Patriots add 2 new defenders to the mix as they get ready for the Jets
The New England Patriots have added a pair of new faces to the team as they prepare for a massive Week 3 showdown with the New York Jets.
Two mystery players appeared at Thursday’s Patriots practice in Foxboro, wearing Nos. 35 and 42. One of them is veteran cornerback Breon Borders, whose agency, Exclusive Sports Group, announced on X that he’d signed with New England.
NASHVILLE, TN: Breon Borders #39 and Janoris Jenkins #20 of the Tennessee Titans reach up to intercept a pass against the Buffalo Bills at Nissan Stadium on Oct. 18, 2021. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Borders, 28, is a veteran of seven NFL seasons. The Patriots mark his 12th (!!!) team that he’s spent time with at some point. He’s been activated for games with the Bills, Jaguars, Commanders, Titans, Cardinals, and Bears. He was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons in the 2023 preseason.
Borders was unavailable for the first two weeks of the 2023 regular season due to a two-game suspension under the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Under league rules, Borders got his suspension after testing positive for a “stimulant, diuretic or masking agent.” The more commonly known six-game PED suspension is for anabolic steroids.
According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, the other new signing is rookie defensive back Azizi Hearn, who played college ball at Arizona, Wyoming, and most recently as a transfer at UCLA. Both Hearn and Borders are practice squad signings.
LAS VEGAS, NV: Wide receiver Isaiah Winstead #2 of the San Francisco 49ers is tackled by cornerback Azizi Hearn #48 of the Las Vegas Raiders after a reception during the fourth quarter of a preseason game at Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 13, 2023. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Hearn spent 2023 training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders, but was waived during final roster cuts. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if some intel from Josh McDaniels helped the Patriots decide to bring Hearn in. Hearn’s draft profile at NFL.com described him as a guy who may have to move from cornerback to safety to be effective at the pro level.
Ideally, neither Borders nor Hearn have to play any time soon. If that happens, the Patriots are likely dealing with major injury problems in the secondary. They should be more more than scout team depth.
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The Patriots' lack of investment at tackle is quickly catching up to them
The New England Patriots’ biggest problem didn’t take long to show itself. And it wasn’t even in the first two weeks of the regular season. It was back in March.
Starting in free agency, continuing through the draft and camps, and culminating through Weeks 1-2, the Patriots have only kind of addressed the offensive tackle position in 2023, and that lack of urgency has quickly caught up to them. Injuries have certainly been a major factor across the O-line, but it’s a reasonable excuse on the interior, where they entered 2023 with three clear, legitimate starters.
It’s not an excuse at tackle. Because these guys were the whole plan, and the risk was obvious.
Sept. 10, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown in action during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The news that the Patriots restructured Trent Brown’s contract only underlines the truth of this year. They decided to lean on Brown to be the anchor of the position, arguably of the entire line. He’s already missed one game in 2023 and was limited for a chunk of training camp, and yet the Pats still realized they needed to more heavily incentivize their most important offensive lineman in order to get the most out of him and solidify the group.
Brown did play all 17 games in 2022, but he’s never been the most consistent player in any facet. But in the case of the 2023 Patriots’ tackle room, the team needs to do all it can to keep him healthy, fully engaged, and playing his best football.
And Bill Belichick has no one to blame for this situation than himself. That’s especially true at right tackle, where the Patriots never found a consistent, strong option. And you can’t blame that on injuries. That guy was never even brought in the building.
Free Agency
Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots offensive tackle Riley Reiff (74) works with a weight bag during 2023 training camp. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The 2023 off-season presented a real opportunity for the Patriots to make a bold signing for an immediate starter at tackle. Instead, Jawaan Taylor went to the Chiefs for an AAV of $20 million; Mike McGlinchey went to the Broncos for $17.5 million; Orlando Brown Jr. went to the also-tackle-needy Bengals for $16 million; and Kaleb McGary stayed in Atlanta at $11.5 million.
In New England, the Patriots decided to spread their tackle spending over two signings. And still, adding Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson cost a combined AAV of $8.5 million. A little less than middling tackle money, for two players.
Yes, injuries happen. But the easiest way to mitigate the impact of injuries is to invest more in your talent and depth. The Patriots invested in middle-of-the-road veterans, so the injuries have hit them worse than teams with higher-end players.
The Draft
Aug. 3, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots center Jake Andrews (53) chats with kicker Chad Ryland (62) and punter Bryce Baringer (59) on their way to the practice fields during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Fast-forward to late April, and the Patriots spent their first three draft picks on an already-good defense, despite major needs on offense. First-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez and second-round defensive lineman Keion White both look like hits, to be fair.
But they followed that up with a third defensive player, linebacker/safety hybrid Marte Mapu, and didn’t address offensive line until round 4. And even then, their three O-line picks came on the interior. Jake Andrews is a center/guard, Atonio Mafi is a guard, and Sidy Sow had to convert from tackle to guard in college before reaching the NFL. It appears that the Patriots have already given up trying to re-convert Sow back to tackle.
So, when Belichick pointed to those picks in a recent interview on WEEI as a real investment in the offensive line, it’s easy to roll your eyes. It was an obvious obfuscation of the fact that the Patriots basically didn’t draft a tackle, despite ample opportunities to do so in a strong class.
Coaching Staff
Sept. 17, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reacts from the sideline as they take on the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
The Patriots didn’t just have an obvious need on the roster. They also needed a new offensive line coach, after Belichick entrusted the role to Matt Patricia in 2022.
So, no complaints on the Patriots’ hiring of Adrian Klemm, a former NFL offensive lineman with coaching experience in the league with the Steelers who was coming off a successful season in the college ranks as Oregon’s O-line coach and run game coordinator. The question is whether Belichick believed that Klemm’s coaching would make up for any talent deficiencies.
There’s evidence that Belichick did believe this. Klemm received a “pay raise” to leave Oregon for New England, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. According to The Oregonian, Klemm was set to make $850,000 for the Ducks in 2023.
Through two weeks, the coaching investment hasn’t worked out. The Patriots rank 23rd in yards per rushing attempt at 3.5. In the passing game, they’ve allowed pressure on 26.7 percent of Mac Jones’ dropbacks, the eighth-highest rate in the league. Klemm may yet be a good-enough coach when he has legitimate talent to work with, but so far, his presence hasn’t been enough to cover their flaws.
Chasing It
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Patriots ultimately never identified a serviceable option among their right tackles, and so Belichick was forced to make a move outside the organization just before the start of the 2023 season. They brought in Tyrone Wheatley Jr. from the Browns and Vederian Lowe from the Vikings.
Lowe started in Brown’s place at left tackle in last Sunday’s primetime loss to the first-place Dolphins. He didn’t play particularly well, but it’s not his fault he had to be out there in the first place. That goes back to Belichick.
Obviously, injuries have played as big a role in New England as anywhere else so far this season, and the Patriots aren’t alone in having O-line issues in general. But the investment was just never there, certainly not at tackle. It needed to be bigger. It needed to come somewhere.
Because of that, even when healthy and solidified, the Patriots will have tackle questions throughout the season. If the Pats don’t turn their slow start around and something torpedoes the season, the tackles are the odds-on favorites to do it. And we all saw it coming.
