With the official start of the 2021 NFL league year just hours away, it is becoming evident that a large part of the New England Patriots free agency class will be directed to the open market: only six of the 25 free agents in the time are counted at the moment, either as new subscriptions or exits. The rest are scheduled to be free to sign elsewhere as soon as the clock strikes 4 pm on Wednesday.
Among them is David Andrews. While there is mutual interest between the Patriots and their former center and team captain, no new contracts have yet materialized. The expectation is that Andrews will enter the free agency and assess his market before making a final call about where his career will continue.
Even if it leaves the door open for him to leave New England after six seasons, following this course of action is nothing new for the organization. After all, more than once in the past, the Patriots have allowed their remarkable talent to plunge into the pool of free agencies while, at the same time, maintaining an open line of communication.
Ask security guard Devin McCourty and linebacker Dont’a Hightower. They joined the free agency in 2015 and 2017, respectively, but ended up being retained by the Patriots.
McCourty’s entry into the open market was sealed after New England decided to use the franchise brand in kicker Stephen Gostkowski instead of him in 2015. However, the passing of the defense was still short: while he received the interest of several teams during the legal adulteration of the NFL period, New England brought him back through a five-year and $ 47.5 million contract on the first official free agency day.
The Patriots managed to do this despite McCourty receiving competitive offers from three clubs, the Philadelphia Eagles with the best of them. However, the captain of the longtime team gave the team that summoned him in the first round in 2010 the opportunity to make a counter offer. New England did just that, preventing its long-standing defensive leader from taking his talents elsewhere.
“Financially, they moved on and hit all the numbers I wanted,” McCourty told reporters shortly after agreeing to his new deal with New England.
Two years later, the Patriots faced a similar situation with Hightower and took the same approach: they did not use the franchise’s brand to keep it out of the open market, and instead allowed it to discover its value. Hightower did just that for a comparatively long period of time, while 11 days passed between the start of the legal breach period and the rehiring of the linebacker in New England.
The Hightower market developed more slowly than McCourty’s two years earlier, partly because the veteran defender took the opportunity to visit the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. Throughout the process, however, its representatives remained in close contact with the Patriots front office – resulting in the signing of a $ 35.5 million four-year contract with the club on March 15.
While it remains to be seen whether Andrews’ trip to the free agency ends in a similar way, the Patriots are no strangers to a patient approach.
As a result, the 28-year-old will have the opportunity to evaluate his offers. The Miami Dolphins must be among the teams that will go against him, as well as the Green Bay Packers or the Atlanta Falcons. New England will sit back and let things take their course, taking a step forward when it feels the need to do so.
McCourty and Hightower’s examples showed that this method of negotiation, while risky, can work in favor of the Patriots. Given Andrews’ status as one of the most valuable free agents remaining on the list, they will have to wait for that to happen again.