Patriots Criticized For Not Finding ‘a Way to Keep’ Productive Veteran

The New England Patriots went through a lot of changes this offseason. They lost a few valuable players, including longtime veterans. Head coach Bill Belichick risked it all and built a roster to his liking. The Patriots were criticized for letting go a top veteran and let’s just say NFL fans would agree on this one.

Patriots fans were really shocked when the team traded Shaq Mason for a 2022 sixth-rounder. Mason joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving a big void on the Patriots roster. The veteran played a big role in the Patriots system. He spent seven seasons with the Patriots and won two rings during his time with the team.

Losing Mason to the Buccaneers may be a big blow for the team. Bill Barnell from ESPN criticized the Patriots for not finding a way to keep the star guard on their roster.

“The Pats’ hands were tied by what they did last offseason, but I would have liked to see them find a way to keep Mason,” Barnwell wrote. “Even if New England thinks Strange will emerge as a superstar, retaining Mason would have allowed the team to keep Mike Onwenu in a utility role, which is extremely important given how frequently Brown and fellow tackle Isaiah Wynn have been injured over the past few seasons.”

Mike Onwenu and Cole Strange will have to replace Mason. They are excellent players, but Mason is a special breed. Let’s see if they manage to fill up the void.

Patriots were criticized for losing top veteran, but their 2022 group is still strong

Patriots still have an excellent group of players, including players who didn’t get a chance to make an impact. Cameron McGrone is one of these players. He joined the team for practice and Patriots coaches saw his real potential.

“It was exciting to have him on the field last year for those couple of weeks,” Steve Belichick said of McGrone. “One thing I noticed — all the other guys on the field had been playing football for months and he had been coming off a year of not playing football. But he didn’t look, in any sort of way, out of place on the field. I thought that was impressive.”