The Patriots who wanted to keep Joe Thuney close were obvious, as the 2019 Second Team All-Pro has established itself as one of the top guards in all of football.
However, stabilizing his offensive line might not have been the only reason New England was interested in keeping Thuney in Foxboro.
The Patriots, in a somewhat surprising move at the time, put the franchise tag on Thuney in March. Many believed the move was simply a precursor to a Thuney trade, but all indications are that the 2016 third round will take the place alongside David Andrews in Week 1.
In a column posted Wednesday on NFL.com, Gregg Rosenthal ranked tagged players according to how likely they are to remain with their current teams beyond the 2020 season. Rosenthal listed Thuney at number 7, but his analysis included a nugget. quite interesting about the handling of the Patriots of the 27-year-old.
“There is a belief that the Jets’ interest in Thuney helped inspire Bill Belichick to keep him out of the market,” Rosenthal wrote. “It will be more difficult to do it again in 2021, especially given Belichick’s story of not paying the top dollar to interior linemen. Thuney’s on-duty team partner Shaq Mason signed an below-market deal in 2018 “Which could complicate any deal with Thuney. Like many Patriots over the years, Thuney will probably have to leave to maximize his money.”
Vintage Belichick.
Thuney will raise almost $ 15 million this season under the terms of his franchise tag. But as Rosenthal suggests, it could very well be the last lap of the fifth-year pro in New England.
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig / USA TODAY Sports Images
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