See if you can make sense of this one. Kony Ealy, the defensive end who was nearly the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl 50, was so entrenched in the dog house the Carolina Panthers considered cutting him this offseason. Instead, they will now ship him and a third round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for the Pats’ second rounder.
.@Patriots acquire @KonyEaly94 and a 3rd round pick from the @Panthers in exchange for a 2nd round pick. pic.twitter.com/pTwB30007M
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 10, 2017
This seems like as good a time as any to shine the light on what the Patriots and Panthers have done so far.
New England Patriots
In addition to bringing in Ealy, the Patriots snagged the best cornerback in free agency right out of the gate when they added Stephon Gilmore with a five-year, $65 million contract with $40 million guaranteed. It’s exactly the kind of big free agent contract the Pats have avoided for years, even going as far as shipping their own guys like Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins out of town with a year left on their current deals.
Patriots are giving former Bills CB Stephon Gilmore a five-year, $65 million deal that includes $40 million guaranteed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2017
The issue with New England isn’t if Gilmore is worth the money. He most certainly is. The question is why do the Pats seem so desperate to sign a guy like him now?
Throw in that the Patriots also did right by the other guys currently on their roster and it all looks kind of suspicious. Like that head coach Bill Belichick knows his Tom Brady window is closing very soon and he wants to maximize the years he has left. It’s smart, but uncharacteristically so.
For instance, the Patriots re-signed defensive tackle Alan Branch to a two-year, $12 million contract and safety Duron Harmon is locked in with a four-year, $20 million deal. Throw in the sudden refusal to even listen to trade offers for No. 2 quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and there doesn’t seem to be much mystery to what the Patriots are trying to do.
S Duron Harmon back to the Pats. Four years, $20m total
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2017
Last year Ealy started six games for the Panthers, recording 32 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, three passes defended and one interception. Gilmore had 48 tackles, 12 passes defended and five picks. Branch finished with 49 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three passes defended. Harmon started four games, recorded 27 tackles, defended two passes, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had a pick.
Carolina Panthers
Before dealing Ealy the Panthers brought back one of their own to the fold, signing 37-year-old Julius Peppers. The details of the contract haven’t been released, but it’s likely just a one-year deal for a guy that will be no more than a situational pass rusher at this point.
Headed Home… pic.twitter.com/zXjPCmKMBS
— Carl Carey, PhD (@CarlCareyPhD) March 10, 2017
This will be Peppers’ 16th season in the NFL. He spent his last three with the Green Bay Packers. Last year he finished with 23 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three passes defended.
The Panthers have also added safety Mike Adams from the Indianapolis Colts, re-signed running back Fozzy Whittaker and nabbed wideout Russell Shepard from division rival Tampa Bay. Adams, 35, got a two-year deal that will probably wrap up his NFL career.
Adams recorded 79 tackles, two interceptions, two passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries for the Colts last season. Whittaker carried the ball 57 times for 265 yards and caught 33 passes for 226 yards. Shepard caught 23 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns with the Buccaneers.
Other recent moves
Speaking of the Buccaneers, right before free agency officially began they re-signed defensive end William Gholston to a five-year, $37 million contract. Gholston recorded 50 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last season.
The Cincinnati Bengals have been leaking players like a sieve this entire free agency period, but they did manage to keep their best cornerback, Dre Kirkpatrick, in the building shortly before the 3 p.m. deadline Thursday. Kirkpatrick landed a five-year contract that is rumored to pay him around $50 million.
The Atlanta Falcons re-signed back up quarterback Matt Shaub. Schaub got a two-year, $9 million contract. The former Houston Texans starter appeared in five games last season, completing just one pass for 16 yards.
The Cleveland Browns picked up another center Friday, claiming former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Marcus Martin off waivers. He is the fourth offensive linemen the Browns have added in two days.
To be continued…
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