If You're Not a Patriot It's Treason: Free Agency Concerns For The Pats

The Patriots will have a few questions to address with their own personnel.

Will Rodney Harrison be back? On NFL Total Access he said he had been working out which I think means he is thinking about coming back.

I'm pretty sure Tedy Bruschi is going to hang up the cleats after a good long career, but nobody really knows because he is still under contract.

James Sanders is also another question mark, will the patriots resign him or let him go. Will they try and sign another safety in free agency?

In another article I heard fans talking about the Patriots should sign O.J. Atogwe from the Rams. I don't like Atogwe because he consistently misses tackles, gets juked or run over too much, and is not reliable in pass coverage. He reminds me a lot of Eugene Wilson, good riddance to him.

Larry Izzo is set to hit free agency, will the Patriots resign him, or will he retire?

As for exploring free agent options, the Pats needs to prepare for when Bruschi retires, which should be soon.

Jonathan Vilma the ILB from the Saints is set to become a unrestricted free agent and will not be resigned before free agency begins at the end of February because of a clause in the trade with the Jets.

Vilma would serve as a nice veteran who, at 26, is young enough to play alongside Mayo for years to come. Just think Mayo and Vilma in the middle together, both are fast and hard hitters.

Channing Crowder the MLB is also set to become a unrestricted free agent and is asking for a big contract.

While, the Patriots aren't known for paying big money to free agents, that might change this offseason with cornerback Nmandi Asomougha hitting free agency. He must be tired of losing by now and could make alot of money for other teams.

Cornerbacks Dunta Robinson and DeAngelo Hall are also set to be free agents. Any one of these cornerbacks would be valued highly in the Patriots secondary.

Julius Peppers is set to become a free agent and could definitely help the Patriots pass rush which was non-existent last season. Peppers is in his prime and Richard Seymour's contract is ending soon. Signing Peppers and letting Seymour go would allow us to resign defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who openly stated he wanted to end his career as a Patriot.

The biggest question for the offseason is whether the Pats will resign Matt Cassel or trade him?

I say trade him and pick up a veteran quarterback in free agency because there are more than enough to pick from. I say trade Cassel and get a first or second round draft pick out of it to help get younger players. We could sign J.P. Losman from the Bills, Rex Grossman from the Bears, or Jeff Garcia from the Buccaneers.

The offensive line definitely needs to be upgraded. Matt Light is getting old, Nick Kaczur is going to get whoever is under center next season killed, and Stephen Neal is also getting up in age. Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen are the only starters I really like.

Ryan O'Callaghan is a nice backup.

Ross Hochstein is set to become a free agent and needs to be resigned because of his versatility at the different offensive line positions.

Good bye and good riddance to Deltha O'Neal who got paid this season to get burned by wide receivers. I was ecstatic when rookie cornerbacks Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite finally emerged because I was sick of seeing O'Neal mess everything up. Wheatley was put on injured reserve and Wilhite gained some experience this year and did a pretty good job.

The Patriots have not had a good tight end since Ben Coates, Benjamin Watson is more of a receiver than a tight end but has been dropping too many balls lately. Daniel Graham was a decent tight end but was more of a blocker. We need the complete package.

With L.J. Smith is set to hit the free agency and Tony Gonzalez wanting out of Kansas City, there are plenty of options. Even though Gonzalez is old, he still produces good stats and even made the Pro bowl this year.

In all, the Patriots offseason is going to be a long one. Hopefully Belichick and the Kraft family will make some good decisions that will help compensate for a coaching staff  depleted by assistants leaving for coaching vacancies elsewhere.