The New England Patriots are currently in the middle of their 18th straight winning season and gearing up for yet another playoff run. Their challenges will not end, however, whenever their season — ideally in February — does: the Patriots have some important players hit free agency next March, with the defensive line especially impacted: Trey Flowers, Malcom Brown and Danny Shelton are all scheduled to enter the open market.
Flowers is, of course, the priority but the team also will need to upgrade at the interior — and not just because Brown and Shelton might leave next offseason: New England’s defensive tackles outside of Lawrence Guy have been inconsistent so far this year against both the pass and the run.