Felger: What the Patriots are doing is underwhelming
The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a deal with free agent quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, for the 2024 season. Brissett projects to be a “bridge” quarterback for the team for the season, with expectation that the team will draft a rookie quarterback with the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. On Tuesday’s Felger and Mazz, Felger talks about how he feels the move, along with the Patriots other moves so far in free agency, are underwhelming.
Are the Patriots in for another bad season in 2024?
Felger: Oh, they’re bad. They’re bad top to bottom. The whole thing is bad.
Jim Murray: The defense isn’t bad.
Felger: The coach is underwhelming. The offensive scheme and offensive coach is bottom of the league. The quarterback, is it the worst starting quarterback in the league? I don’t know. Minshew just went to the Raiders. Right?
Jim Murray: Yes.
Felger: Okay so it’s close.
Jim Murray: Or do you want Sam Darnold who’s going to be the bridge guy in Minnesota?
Felger: I was just going to say Minnesota with Sam Darnold and Sam Howell with the Commanders, who Brissett couldn’t beat out. So, I don’t know, name a worse starting quarterback in the league?
Mazz: Oh, no no no they’re in the running. They’re in the running for the for the bottom five, there’s no question.
Felger: Tennessee, Will Levis. Would you rather have Will Levis or Jacoby Brissett?
Jim Murray: Levis.
Mazz: Me too.
LANDOVER, MARYLAND – AUGUST 26: Washington Commanders quarterback Jacoby Brissett #12 prepares for a snap against the Cincinnati Bengals in a preseason game at FedExField on August 26, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Tony Davis/Getty Images)
Felger: Okay. So, I mean you’re talking just about the worst starting quarterback in the league. They right now are going to be worse, with really underwhelming coaching. An offensive coordinator that no one else wanted and a first time head coach who’s a linebacker coach. They’re worse. And free agency isn’t what did them in, and they signed a bunch of bad guys, I’m not telling you that they signed the right guys, but they were never in cap trouble. Never at any point in time. Whether you believe in the cap or not, like here we are a couple years later and the last two years, they’ve had more money to spend than any team in the league. They just haven’t spent it. So what did them in was the drafts. The drafts did them in and what they did with Mac Jones did them in. So I don’t know what my point is other than to say, what they’re doing now is so underwhelming. It’s not even funny. It’s just top to bottom underwhelming. And there is a middle path there to be more competitive in the short term and just draft better. The two things are not mutually exclusive. Like, why couldn’t you have a better veteran quarterback to sit here and bridge the gap to the young kid? Why does it have to be the worst starting quarterback in the league?
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5 defensive free agent fits for the Patriots
The New England Patriots are promising to add an impact player in free agency – on defense.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the Patriots should aggressively address the offense on the open market, considering their many needs on that side of the ball. But according to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, they’re looking to make room for “at least one elite defender who would start immediately” in free agency.
MORE: Patriots free agent tight end rumors
The market has morphed in recent days. Established high-end players have either hit the market due to cap issues with their teams, or been tagged. And that’s just on defense.
Edge defender Danielle Hunter could be a free-agent target of the New England Patriots when NFL free agency kicks off. (Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)
Frankly, it’s a better, deeper market on that side of the ball than it is on offense. The Patriots would inevitably be overpaying someone at wide receiver, while the tackle market is both thin and top-heavy. So, if they intend to spend bigger than usual this off-season, it would be wise to allocate some space to a difference-maker(s) on defense.
And you can expect that defense to remain more-or-less the same under head coach Jerod Mayo. New defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington First-year defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington on his philosophy: Scheme will look similar. pic.twitter.com/4gxjtM1c9r
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Here are five free-agent defenders the Patriots could target, who would both fill needs and make immediate impacts…
EDGE Danielle Hunter
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Hunter can still make serious noise up front at age 29. He racked up 16.5 sacks in his contract year with the Minnesota Vikings, and led the NFL with 23 tackles for loss.
The Patriots typically like their edge players to be well-rounded, and Hunter fits the bill as a guy who can defend against both the pass and the run. And Hunter can line up on the left end, making him a dynamic complement to Matthew Judon.
DT Christian Wilkins
Megan Briggs/Getty Images
The Patriots deployed Lawrence Guy up front for years, and now they have an opening after releasing the veteran defensive lineman. As a three-down interior defender, Wilkins would be a mighty big fish to catch, after logging nine sacks and 23 QB hits for the Dolphins in 2023. Wilkins is also a stout run defender.
Paired with the Pats’ other Christian, Barmore? That would put them in the conversation for the league’s best defensive front.
ILB Devin White
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
The Patriots should be in the market for an off-ball linebacker, with Mack Wilson Sr. set to become a free agent and no suitable fits at that spot remaining on the roster. White is coming off a bit of a down year in Tampa Bay, as his counting stats fell off his usual pace. But he did post the best opposing passer rating of his career at 83.0, thanks to two interceptions (via Pro Football Focus), and can still rush the passer up the middle as well as anyone at his position.
White could come at something of a discount as something of a post-hype player. But his past performance for the Bucs defense, when they played more big games with Tom Brady, should count for something. He’d fill a pressing need for the Patriots, with the upside to make a real impact over the middle of the field.
FS Justin Simmons
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The Broncos recently released Simmons, and don’t mistake that as a statement on him as a player. Denver is in a serious crunch after also releasing quarterback Russell Wilson, and needs a financial reset. So, Simmons, who was due a base salary of $14.4 million in 2024, became a casualty.
That said, Simmons is still an impact free safety at age 30. He was named a second team All-Pro for the third straight year in 2023. He would finally fill the void left by the retired Devin McCourty as a true “center fielder” and deep safety for the Patriots. Simmons can do what Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, and Adrian Phillips could not.
CB Chidobe Awuzie
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Awuzie may not necessarily qualify as “elite,” but he is certainly a starting cornerback at the NFL level. On the Patriots, he’d be the No. 2 opposite budding star corner Christian Gonzalez.
As a 6-foot, 202-pound corner who can both cover and tackle on the perimeter, Awuzie would check some boxes for New England. Signing him should cost less than the very top of the market, and should not preclude the Patriots from signing more of a game-changer at another position.
