In free agency there are always two sides to the coin: the teams that win and keep the players, and the organizations that see key pieces starting. This time the Patriots had to lose.
In the first instance they lost the linenacker Kyle Van Noy, who struck a deal with the Dolphins for 4 years and $ 51 million. This was just one of Miami’s multiple moves, which also signed Byron Jones.
Van Noy, 28, joined the Patriots in October 2016 after spending just over two years with the Lions. New England delivered a sixth round of the 2017 draft to Detroit for the services of the passer. During his stay at Gillette Stadium he got a couple of championships.
But Van Noy’s departure was not the only one. Also linebacker Jamie Collins agreed to join the Lions for three years in exchange for $ 30 million. (average $ 10 per season).
Collins, meanwhile, was drafted by the Patriots in 2013 and for 2016 he was sent to Cleveland in a trade; in 2019 he returned to New England. With the organization of Robert Kraft he got Super Bowl XLIX.
Thuney stays
Although it wasn’t all bad news at Gillette Stadium. Given the possibility of losing one of his anchors on the offensive line (along with David Andrews, who missed 2019 due to blood clots in the lungs), Patriots used the franchise player tag on guard Joe Thuney.
With this move, the North Carolina State graduate will have a salary of more than 14 million dollars by 2020.
–
