Tom Brady has to watch his back. Mathieu was due for $18.75 million of his contract to be guaranteed when the league year officially began at 4 p.m. EDT.
Advertisement
It’s believed Solder will command a deal that could be worth as much as $14 million annually.
The impending signing of Solder is especially important after the Giants lost out on Andrew Norwell.
Solder will be the most dependable, professional left-tackle bodyguard for Manning since David Diehl.
The following year, Bradham once again took the field all 16 times, but he was limited to just two starts.
For the Patriots, they are now left with a gaping hole on their offensive line.
While each of those four players played a critical role in New England’s recent run of success, Patriots fans shouldn’t be anxious about the exodus from Foxboro, Mass.
Earlier in the day on Tuesday it was reported that free agent Danny Amendola would be leaving the New England Patriots in favor of the Miami Dolphins. In the end, his four-year, $24 million deal was too pricey.
For all of his success, Solder, surprisingly, has never been selected to a Pro Bowl, though he was named an alternate for last season’s game. Burkhead, James White, Mike Gillislee and Brandon Bolden are all under contract. The Patriots expressed interest in re-signing him, but it’s unclear how aggressive they will be. Netting Solder as a replacement for Thomas and then potentially adding Saquon Barkley in the draft would be quite the overhaul on that side of the ball and make Cleveland’s offense pretty intriguing heading into 2018.
Despite suffering two concussions that wiped out his 2017 season, linebacker Shea McClellin intends to keep playing, according to a source. Kareem Hunt and Alvin Kamara both showed how insanely talented mid-round backs can be, and you can rest assured that Belichick will be on the hunt for one of them this year.
Advertisement
I’m not sure why it even got to the point where he was allowed to hit free agency, but the Patriots had better be serious about matching the best offer he gets. And they made them into stars.
