Patriots Expected To Make ‘Strong Push’ For Top-Tier Free Agent

The New England Patriots have money to spend when the NFL’s legal tampering window officially opens at noon ET on Monday.

They have already thrown some considerable dough at edge rusher Harold Landry and also brought back veteran tight end Austin Hooper.

Could the Patriots target a cornerback next?

Cornerback is a sneaky need for the Patriots, especially with reports Sunday night stating that Jonathan Jones will hit the open market with the possibility of him returning to New England. All that might depend on what happens with Carlton Davis.

The veteran corner is set to hit the free-agent market as well and The Athletic’s Michael Silver reported the Patriots are expected to make a “strong push” for Davis. The New York Jets are thought to be contenders for Davis’ services as well.

Davis, 28, played 13 games for the Detroit Lions last season before he suffered a season-ending broken jaw in mid-December. Davis spent the previous six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl with the franchise.

Davis is lauded as a terrific man-to-man coverage corner and for his hard-nosed style, making him a willing defender to come up and stop the run. He owns 11 career interceptions, two of which came last season along with 56 tackles. Davis also had 11 passes defended with the Lions.

NFL Media’s Gregg Rosenthal ranked Davis as the top available corner on the market over Charvarius Ward and D.J. Reed — both of whom are also viewed as fits for the Patriots. And Davis is looking to get paid as such.

Davis, who signed a three-year, $45 million deal to return to the Buccaneers the last time he was a free agent, said he wants to be paid like a “top 10 or top 15 cornerback.” That will put him right around $20 million per season and he’s not really looking to take a discount.

“I feel like last time (in free agency), I just kind of panicked,” Davis told The Athletic. “I was younger, and my mindset was, ‘I need to go ahead and just choose.’ At the time, the thinking was, ‘This is the offer, and the more you wait, the more that number’s gonna go down.’ Yeah, that can happen, but teams know your value, and right now I’m playing my best football.

“This time, I ain’t gonna settle for less.”