New England Patriots Should Sign Edge Rusher Dwight Freeney
Veteran edge rusher Dwight Freeney has expressed interest in signing with the New England Patriots. Does he have enough left in the tank to make them curious?
At 36-years-old, veteran edge rusher Dwight Freeney is not ready to hang-up his cleats. Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King for the Monday Morning Quarterback, Freeney talked about wanting to continue playing with a specific mention towards Bill Belichick and company in Foxborough.
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“Well,” Freeney said when King specifically asked about the Patriots, “that’s hard to fathom. But I’m not against Bill. My first allegiance right now is to Arizona, if they’re interested. But if it happened that I ended up in New England, I can tell you, both sides would win.”
As the star pass rusher for the Indianapolis Colts for many years, the Patriots have a lot of experience playing against Freeney. In his prime, he was one of the most devastating pass rushers in the entire NFL. With elite speed and quickness off of the edge and an incredible spin move, Freeney was an absolute menace on the outside for the Colts.
Freeney has had a couple of relatively successful stops with the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals since those days in Indy. Last year, Freeney got his mojo back with an eight-sack season in only 11 games (zero starts) for the Cardinals. After the Patriots traded defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona this off season, would bringing Freeney in make sense for the team?
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On the surface, the Patriots have quality depth at the defensive end position. Jabaal Sheard will step in for the departing Jones in the starting lineup, teaming with Rob Ninkovich to create a solid starting duo. Veteran Chris Long was brought in to bring depth to the position, and second-year players Trey Flowers and Geneo Grissom will help with the depth.
Some nice pieces for the Patriots at defensive end, but besides Sheard, they really do not have any explosive pass rushers. With veteran experience and his patented spin move, Freeney would be able to make an impact for the team at least in sub packages.
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He proved last season that he still has the ability to get to the quarterback from the edge. I would not expect anything out of him against the run, but in obvious passing situations, having Freeney and Sheard on the outside would be much more dangerous against an opposing offense than any other combination of players the Patriots have at defensive end. This would also help allow someone like Chris Long to kick inside in pass rush situations.
I am not saying that Freeney would guarantee to come in and repeat his performance from last season, but if he can give them 10 good pass rushes in a game, he is going to be worth the minimal salary they are going to have to pay him.
The Patriots trading away Jones was a brilliant move to get rid of a guy that were not going to keep gong forward. However, they are going to have to replace his 12.5 sacks somehow. I think the Patriots have some nice pieces who will help replace that production, but adding an established pass rusher like Freeney would only help.
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It wouldn’t be a super impact move that changes everything, but adding Dwight Freeney to the mix as a situational pass rusher on the edge would be a step in the right direction for the New England Patriots.