texans are still in on Solder, as well, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Like Hubbard, Henderson can play right tackle, and given Houston’s porous offensive line, there is plenty of room for improvement.
Solder is not expected to take any free agent visits, according to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link), meaning he could conceivably sign at any time. The Giants are also reportedly targeting Solder, who has spent his entire career with the Patriots.
Titans To Sign CB Malcolm Butler
Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan are reuniting. This time, it’s in Tennessee. Butler intends to sign with the Titans when free agency formally opens on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Butler gets a five-year contract worth more than $61MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes more than $30M guaranteed. 
Butler had interest from multiple teams, including the Texans and the Saints. The Jets, who are said to be seeking two starting-caliber corners, also likely had Butler high atop their list. A return to incumbent Patriots, meanwhile, seemed unlikely after Butler was benched for the overwhelming majority of the Super Bowl.
Had Butler reached unrestricted free agency last offseason, he would have had piles of money thrown at him. However, he was a restricted free agent and the Pats prevented him from joining the Saints when they could not agree to terms on a trade. This time around, Butler was an unfettered free agent and still got paid oodles of money, despite coming off of a down year.
Butler will now collect more than the tentative agreement — four years, ~$50MM — that he’d agreed to with the Saints in 2017. The Patriots, meanwhile, never offered Butler more than $7MM annually.
Giants Interested In OT Nate Solder
The Giants are among the teams with interest in tackle Nate Solder, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). The Patriots free agent stands as the best available tackle in a weak market and figures to have a number of suitors. 
The Giants are in serious need of offensive line help and have already missed out on top target Andrew Norwell. Their interest in retaining their own free agent lineman Justin Pugh is unclear, but in any case, Solder would represent a clear upgrade over him. Depending on how things shake out, a Solder signing wouldn’t necesarily preclude the Giants from re-signing Pugh, who can also offer help on the interior.
Solder, 30 in April, has been among the league’s better tackles since entering the league in 2011. Last year, Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 32 tackle last season and he was in the top 20 in 2016. You could say 2017 was a down year for the veteran, but he was playing through injuries and figures to be better in 2018, if healthy.
Dolphins To Sign WR Danny Amendola
Danny Amendola is staying in the AFC East, but he’ll do so with a different team. The Patriots free agent has agreed to sign with the Dolphins, according to NFL Network’s Dan Hellie (on Twitter). Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter) has confirmed the news. It’s a two-year deal worth $12MM with $8.25MM guaranteed, according to Peter Schrager of NFL.com (on Twitter). Schrager notes that the deal includes incentives, but it’s not immediately clear if those incentives are factored into the $12MM figure.
Amendola was vocal about his desire to stay with the Patriots, but New England’s cap crunch has led him to sign elsewhere. He’ll now face his old friends twice per season and he might make the Pats regret the decision to let him leave.
Amendola accepted several pay cuts in order to stick on the Patriots’ roster in recent years, but the offers were too good this time around for the wide receiver to stay put. The veteran earned roughly $6MM over the last three years with the Patriots and he’ll earn more than that in guarantees alone with Miami.
After a down season in 2016, Amendola racked up 61 receptions, 659 yards, and two touchdowns during the 2017 regular season before stepping up with a 26/348/2 line in the postseason. Amendola has never topped 700 yards receiving in a single season, but he is a strong weapon in today’s quick passing game.
The Dolphins jumped at the chance to land Amendola after parting ways with Jarvis Landry this offseason. They used the franchise tag on Landry, an excellent slot receiver, to keep him with a one-year, ~$16MM placeholder before shipping him to the Browns. Amendola will step into Landry’s role and while he might not offer the same production, he comes at a much better value.
This has proven to be a seller’s market for this year’s top free agent wideouts. Already, Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins, and Paul Richardson have landed lucrative multi-year deals. Amendola joins that group with a solid pay day of his own.
