10 Patriots who may not be around after the 2020 NFL season

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The 2019 Defensive Player of the Year remains an elite corner. But his salary has grown obsolete. The Patriots gave him a $5M bump during training camp to bring him to a $13M salary which is closer to the $16M-plus that the game’s best corners are averaging per year on their deals.

But with Gilmore down to make $7M in 2021, the last year of his deal, he will surely want the Patriots to ante up again and they are already carrying a $17M-plus cap hit for him. His 2020 season ended with a quadriceps injury.

He is the team’s most tradeable asset. J.C. Jackson is developing into a top-tier player at the spot. Moving him will save the team $10M on the cap and likely get them perhaps a third-rounder coming back.

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It’s exceedingly hard to gauge what the Patriots' do-it-all linebacker will decide to do. He opted out this year so 2021 becomes the last year of his contract. He’ll be 31 and he’s been playing football for Nick Saban and Bill Belichick since he was 17 years old. He’s got a large cap number - $12.45M – and his base salary is $7.85M. The cap savings for the team if he’s traded, released or retires is $10M.

But he’s still a force of nature. Behind Tom Brady leaving for Tampa, Hightower’s absence has been the toughest loss to overcome this year. If he wants to come back, would he accept a contractual haircut to shrink that cap number? I wouldn’t bet on that.

The longtime Patriots right tackle opted out this year. His spot’s been capably filled by rookie sixth-rounder Michael Onwenu. Cannon will be 33 in 2021. He’s signed through 2022 and has salaries of $4.7M on the books for the next two years. He’s carrying $9.6M and $6.35M cap hits in ’21 and ’22. Cannon seems a likely retirement candidate.

Hoyer’s 35. This is the last year of his deal. It really and truly sucks that his final game will most likely be his less-than-successful outing against the Chiefs. He accomplished a lot for an undrafted kid out of Michigan State.

Unsolicited recommendation for Bill Belichick? Your new quarterbacks coach is already in house. Hire Hoyer.

Coming to the Patriots in 2017 on a four-year, $14M deal, Guy has been one of the best acquisitions the team’s made in the past decade. He’ll be 31 next year.

He’s no Aaron Donald, but he’s consistent, durable, hard-to-handle and a good locker room fit. His performance has exceeded expectations and his pay rate. There will be suitors for his services.

We all know by now the arc of McDaniels’ career.

Wunderkind. OC for the only 16-0 team in history. Great start, horrible finish with Broncos in his previous head coaching gig which he began at 33. Returns. Three more titles. Develops Jimmy G. Backs out of Colts job. Reboots the undermanned 2018 offense to help secure a sixth Super Bowl. Spends two more seasons trying to get blood from a stone and taking heat for a team that decided it didn’t want to use tight ends, had no post-Brady quarterback plan and couldn’t find a wideout if he was sitting on their lap.

He left little doubt that he’s willing to explore new opportunities when asked about it this week.

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The Patriots have a lot to weigh on the offensive line. Thuney is on the franchise tag and making $14.781M. He’s 28. If the Patriots re-sign him, he kinda has to demand no less than $15M in average annual value. He resisted efforts to lock him up long term. Now he can see what else is out there.

The Patriots drafted well on the offensive line this year with Justin Herron and Michael Onwenu. Isaiah Wynn is versatile enough to move around. Center David Andrews is also up but the team almost has to keep him. If the team decides that kind of annual whack for Thuney is too much, expect them to say, “Thanks for everything!” and change direction.

They can’t. Can they? They can’t.

In spite of all the late nights, early mornings, willing plunges into seas of defensive linemen, chipper video calls and laudable efforts at bucking up overmatched or under-experienced wideouts, the inescapable truth about Cam is that he just can’t throw it.

Even if the Patriots brought him back as a bridge quarterback or – less likely – a changeup short-yardage threat, that’s the equivalent of renting out a Route 1 billboard and having: “STILL NOT SURE WHAT WE WANT TO DO” painted on it.

Cam has more fans in New England now than he did in June. But not a lot of them want to see him under center past January 3.

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Burkhead is 30 and he blew his ACL. He was in the midst of his best year with the team – six touchdowns with 466 yards from scrimmage in 10 games – but as has so often happened here, he had bad injury luck. He probably won’t be ready for the start of the 2021 regular season.

Meanwhile, Damien Harris, Sony Michel and J.J. Taylor are a pretty good troika on their own. With James White – also a free agent but one I am betting will return – there’s probably no room for Burkhead.

The origin of the phrase “fish or cut bait” is interesting. It doesn’t mean deciding to continue efforts at fishing or chopping off the line and quitting. It means either fishing or actually preparing bait with which to do additional fishing. Do one or the other. And the original meaning is what fits here with ol’ N’Keal.

It’s time the Patriots take the pole out of Harry Pond and prepare to find another spot in which to fish. The yield isn’t good enough. And truth be told, both sides could probably use a change of scenery. We’ll see how – and if – Harry can make it unscathed through passing camp, mini-camp and training camp. A full offseason and good health. That’s what people keep hoping is all he’s been missing.

But the jump he needs to make from just being “out there” to being a player an offense can build around is massive. The scrutiny and pressure here aren’t going to let up and – unless the Patriots work magic at quarterback – a N’Keal whisperer probably isn’t walking through that door.