One of the New England Patriots’ priorities this offseason has to be improving a defensive tackle position that was uneven in 2017 especially against the pass. The team will have multiple opportunities to do that over the next two months via free agency and the draft. Two players that will not be part of the process, though, are veterans Alan Branch and Ricky Jean Francois.
While Branch will reportedly hit the open market next month as New England will not exercise his contract option, Jean Francois announced today that he will not be back (per ESPN’s Mike Reiss):
I plan on continuing to play at the highest level.