[RELATED: Dolphins Depth Chart]
Top 3 Offseason Needs: New England Patriots
In advance of March 14, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the New England Patriots, who, following a trade of their future quarterback and reports of disfunction in the organization, lost a high-scoring Super Bowl to the Eagles.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Danny Amendola
- Johnson Bademosi, CB
- Brandon Bolden, RB
- Rex Burkhead, RB
- Malcolm Butler, CB
- Nate Ebner, S
- Chase Farris, G (ERFA)
- Cameron Fleming, T
- Marquis Flowers, LB
- Ricky Jean-Francois, DL
- Caleb Kidder, DE (ERFA)
- Brandon King, S (RFA)
- Dion Lewis, RB
- Matthew Slater, WR
- Nate Solder, T
- LaAdrian Waddle, T
Top 10 Cap Hits for 2018:
- Tom Brady, QB: $22,000,000
- Stephon Gilmore, CB: $12,600,000
- Devin McCourty, S: $11,935,000
- Rob Gronkowski, TE: $10,906,250
- Dont’a Hightower, LB: $9,125,000
- Brandin Cooks, WR: $8,459,000
- Martellus Bennett, TE: $6,412,500
- Marcus Cannon, T: $5,800,000
- Dwayne Allen, TE: $5,000,000
- Stephen Gostkowski, K: $5,000,000
Other:
- Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $16,604,239
- Must exercise or decline 2019 fifth-year option for WR Phillip Dorsett
- Must exercise or decline 2019 fifth-year option for DT Malcom Brown
Three Needs:
1) Reinforcement on front seven
Bill Belichick’s defensive “bend, don’t break” mantra showed major cracks in the Super Bowl. New England allowed 538 yards in their championship loss, although the defensive breakdown wasn’t all that surprising. Despite only allowing 18.5 points per game in 2017 (the fifth-best mark in the NFL), the Patriots defense still allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the league.
Sure, this could certainly be attributed to the Patriots’ defensive backs, but their core of safeties and cornerbacks looks solid heading into free agency. Sure, Malcolm Butler is likely out the door, but the Patriots still have a solid trio of Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, and Patrick Chung. While the team could certainly use an upgrade at their second cornerback spot (Jonathan Jones, Eric Rowe, and Cyrus Jones are ultimately destined for backup/nickel roles), the Patriots don’t really have too much they can improve with this unit.
Rather, the team should be focusing on adding some talent to their front seven. The Patriots did limit opponents to only six rushing touchdowns (second-best in NFL) while compiling 42 sacks (tied for seventh), but their 114.8 rushing yards allowed per game certainly left a lot to be desired. These numbers also don’t tell the full story, as the front-seven was always susceptible to the big run, and they often let opposing quarterbacks sit in the pocket (thus allowing the signal-callers to pick the defensive backs apart). In fact, despite some of the encouraging counting stats, Football Outsiders ranked the team’s rushing defense 30th overall.
The struggles were all but confirmed by the organization late in the season, as they were forced to bring in a 39-year-old James Harrison for some help on the edge. While the veteran looked fine in his four regular season/postseason games (13 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble), it’s a bit telling when a team is forced to rely on one of the oldest players in the NFL for an important role. Pro Football Focus also wasn’t fond of the team’s front-seven. The Patriots had 
nine linebackers, edge defenders, and interior defenders play more than 300 snaps last season, and only two were rated as above-average (defensive tackle Malcom Brown and defensive end Trey Flowers).
The return of a healthy Dont’a Hightower and the addition of defensive tackle Danny Shelton will certainly help. There’s also optimism due to the team’s youth, as nine of the 10 defensive lineman currently under contract are 25 or younger. However, there’s no denying that the Patriots could use some talent in their front seven, whether it comes via a defensive end or linebacker. The Patriots generally don’t like to spend big on an edge rusher, so it’d make sense to pursue some reinforcement with one of their early-round draft picks. Considering the youth on defense, New England could also pursue an older, productive lineman or linebacker who is looking for a chance a chance to win. Spending big money on a defensive end or linebacker may not be the wisest decision, but pursuing some talent on the unit should still be atop the team’s wish list.
2) Re-sign Nate Solder or a comparable replacement
While he may be 40-years-old, the Patriots top asset is still quarterback Tom Brady. Considering much of the team’s success in 2018 (and beyond) will rely on the future Hall of Famer, it only makes sense that the organization would look to protect their golden boy.
Well, for some reason, that hasn’t happened recently. Brady was sacked 35 times last season, the fourth-highest total in his career (he was also sacked 38 times in 2015). Regardless of whether the Patriots pursue a future replacement for Brady in the draft (more on that later), the team is still relying on their franchise quarterback for at least another couple of seasons. In that case, it makes plenty of sense to assure that the team’s offensive line is top-notch.
Re-signing offensive tackle Nate Solder would certainly solidify the line. The 2011 first-round pick has started 95 games for New England during his seven years with the organization, including all 16 in 2017. Pro Football Focus only rated him 32nd among 81 offensive tackle candidates last season, but the site rated him as a “high quality” option in three of the previous five campaigns. The Patriots would clearly like to retain the free agent, but Solder could be one of the most popular free agents on the market. The lineman was listed fifth on our rankings of the NFL’s top-50 free agents, and previous reports indicated that he’s expected to receive a deal that’s around $12MM annually. New England is currently staring at around $16MM in cap space, so a hefty offer could knock the Patriots out of the race.
