Patriots Making Moves in Free Agency
The New England Patriots will have some new arrivals and departures in the fast-approaching future as the first week of the new league year comes to a close. As we begin the 2023 NFL season, teams from all around the league were busy with everything from free agent signings to releases, with an awful lot of franchise tags. The Patriots were no different, and looking to rectify a lackluster and subpar 2022 season.
Arguably the biggest signing of the week, the Patriots have a new wide receiver on his way to Foxborough in former Kansas City Chief JuJu Smith-Schuster (he/him). In a three-year, $33 million deal, Schuster’s deal came just after now-former Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Myers (he/him) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, also for a three-year, $33 million deal. This deal reunites Myers with former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who leads the Raiders as head coach.
This sparked a lot of controversy as to why New England chose to move on from the 26-year-old, who has played with New England all four seasons of his career. Along with former Patriots teammates, Meyers took to Twitter to air his frustrations.
“Cold world lol,” Meyers tweeted on reports of Schuster’s signing.
That was just the beginning, as the Patriots continued to make moves, including trading tight end Jonnu Smith (he/him) to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 seventh-round draft pick, resigning safety Jabrill Peppers (he/him), releasing cornerback Jalen Mills (he/him) and punter Jake Bailey (he/him).
The second of New England’s free agents to walk away in this first week, running back Damien Harris (he/him) signed a one-year-deal with the Buffalo Bills.
Along with this activity, veteran captain Devin McCourty (he/him) announced his retirement after 13 years playing in the NFL, all of which for New England.
The Patriots can only hope to bring in enough talent and support for what is left of the 2022 team to build a stronger and more productive Patriots team that can keep up with teams at this highest level.
