Tag: Deatrich Wise

Former Hogs Wise, Henry named team captains for Patriots

Former Hogs Wise, Henry showing leadership skills in the NFL.

When the New England Patriots announced their six team captains for the 2023 season on Friday, it came with a flair of Arkansas presence.

Two of the six selected had spent three years as teammates on the Razorbacks’ teams from 2013-15. Deatrich Wise, Jr., is entering his seventh season with the Patriots and his second as a team captain. Hunter Henry is in this third year with the New England, and his eighth overall season in the NFL. He was selected as a captain for the first time.

Wise, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound pass-rushing specialist from Carrolton, Tex.,  served as a team captain at Arkansas in 2016. He was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2017 and help lead the team to the Super Bowl his first two seasons, winning it all in 2018.

Henry, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound product of Pulaski Academy, was one of the most prolific tight ends in Razorback history, winning the John Mackey Award in 2015 as the nation’s best tight end. He was drafted in the second round by San Diego in 2016, where he remained through 2020. He has battled through some injuries during his first two seasons in New England, but looks to be fully healthy for the 2023 campaign.

Aug 10, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) sits on the bench during the first half against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

4 Patriots standouts could be impacted if team pursued Lamar Jackson

Trading for Lamar Jackson would potentially impact these four Patriots players.

Lamar Jackson is one of the most electrifying players in the NFL, and it would make all of the sense in the world for his availability to pique the New England Patriots’ interest.

But it would cost them.

Keep in mind, on Tuesday, the Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard reported the Patriots are not expected to pursue the Baltimore Ravens quarterback. However, things change quickly in the NFL, and depending on the asking price, it isn’t impossible for a conversation to open up.

According to Miguel Benzan, the easiest way for the Patriots to make Jackson’s contract fit would be parting ways with some of their own highly-paid players. A new deal for the former league MVP could be worth upwards to $40 million annually.

Here are the four Patriots players that contract would potentially impact.

10 biggest Patriots salary cap hits with new player contracts in 2023

Who are the Patriots’ 10 biggest salary cap hits in 2023 with the newest contracts included?

The New England Patriots have reloaded their roster through free agency in an effort to wash the stink off from the 2022 season.

Whether they’re successful or not remains to be seen, but coach Bill Belichick is leaving no stone unturned with a real opportunity in front of him to change the ugly narrative surrounding the team.

One way to do that is beefing up the same offense that sputtered and ultimately collapsed under pressure last season. So Belichick went out and added playmakers like wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end Mike Gesicki and running back James Robinson.

On the defensive side of the ball, which was clearly a strength for the team, he kept the unit mostly intact. This was all done without breaking the bank and also leaving room to make even more moves down the line.

Taking the newest contracts into consideration, here are the 10 biggest salary cap hits for the Patriots in 2023.

10 biggest cap hits for Patriots heading into 2023 offseason

These are the biggest cap hits for the Patriots in 2023.

With the 2022 season now in the rearview, the New England Patriots turn their attention towards the 2023 offseason, when they’re expected to have the sixth-most cap space in the NFL, according to Spotrac.com.

The Patriots are projected to have roughly $44 million in a year where they’ll need to address the offensive line, re-sign pending free agents and possibly even add an elite receiver.

There’s plenty of work to be done for the team after missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and they’ll actually be in a position to make some big moves. It might not be raining money like it was in the 2021 season, but the potential is there for it to get close.

Here are the team’s biggest cap hits heading into the offseason.

Deatrich Wise says he’s training 6 hours per day to prepare for camp

“Working out. Doing drills. Watching film. Getting the body ready, the mind ready to go.”

Throughout his New England Patriots career, defensive end Deatrich Wise has made a habit of staying on the field to run drills longer than any other player after training camp practices. When he was a rookie, he and defensive end Derek Rivers would drill with pads long after the practice period was over. Now a seasoned veteran, Wise still has that same work ethic.

Ahead of training camp, he’s training hard — perhaps with the thought that he’ll be logging those extra hours after training camp practices.

“I train physically and mentally about six hours per day. Working out. Doing drills. Watching film. Getting the body ready, the mind ready to go,” Wise told ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Reiss and Wise were catching up during a sit-down interview for Bridge 2 Trades. Per a Patriots press release, that program has a mission “to provide area youth alternative career paths in construction and other trades during a six-week course.”

As for how the arrival of training camp will impact the whole family, Wise’s wife Chanelle said the defensive end’s birthday typically falls right around the first day of practice. So she celebrates a few things: the opening of the football season and Deatrich’s Birthday. Oh, and one more thing.

“You also have a cleaner house, so that’s great, too,” Chanelle said with a laugh.

Wise logged 41 tackles and three sacks in 2021. He remains one of the team’s rotational edge players after signing a contract extension with the team last offseason.

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Report: Patriots restructure Deatrich Wise’s deal to accommodate DeVante Parker

The Patriots are restructuring Deatrich Wise’s contract to accommodate the addition of DeVante Parker.

