Blind status with Solder
Pats line up options as free agent LT expects to be hot commodity
INDIANAPOLIS — With 10 days until free agency, the Patriots still don’t know for sure who will protect Tom Brady’s blind side.
Nate Solder, who has no plans to retire, is far and away the best left tackle on the market, and he is one of the best at his position to hit free agency over the past few years. Because of that, there’s a belief that he’ll receive offers north of $12 million annually, according to sources.
The Patriots’ second option would involve either LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming, or perhaps a competition among the rotational starters, if they lose Solder.
There’s no denying Solder’s preference is to return to the Patriots, but the team shouldn’t expect the same type of hometown discount as his most recent two-year, $20.062 million pact. Yet, as a significant factor in Solder’s decision to take that deal, the Patriots inserted a clause that they couldn’t use the franchise tag on him this offseason, which is why Solder will hit the market if the Pats don’t intensify their negotiations in the coming week.
So far, the Patriots haven’t made an offer to Solder, according to sources. However, due to the later-than-usual start to free agency, sources around the league last week said many teams didn’t have the standard urgency to talk numbers during the scouting combine. Some of the Patriots’ marquee free agents in recent years — Devin McCourty, Julian Edelman and Dont’a Hightower — re-signed either just before the dawn of free agency or after the market opened, so the delayed start to Solder’s negotiations are typical of their business practices.
Barring an aggressive push by the Patriots in the coming week to lock up the seven-year veteran, Solder’s impending contract will be dictated by offers around the league. It’s still not clear if he’ll want two, three or four years, and the percentage of guaranteed money will hinge on the length of the deal.
Based on early projections, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock if Solder landed a four-year, $52 million offer, or even a two-year, $28 million proposal. And if that happens, the Patriots can’t lowball Solder and expect to keep him. This will likely be Solder’s best chance to earn the most lucrative contract of his career, and he wants to take advantage of the opportunity.
To be clear, Solder has loved his time with the Patriots, and it’d be a surprise if he didn’t cut them some slack at the negotiating table. They almost definitively won’t have to be the highest bidder to keep Solder, but the offer has to be competitive.
Beyond Solder, the Patriots’ situation at tackle has been tricky. They used a third-round pick on Tony Garcia last year, likely with Solder’s contract status in mind, but Garcia’s season ended in August when he got blood clots in his lungs, according to a source. He was treated with blood thinners and lost more than 40 pounds, but he resumed his workouts a couple of months ago and is expected to make a full recovery.
Still, the Patriots aren’t assuming Garcia will be ready to play in 2018, as he has to regain most of his weight and strength. The belief is Garcia will play football again, but the team won’t rush his timetable due to the serious nature of his medical situation.
There’s at least plenty of optimism at right tackle, as Marcus Cannon had surgery in December to repair a nasty high ankle sprain and take care of another ankle issue that had lingered since 2016. Cannon should be ready at some point for offseason workouts, and he might be the healthiest that he has ever been in his seven-year career.
As for the left side, the Patriots could conceivably keep two of their three free agents. Waddle and Fleming will gauge the possibility of landing a starting job, or at least the chance to compete for one. Such an opportunity could yield a contract comparable to Cannon’s two-year, $9 million pact, which would nearly triple each tackle’s career earnings to date.
Of course, the Patriots could draft Solder’s replacement, but that would be atypical. Bill Belichick has never selected a tackle, on either side, with the intention of making them a Week 1 starter. Matt Light, Sebastian Vollmer and Solder all started as rookies, but only after injuries vaulted them up the depth chart.
That’s why it would make sense to keep Waddle or Fleming, even if Solder re-signs. Belichick has never been one to mess around with the tackle depth chart, and he’ll have to make a strong offer to retain Solder and maintain that stability in the future.