The New England Patriots are a long way from the team that was the scourge of the NFL when Bill Belichick was the head coach and Tom Brady was the team’s leader under center. While the glory days of the Patriots are not quite ancient history, the team has been moving in the wrong direction since Brady left for Tampa Bay at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
The Patriots went 4-13 last season and Mike Vrabel was hired to become the team’s new head coach. The Patriots have been extremely active in free agency in an effort to give their new head coach a real opportunity to put a winning team on the field.
Eliot Wolf, who has the title of Director of Scouting and also serves as the team’s general manager, has added talent in a number of areas.
The most notable move was the signing of big-play wideout Stefon Diggs, a receiver who had tormented the Patriots for years when he was with the Buffalo Bills.
Diggs, 31, has been one of the most productive wideouts in the NFL as he combines his brilliant route running with his athletic ability. He had six straight regular seasons with 1,000 receiving yards or more from 2018 through 2023.
The wide receiver played a big role in helping quarterback Josh Allen become one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He had four straight seasons with the Bills in which he had 100 receptions or more.
Landry has the ability to provide Patriots with consistency on D
Some of the other big-name free agents signed by the Patriots include former Philadelphia Eagle defensive tackle Milton Williams, ex-Detroit Lion cornerback Carlton Davis, former Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane, former New York Jets offensive tackle Morgan Moses, ex-Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and former Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury.
However, the Patriots sneakiest signing could be the addition of linebacker Harold Landry.
Vrabel was able to get his former pass rushing star to join him in New England when he agreed to a 3-year, $43.5 million contract. Wolf wanted to make his new head coach happy by bringing him his former player with the Titans.
In addition to being very familiar for Vrabel, playing for the Patriots represents something of a homecoming for Landry because he played his college football at Boston College.
The Edge rusher is coming off a solid season with the Titans in which he recorded 71 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits. He was also quite productive in the 2023 season when he had 70 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits.
Landry didn’t know how he would perform that year because he was coming back from a torn ACL that didn’t allow him to play at all in 2022. However, he put in the work that was required to come back in impressive fashion from that injury.
Landry had his best year in 2021 when he had 75 tackles and 12.0 sacks while making the Pro Bowl for the only time in his career. The former second-round draft choice in 2018 also had 14 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits.
In addition to being a productive pass rusher from the edge, Landry is very solid against the run. His ability to keep the ground game in check means he can be an every-down player for Vrabel once again.
Landry is an extremely hard worker
Landry came back from his ACL injury at nearly the same level he was at before his injury. That was testimony to the effort that he conducted his rehab with and speaks well to his preparation. The Patriots are likely to see that on an every-game basis.
A player like Williams is going to command most of the attention by opposing offenses and so is Davis in the secondary. Landry will be content to do his job on an every-game basis and help the Patriots get back to respectability. He is one of those dependable players that will live up to the old Belichick philosophy of “doing your job.”
That will help the Patriots put a respectable and perhaps winning team on the field in 2025.
