Report: Patriots Linked to Two Free-Agent Defensive Linemen
The New England Patriots have been linked to two defensive linemen. They restructured Rex Burkhead’s contract and saw more money after settling grievances on Antonio Brown and Aaron Hernandez. This gave the team under $8 million in cap space. A lot of analysts have linked the team to Jadeveon Clowney. NBC Sports Boston asked what the Patriots should do with the cap space, and Patriots cap expert Miguel Bezan had the perfect answer.
“Sign two veterans (Tim Jernigan/Markus Golden) to two $1.5M deals which would take up $1.64M in cap space because of the Top 51 rule,” Bezan wrote.
Bezan was talking about interior lineman Timmy Jernigan and defensive end Markus Golden.
The Patriots may get the two defensive linemen
Jernigan has spent six seasons in the league. He spent the first three years with the Baltimore Ravens, and then joined the Philadelphia Eagles. During his time in Philadelphia, Jernigan won a Super Bowl against the Patriots. He doesn’t really have the same size as “normal-size” defensive tackles, but he has played end during his time with the Ravens.
Bill Belichick has the best ideas for his defense. Jernigan may be a good fit for the Patriots. In 2014, Huzaifa P of Pats Pulpit said that Jernigan is a good fit for Vince Wilfork. In 2020, he will split reps with Adam Butler.
The Patriots chose Florida’s Dominique Easley with the No. 28 pick in the first round of the draft. Easley spent two seasons with the team before going to Los Angeles in 2016. He missed the 2017 season and played in 2018 with the Rams.
The Ravens selected Jernigan in the second round of the draft.
Golden is a consistent pass rusher and he can pull out a double-digit sack performance. He has recorded 10 sacks for the New York Giants. This was the second time in Golden’s career he’d seen action in all 16 games. That’s also his second-highest sack total.
In the second NFL season, Golden made a career-high 12.5 sacks for the Arizona Cardinals. In 2019, Golden and the Giants made the AFC East and he had a great performance. For the game against the Patriots, Golden had a sack and a fumble recovery for a score in a 35-10 Week loss to the team.