Tag: Mike Onwenu

Projected market value for Patriots’ top pending free agents

The Patriots have multiple in-house free agents they might want to re-sign. Here’s what it could cost them.

Big decisions loom on the horizon for the New England Patriots heading into free agency.

They’re sitting pretty right now with roughly over $100 million in available salary cap space, but they are also a team bogged down with various holes and upgrade needs on their roster.

Free agency isn’t just about paying big money to load up on outside talent. It’s also about keeping the talent you already have to ensure some continuity. Not everything was bad with the 4-13 Patriots, and this isn’t a situation where the organization is looking to throw the entire team away.

There were pieces that stood out as potential parts of an eventual solution in New England. and it now falls on Patriots executive Eliot Wolf and the front office to figure out ways to keep those pieces intact.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Patriots’ top free agents and their projected market values, according to PFF.com and Spotrac.com.

25 best free agent targets for the Patriots in 2024

Here are the 25 best free agent options for the Patriots

The New England Patriots are expected to be aggressive in free agency this offseason in an effort to fill multiple holes on their roster.

It’s no secret that the onus for the 4-13 finish in 2023 falls predominantly on the offensive struggles. There’s a need to fill at every offensive position for New England, most notably at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive tackle.

However, don’t think for one second that the defense will go ignored. That unit was one of the best in the NFL last season, and it kept the team in games that would have otherwise turned into blowouts.

If the Patriots hope to remain competitive in 2024, they’ll need to continue adding defensive playmakers to keep games close. In no particular order, here are the 25 best potential free agent targets for the Patriots:

Cost for Patriots to franchise tag Kyle Dugger or Mike Onwenu revealed

If the Patriots wanted to franchise tag Kyle Dugger or Mike Onwenu, here’s how much it would cost

The franchise tag costs are set for the 2024 season, and they could prove important for the New England Patriots, if they decide to tag any of their pending free agents in the offseason.

But who would be the likeliest candidates in New England to receive the franchise tag?

The easy answer would be safety Kyle Dugger and offensive guard/tackle Mike Onwenu. Dugger stepped up as the leader in the defensive backfield after Devin McCourty retired, and Onwenu proved invaluable for the Patriots due to his ability to play at both the guard and tackle positions.

If the Patriots wanted to use the franchise tag on Onwenu, it would cost the team $20.9 million for the one-year placement holder. Meanwhile, keeping Dugger around on such a contract would cost the team $17.1 million.

Between the two players, Onwenu is the one the Patriots can’t afford to lose. The offensive line was a trouble spot for the team all season long, and the former sixth-round draft pick is their best offensive lineman.

Of course, they would much rather strike up a long-term deal than pay the hefty franchise tag fee. But with Trent Brown’s contract also expiring, the Patriots don’t want to find themselves in a position where they lose both tackles in free agency.

Fixing the offensive line is imperative if the Patriots are even considering using their No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on a quarterback.

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4 offensive linemen Titans should target in free agency

A look at four offensive linemen the Titans should target in free agency, with one from each position of need.

After yet another dismal year for the offensive line in 2023, the Tennessee Titans may end up replacing up to four starters upfront in 2024.

The only player locked into a starting role for next season is 2023 first-round pick and left guard Peter Skoronski, who showed signs that he has the goods to be a long-term solution at the position.

While Skoronski is the only sure thing, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the only one to return from last year’s group, as it’s conceivable Tennessee could stick with some in-house options at different spots.

The Titans will have multiple avenues to improve their offensive line this offseason, whether that be through free agency, the draft and/or a trade.

With free agency first on the offseason docket, here’s a look at four offensive linemen the Titans could target. We’ve included one player for each of the four positions Tennessee may want to replace.

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent offensive tackles

Are there any hog mollies worth keeping an eye on in free agency?

Will the Carolina Panthers be able to find the fabled offensive line depth this offseason?

Here are the top 12 free-agent offensive tackles of 2024:

4 Patriots players made ESPN’s top-50 pending free agents list

The Patriots have some key contracts coming due in the offseason, and four of those made ESPN’s top-50 free agents list

The New England Patriots have multiple key free agents with pending contracts on both sides of the ball. So before they start looking outwards, they’ll have to pull up a mirror and make decisions on players on their own roster first.

Who stays and who goes in New England?

That will be one of the biggest questions facing the team in March. One has to wonder how the new regime will impact the decision-making as well with Bill Belichick no longer serving as the de facto general manager.

The Patriots are clearly heading into a rebuilding season, and they will have to make some tough decisions to ensure their ability to address the most problematic areas on the roster.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen put together a top-50 ranking of NFL players on pending free agent contracts, and there were four Patriots players on the list.

Here’s where those players ranked:

18 pending free agents for Patriots heading into offseason

18 pending Patriots free agents heading into the offseason

The New England Patriots head into an offseason of uncertainty with a slew of pending free agents.

Of course, the first order of business is making a decision on whether Bill Belichick stays, goes or has his powers stripped as the de facto general manager for the team.

Then the Patriots can begin to attack the who stays and who goes questions.

Whoever takes over the personnel decisions will have a tough run right out of the gates with key free agents likely requiring big contracts to keep employed. Players like offensive guard/swing tackle Mike Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger won’t be returning for cheap.

And that’s only scratching the surface. Here are 18 pending free agents for the Patriots heading into the offseason:

Podcast: Predicting which Patriots top free agents stay and go in 2024

Who’s staying and who’s leaving the Patriots at the end of the season?

When it comes to the New England Patriots, there has been so much talk surrounding the 2024 NFL draft that free agency is seemingly being overshadowed.

Not only will the Patriots enter free agency as one of the team’s with the most cap space, but they’ll also have one of the most extensive pending free agent lists in the NFL. Key players, such as Kyle Dugger, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu and Ezekiel Elliott might all be playing elsewhere in 2024.

Ryan O’Leary and I discuss the possibilities, as well as predict if these players stay and go, in this week’s episode of the Patriots Wire Podcast.

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Who should the Patriots bring back in 2024? What players should they let go? And what Patriots-related storyline are you most interested in heading into the offseason?

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12 key contributors could be in final days with Patriots

These 12 players could be playing football elsewhere in 2024

The last week of the regular season means some New England Patriots players could be in their final days with the team.

Many are pending free agents that aren’t likely to be brought back, while others could be let go for other reasons. The Patriots have players on both ends of the spectrum.

They won’t be able to re-sign everyone, even with the lucrative salary cap expectations for the team in 2024. There’s also the possibility of the team hiring a new regime altogether, if they ultimately make the decision to fire coach Bill Belichick.

Serious changes could be on the horizon for the Patriots, and here are 12 players that could be caught up in it at the end of the season:

Predicting Patriots 2024 free agent contracts and destinations

Where will the Patriots’ pending 2024 free agents land and for what kind of contracts?

As the season wraps up, regardless of who is in charge, pending unrestricted free agents will be trying to put as much good tape out there as possible.

They’ll be looking to earn as much money as possible on their future deal, along with setting themselves up with the best possible fit for them to continue producing.

The Patriots are expected to have around $100 million in cap space to spend in 2024, and they will likely want to add some outside talent to help fix one of the league’s worst offensive rosters.

Given their age and position, I have assumed Matthew Slater and Cody Davis will both retire. It’s also worth noting the Patriots will need to actually spend real dollars at the start of a new three-year period, per league rules. They can spend money now, in 2025 or 2026. But they need to spend real cap dollars to be compliant.

Here are each of the Patriots’ unrestricted free agents, and where I think they’ll land, as well as for how much.