The New England Patriots have converted $2.85 million of defensive end Deatrich Wise’s base salary into signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. The move creates $1.9 million in salary-cap space for 2022, with the Patriots needing room to add receiver DeVante Parker, who officially joined the team on Tuesday in a trade.

Wise signed a four-year, $22 million deal in 2021. With this restructuring, New England didn’t give him any new money, but instead paid him a lump-sum bonus. While that bonus immediately hits Wise’s wallet, the Patriots will pro-rate the money over the rest of his contract, splitting the salary-cap impact between the remaining years. It’s a common move for teams trying to get under the salary cap.

Parker joins a group of receivers that includes Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry, among others.

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Every player the Patriots have signed so far in free agency

List of players the New England Patriots have signed in free agency, including Matthew Judon, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith.

No NFL team has been more active than the New England Patriots since the legal tampering period opened on Monday.

Been a bit hard to keep up with all the players the Pats have agreed to terms with, right? What about those couple that skipped town?

Get yourself caught up right here.

Every player the Pats have added this week, and the few who have departed New England, right here:

Instant analysis of Patriots re-signing DE Deatrich Wise

He’ll jump back into his situational pass-rushing role.

Deatrich Wise looked like a total gem after the New England Patriots found him in the fourth round in 2017. He seemed to be booming with upside after a strong start to his NFL career. But then, week after week, the same Wise kept showing up. It wasn’t that he was a disappointment — to the contrary. Wise was beloved inside the Patriots’ locker room and was a situational contributor for his New England tenure. That’s what he was in Year 1 and that’s what he is after four years.

But he never took the next step. In that respect, we know what the Patriots will get from Wise in 2021. He has decided to re-sign with New England, a decision made a few hours into the tampering window on Monday. Wise played 55% of snaps in New England’s 3-4 defense in 2020. And if they run that same defense — it seems likely they will — then Wise will again get a shot to earn a similar workload.

New England is upgrading at outside linebacker, with Matthew Judon joining the fold. Chase Winovich, Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings comprise the outside linebacker spot with upside. It’s likely New England will add more defensive ends to compete with Wise, rather than just edge-defending linebackers. And it’s possible Wise’s workload will be diminished in 2021, with the Patriots clearly making an effort to bring in new talent after a down year for the defense. But New England gets a reliable player on the field — and a happy-go-lucky locker room presence. He may not put up huge numbers for New England, but he’ll be a steady performer.

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Report: Patriots re-signing DE Deatrich Wise

Deatrich Wise is coming back.

The New England Patriots are re-signing defensive end Deatrich Wise, according to multiple reports.

Wise is one of many Patriots who are returning in free agency, with quarterback Cam Newton and Justin Bethel bypassing free agency to stay with New England.

Bill Belichick had been extremely active prior to retaining Wise — the Patriots agreed to terms with pending free agents tight end Jonnu Smith, edge Matthew Judon, defensive back Jalen Mills and Davon Godchaux. Those four deals can become official when the 2021 league year opens on March 17.

The Patriots drafted Wise in the fourth round in 2017. He has 131 career tackles with 14 sacks, one forced fumble and four run stuffs. In 2020 as a situational pass-rusher, Wise logged a career-high 49 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1371561884630069248

Wise will return to a defensive line that looks sparse with Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, John Simon and other set to enter free agency.

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Houston Texans 2021 free agency target: DE Deatrich Wise

The Houston Texans will need to revamp their defensive line, and New England Patriots DE Deatrich Wise may be the guy if he hits free agency.

Defensive line has become an even greater need for the Houston Texans.

The departure of J.J. Watt only intensifies a problem that was already manifest for the 2020 Texans. Now, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year leaving means the Texans have to address the issue lest they continue to be porous against the run and fail to pressure opposing quarterbacks.

A name to keep an eye on during free agency is New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise. The former 2017 fourth-round pick from Arkansas was with the AFC East club while current Texans general manager Nick Caserio was the director of player personnel in New England.

Pro Football Focus has him as their 105th-best free agent, and predict he will sign a three-year, $21 million contract to stay with the Patriots.

An intriguing option, Deatrich Wise Jr. has played all over the defensive line in New England. He has generally been a very efficient pass-rusher but close enough to a liability in the run game that his role for the Patriots was reduced until injuries forced him back into more playing time. Wise has 57 total pressures on 452 pass-rushing snaps over the past two years and a top-10 pass-rush win rate over that time. If he lands in a spot that cares less about the run than New England, his best football could be in front of him.

The Texans will need as much versatility from their defensive linemen as possible as they transition from a 3-4 scheme, which has been deployed since 2011, and adapt to defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2. Wise would be able to be a “hold the fort guy” in year one, and ultimately transition to finding a stable role on the defensive line for the final two years of his contract.

Wise produced 49 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovered for a touchdown in 16 games, seven of which he started for New England in 2020.