White, Guy among free agents willing to return
‘We have one more opportunity left together’
The Patriots’ last offseason was defined by one big decision.
Their next will start with roughly two dozen smaller ones.
Twenty-three Patriots are scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after Sunday’s season finale, including five captains and seven starters. In recent days, multiple players have admitted they expect significant change to sweep through the organization this spring. A few hope to survive it and stay.
“I’d love to return to New England,” defensive tackle Lawrence Guy said Friday of his upcoming free agency. “I laid the roots already here, so if I’m able to do that, that would be amazing. New England has been a blessing to me, they’re very special to me, the community has helped me out a lot, and I’ve helped out the community.”
Running back James White, another Patriots free-agent captain, confirmed he would be open to re-signing.
“Of course,” White said. “Like I said, nobody knows what the future holds, and only time will tell. But right now, the focus is going out there and trying to beat the Jets and finish off the season the right way.”
White has never been a free agent. He signed a contract extension three years after being drafted by the Pats in 2014. The 28-year-old back is projected to fetch a free-agent contract worth approximately $3 million annually, according to Spotrac.
If that’s his asking price, the Patriots could return White without much thought. They’re projected to hold the fourth-most cap space in the NFL, per Over The Cap; an amount that should fall between $60-$70 million, depending on where the league sets its
salary cap for the 2021 season.
That flexibility will in fact allow the Patriots to retain almost any free agent, should they choose, given the majority are veterans aged 28 years or older and coming off a season when they made less than $4 million. That group includes another captain, David Andrews.
The centerpiece of the Pats’ offensive line is a more expensive exception, who can be expected to double his current base salary of $3 million with his next contract. To Andrews’ left, Joe Thuney projects to land a top-5 deal among offensive guards, after starting every game this season under a $14.78 million franchise tag. Thuney declined to discuss his future at length this week.
“Mostly I’m just focused on Sunday and the Jets and everything. But yeah, just try and soak it all in,” Thuney said. “You never know.”
Fourth-year defensive lineman Deatrich Wise took a similar approach, but admitted the thought of playing his final game as a Patriot on Sunday was unsettling.
“I’ve grown a rapport with these guys. We’ve built relationships from my first year to the fourth year. The longer we’ve been together, that’s just the stronger our bond has been,” Wise said. “So it’s gonna suck saying bye to these guys, if that’s what’s in the cards for me.”
Other notable Patriots free agents include quarterback Cam Newton, cornerback Jason McCourty, defensive tackle Adam Butler, wide receiver Damiere Byrd, kicker Nick Folk and cornerback J.C. Jackson, who will enter restricted free agency. Every
member of that group initially joined the Patriots through free agency, except for McCourty, who arrived via trade in 2018.
As a 12-year veteran, McCourty knows the business of football better than most and, perhaps equally important, to savor the last moments before the winds of change kick up again.
“I think when you have a season like we did this year and you’re not going to the playoffs and you have embarrassing losses, this roster’s going to be a lot different,” McCourty said after the Pats lost to Buffalo last Monday. “There’s a lot of guys that are in the locker room tonight that aren’t going to be in the locker room next year. Guys that are playing football right now that aren’t going to be playing football next year.
“For us, we have one more opportunity left together so whoever’s out there — young, old or indifferent, we’ve got to go out there and compete.”