Is Marcus Cannon Safe on New England Patriots' Roster?

There seems to be a disconnect between the New England Patriots' perceived needs and actual needs.

Prior to the 2016 NFL draft, the general consensus stood that the Patriots had holes to fill at running back and offensive tackle. One could argue that the perceived hole at tackle was not due to any concerns about the talent at the top of the depth chart, but rather at the depth behind them. 

Backup tackle Marcus Cannon struggled when called upon in 2016. The Patriots' tackle depth was ripped to shreds by injury in 2015, when Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and Cameron Fleming all missed time with injuries. Cannon was one of the first to step in as the team's top backup, but he was beat like a drum, and with almost the same rhythmic consistency.

According to Pro Football Focus, Cannon ranked 44th out of 59 offensive tackles in pass-blocking efficiency, yielding 31 total pressures (19 hurries, eight hits, four sacks) on 365 snaps in pass protection (8.5 percent). 

Player	Ht	Wt	Exp
Nate Solder	6'8"	325	5
Sebastian Vollmer	6'8"	325	7
Marcus Cannon	6'5"	335	5
Cameron Fleming	6'6"	320	2
LaAdrian Waddle	6'6"	328	3
Keavon Milton	6'4"	324	2

Yet, given multiple opportunities to find an upgrade over Cannon on the open market, the Patriots have stood pat with their top backup. The depth chart looks almost exactly the same as it did last year, with a few minor additions and truncations.

The lack of notable newcomers lends to the illusion that Cannon is safe in his job title as the third wheel at offensive tackle, when history and current situations lend to the recurring certainty that Cannon is no safer than roaring down the highway at 85 mph headed straight for a brick wall. Whether that wall is six miles or 600 miles away, it's coming eventually, and you'd better be using your time finding a way around it.

Cannon has some support inside the walls of Gillette Stadium; he must have been grinning from ear to ear when he heard that former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was set to make his return. Scarnecchia often spoke highly of Cannon in interviews, but Scarnecchia's past endorsement does not necessarily mean job security.

After all, just look at the guard position. Scarnecchia had a hand in scouting Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason just last year, but the Patriots have added three guards to the depth chart in addition to signing veteran Josh Kline to a contract extension.

Fortunately for Cannon, the competition at tackle is less heavy than at guard. Right now, the only other backup options are Cameron Fleming, LaAdrian Waddle and Keavon Milton. Cannon has nearly as much NFL experience (six years) as those three combined (seven). 

Unfortunately for Cannon, his cap number far outweighs his performance and the amount of playing time he would earn in a best-case scenario (or worst case for the Patriots). Cannon is slated to count more than $4.7 million against the 2016 salary cap, according to Spotrac, and the Patriots could save a little more than $3.6 million by cutting him. 

Sitting just $10 million away from the salary cap, the Patriots could use some more breathing room for 2016—and they can always carry over some of their leftover money into 2017 if they don't dip into an emergency fund. 

That being said, while it may be a matter of dollars in the long run, any move the Patriots make has to also make sense in the short run. It would be unwise to move on from Cannon just to save the money without a backup plan for backing up Solder and Vollmer. If Fleming, Waddle or Milton can show sometime in the next three-and-a-half months that they can be a backup tackle, Cannon could be out.

Unless that happens, we likely haven't seen the last of Cannon in a Patriots uniform. 

Even if Cannon remains on the roster this fall, it would be ideal for the Patriots to renegotiate his contract to make his cap number more manageable and more in line with that of a backup.