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The New England Patriots have had a somewhat busy free agency. But rather than acquisitions, their offseason has so far mostly been defined by all the departures.
Not only did they lose defensive coordinator Brian Flores to the Miami Dolphins, they also lost a bunch of players in free agency. Coming off another Super Bowl win, next year's team will undoubtedly look quite a bit different from the one that just toppled the Los Angeles Rams in the big game.
It's somewhat of a transitional year for the Patriots, but that hasn't slowed them down in the past. Here are three key takeaways from their free agency period so far:
3. The defense will look a lot different
New England's defense tends to change a lot every year, and 2019 won't be any different. Not only are the Patriots replacing Flores, they also need to replace arguably their most talented defensive player in Trey Flowers.
To help replace some of Flowers' pass-rushing ability, the Patriots made a trade with the Eagles to bring in Michael Bennett. Bennett is still capable of being a very productive player, so this could prove to be a nice signing.
Still, he has big shoes to fill, as Flowers was playing at a truly elite level. The Patriots' revitalized pass-rush was a large part of the reason they were able to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Rams in the playoffs, and they'll need to replicate that next year.
2. Rob Gronkowski could really retire
Rob Gronkowski has flirted with retirement for a while now. He reportedly seriously considered it last year before opting to come back for at least one more year in the end. He didn't really look like himself last year, and is now mulling retirement again. But this time, he seems really serious about it, and the Patriots made a move that indicates they could be preparing for him to move on.
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New England just signed Matt LaCosse, which raised some eyebrows. LaCosse is a young tight end who showed some receiving potential last year with the Denver Broncos, and he could be used to help replace Gronkowski. If we don't hear official word before then, it'll be really interesting to see if the Patriots draft a tight end next month.
1. They're looking for receiving help
The Patriots' receiving corp also undergoes frequent makeovers, and that's happening again this year. The team was reportedly in on Cole Beasley before he signed with the Buffalo Bills, and they added a couple of underrated receivers in Bruce Ellington and Maurice Harris.
New England re-signed Phillip Dorsett, but Chris Hogan, who has been one of the staples of the corp the past few years, appears set to depart in free agency.
Ellington is the type of player who can play well in the slot that the Patriots love to utilize, and he could surprise some people with his production. He looked good last year with the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, but kept battling hamstring injuries.
The Patriots have been sniffing around a lot of free agent receivers, and I wouldn't be surprise if they're not done just yet.
