No matter what happens with the Patriots at quarterback, wide receiver and tight end, the spots that have been receiving ample attention as holes the team needs to fill, it all won’t matter much if the Patriots can’t repair the offensive line, which struggled badly last season. But in a sign that the team truly wants to compete next season, New England is reported to have interest in one of the oldest veterans near the top of the free agency market: 33-year-old Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith.
Smith has been with the Cowboys since he was drafted in 2011 and has received eight Pro Bowl bids in his 13 NFL seasons. He set a record with an eight-year, $98 million contract from Dallas back in 2014. But that deal is up, and the Cowboys are reported to be letting Smith walk.
That’s where the Patriots come in. They need a quarterback, sure. But they need someone who can protect the quarterback just as much.
According to Marc Daniels and Karen Guregian of MassLive, the Patriots are expected to pursue Smith.
“The Patriots would like to find a starting-caliber tackle in free agency,” they reported. “One name to watch is Tyron Smith, who earned second team All-Pro honors with the Cowboys last season. The 33-year-old would provide a short-term solution at left tackle and the Patriots are expected to pursue Smith when free agency opens.”
Patriots Offensive Line Was Terrible in 2023
This would be a truly game-changing signing for the Patriots, if a risky one. Smith is not getting younger, but he is also not getting healthier. He was limited to just four games in 2022 because of a neck injury, played 13 games last season and has missed 37 games over the past four years.
When he is on the field, though, Smith remains among the best left tackles in the game. He logged a grade of 83.7 from Pro Football Focus last year, which ranked No. 4 out of 81 tackles in the NFL. That would be a huge upgrade for an offensive line that PFF ranked 29th in the NFL with a 50.3 grade in pass-blocking last season.
It could be a huge deal for the Patriots, too, when it comes to recruiting a free-agent quarterback. Their interest in the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield is likely to be thwarted, but if they were to pursue a free agent like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, having Smith protecting the blind side goes a long way toward getting those quarterbacks to feel comfortable signing.
If they draft a rookie with the No. 3 pick and throw him right on the field, then having Smith up front would go far toward protecting him.
Tyron Smith an Ideal Short-Term Solution
Smith would be a short-term solution at left tackle, and in a draft that is ripe with players who can handle the position, the Patriots could look to add a longer-term solution to develop while Smith mans the position for a year or two. It’s believed Smith wants to win a Super Bowl, and that could wipe out the Patriots’ chances. But they’re clearly willing to sell themselves to free agents.
The Patriots have more than $100 million in cap space to spend, and Smith would not figure to eat up too much of that.
At Spotrac, Smith is projected to sign a one-year, $7.5 million contract. PFF has Smith rated the No. 1 tackle in this free-agent class, and worthy of a one-year, $10 million deal.
Wrote PFF of Smith: “When Tyron Smith is healthy, he is an impenetrable brick wall as a blindside protector, no matter the matchup. Smith playing through nearly the entirety of his eight-year extension signed in 2014 is something we will probably never see again, and he provided enormous surplus value to Dallas despite the time he missed here and there.”
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