With the official start to free agency is two weeks away, the Patriots still have time to lock up several of their in-house free agents.
To this point, there’s been little movement on cornerback Jonathan Jones, who along with Jakobi Meyers, stand as the top Patriots set to hit the market on March 15.
According to a source, the Patriots have indicated they’d like to have Jones back. At this stage, however, there have been no substantive talks to that end.
Jones had long been a fixture as a slot corner, but moved out to the boundary this past season, posting career-highs in passes defensed (11), and interceptions (four).
There’s an expectation of the two sides meeting this week at the NFL’s Scouting Combine with player agents also in Indianapolis.
Jones, who ranks 32nd on Pro Football Focus’ list of pending free agents, and fourth-best corner, is the team’s top corner on a depth chart that also includes Jalen Mills, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones. Myles Bryant is a restricted free agent.
It’s not outlandish to think the Patriots will allow Jones, who signed a three-year, $21 million extension in 2019, to set his price in free agency, then decide if they want to make a competitive offer in order to keep him.
They’ve taken that wait-and-see approach with other top free agents in the past.
Following the team’s season finale in Buffalo, Jones, who has been working toward getting his pilot’s license during the offseason, expressed the desire to remain in New England.
“We’ll see. As an organization, they have decisions to make. We’ll see how the offseason goes,” Jones told the Herald. “I love being here. This is where I started my career. This is where I’ve been so far. It’s all I’ve known (in football) as an adult. So we’ll see how it goes.”
While the Patriots have had success having at least one shut-down corner in the defensive backfield, they’ve been reluctant to pay top dollar when it comes time for an extension.
J.C. Jackson was a notch below other Patriots top corners (Ty Law, Darrell Revis, Stephon Gilmore) and they didn’t come close to matching the 5-year, $82.5 million offer Jackson ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Jones also isn’t in the shutdown category, but he’s been valuable for his versatility, and ability to hold his own against many of the game’s top receivers. Losing him would create a significant hole in the secondary.
Patriots in wait-and-see approach with pending free agent Jonathan Jones - Boston Herald
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