It was strange to see New England Patriots losing players in the free agency without signing new ones. That changed on Friday when the team added three new players. The Patriots welcomed former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn, former Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, and offensive tackle Matt Tobin who spent the last season with the Seattle Seahawks.
According to the reports, Adrian Clayborn signed a two-year deal worth around $12.5 million with the Pats. Initially drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of 2011 NFL Draft, Clayborn suffered series of injuries during his early career which stopped him from showing his full potential. In the 2017 season, he finally showed promise by recording 17 quarterback hits and 9.5 sacks while playing 526 defensive snaps.
The player already confirmed the deal with Pats via his Instagram profile.
Jeremy Hill joins New England after a disappointing 2017 season. Although he started the season as Cincinnati Bengals leading running back, he underperformed and was completely outplayed by rookie Joe Mixon. In 7 games he played in 2017, Hill had 37 carries for 116 yards, while failing to record a touchdown. Hill played his best football in his rookie season in 2014, when he had 222 carries for 1,124 yards.
Finally, Matt Tobin joined the Patriots on a one year deal. He entered the league in 2013 when he signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted agent. The Eagles traded Tobin and seventh-round pick to the Seahawks in 2017 in order to get a fifth-round pick.
The New England Patriots previously lost important players including offensive tackle Nate Solder, who was regarded as one of the top free agents on the market and ended up signing with the New York Giants. Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler, and Danny Amendola will also play elsewhere in the 2018 NFL season.