Outside of Solder, guard Shaq Mason is truly the only other lineman the Patriots can anticipate above-average production from. David Andrews, Joe Thuney, and Marcus Cannon have all shown flashes of being solid starting lineman, and 2017 third-round Antonio Garcia (who missed his entire rookie campaign) is intriguing. However, if the team is relying on these four to round out their offensive line, they better hope that Brady “TB12 Method” is effective. In other words, Brady could conceivably see a career-high in sacks.
The Patriots haven’t been shy about taking a lineman early in the draft, so they could look to add a talented rookie to the unit. The team could also eye some of the other top free agent offensive lineman, a list that nows includes Justin Pugh or Ryan Jensen (although those two wouldn’t be replacements for Solder, per se). Either way, assuming the Patriots want to keep Brady upright (and in the starting lineup), they should either be pursuing reinforcement on their offensive line or focusing hard on locking up Solder.
3) Find a future replacement for Tom Brady
Think what you want of the Patriots’ underwhelming haul for Jimmy Garoppolo, but the team’s decision to trade the quarterback was at least rooted in logic. Presumably, the Patriots believe they can squeeze a couple more seasons out of Tom Brady, and they wanted to get some value for Garoppolo before he hit free agency (it never seemed like that the Patriots were going to pay two players starting-quarterback money, even if Brady is underpaid).
However, with Brady’s former heir apparent now out of the picture, the Patriots seemingly don’t have a plan for when their franchise quarterback ultimately retires (unless Belichick believes a 32-year-old Brian Hoyer can reinvent himself as a contending signal-caller). In other words, although the Patriots may have recently traded a 26-year-old quarterback, they should be looking at young options in this year’s draft.
Now, the Patriots shouldn’t necessarily dedicate a first-rounder (or even a second-rounder) to selecting a rookie quarterback. However, they should definitely be eyeing some candidates slated for the third-round or later. The Patriots (and their fans) shouldn’t be wary of “wasting” a pick on someone who may never take the field. Since 2010, the Patriots have selected three quarterbacks in the fourth-round or earlier, and they’ve managed to receive some sort of compensation for each of those players (Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett, and Ryan Mallett) via trade. Sure, there is some lost value in trading, say, a former third-rounder for a seventh-round pick, but the Patriots don’t have the time to be patient with the quarterback position.
While the Patriots may have some more pressing needs on their 2018 roster, finding a future replacement for Brady should still be one of the team’s top priorities. Brady’s clock is ticking, and the team should be doing everything in their power to find a replacement. If the 2018 pick doesn’t pan out, then they should try again in 2019 or 2020. Playing under Belichick and Brady could be key for a young signal-caller, so the organization shouldn’t delay in their pursuit of a future starter.
LaAdrian Waddle Unlikely To Sign With Patriots Before Wednesday
- It’s unlikely the Patriots and offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle agree to a deal before Wednesday, reports NESN’s Doug Kyed (via Twitter). The 26-year-old is likely to test free agency following a 2017 campaign that saw him play in 12 games (four starts). While the lineman played 380 snaps, Pro Football Focus ranked him 64th among 81 eligible offensive tackle candidates.
[SOURCE LINK]
Latest On Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski
We’re still waiting on Rob Gronkowski to decide on his football future, but the latest word is promising for the Patriots. Gronkowski’s has been working out at the TB12 Sports Therapy Center at Gillette in recent days, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Late last month, Rapoport reported that Gronkowski was expected to continue playing. So far, agent Drew Rosenhaus has stayed mum on the subject, though Gronk is known to be wrestling with the decision in the wake of a concussion he suffered during the postseason.
Gronkowski, a mainstream star, may have other lucrative opportunities waiting for him outside of football. There has been talk of an acting career and the WWE may be interested in bringing him into the world of sports entertainment. Right now, one has to imagine that Gronkowski will put the silver screen and the squared circle on the back burner.
Last season, No. 87 caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns for the Pats.
Texans Interested In Malcolm Butler
The Texans are among several NFL teams with interest in cornerback Malcolm Butler, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). As reported earlier today, the Saints are also among the teams looking into the Patriots free agent. 
Butler was conspicuously absent from the Super Bowl and did not look like his usual self in 2017. Still, he stands as one of the very best cornerbacks available in this year’s crop. Last week, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Butler as the No. 2 CB available, ahead of Bashaud Breeland, E.J. Gaines, Morris Claiborne, Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Prince Amukamara. He trailed only Trumaine Johnson on the list.
Cornerback is high on the Texans’ agenda after Kevin Johnson disappointed and Kareem Jackson turned in an up-and-down season. In hindsight, the Texans probably wish that they made a stronger effort to retain A.J. Bouye last offseason.