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Patriots 2024 roster reset: Would a Gilmore reunion make sense at DB? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Editor’s Note: With the beginning of NFL free agency looming on March 13, our Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran is resetting each Patriots position by assessing their 2023 performance, laying out their 2024 contract status and ranking their offseason priority on a scale of 1 to 5.
Curran has covered quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and offensive linemen. Next up: defensive backs.
The Patriots were one of the best defenses in football in 2023. Every week they knew their offense might not get to 10 points. Every week, they knew they were going to be on the field more than almost any other defense in the league because of their offensive impotence.
It was a banner season that ultimately went to waste. And it was even more impressive given that they were battered by injury and hampered by foolishness.
The best defensive player through three games was rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Then he got hurt early in the Cowboys rout and was lost for the year. The most impactful pass rusher, Matthew Judon, saw his season end in the Dallas game as well.
Meanwhile, second-year corner Jack Jones – arrested at Logan Airport in the offseason – was released in early November after becoming increasingly prickly. Gonzalez and Jones were ticketed to be the team’s boundary corners in the summer.
Who played the most snaps at corner? Myles Bryant (851). Next was the always steady Jonathan Jones who played 730 snaps (he missed four games early in the year) and then J.C. Jackson (439), Jalen Mills (459), Shaun Wade (348) and Alex Austin (211).
Jackson had to be added near the trade deadline because of all the injuries. It wasn’t long before he got sideways with the Patriots as he had with the Chargers.
Through it all, the defense held up. And a lot of thanks for that can be given to the stability of the safety crew, where Jabrill Peppers and Kyle…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-2024-roster-reset-gilmore-153030111.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-03-06 15:30:30
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