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It Is What It Is » Free agent snapshot: Defensive lineman Mike DeVito

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It Is What It Is » Free agent snapshot: Defensive lineman Mike DeVito

It’s hard to find someone with a bad word about DeVito — my “NFL Sunday” partner Matt Chatham played with him briefly in New York and raved about his skill level and how well he would mesh with the New England system. His versatility is impressive, as well as his willingness to see the bigger picture. (He took a cut in his base salary before the start of the 2012 season to help the Jets’ try to get some cap relief; he was able to make a chunk of it back by hitting playing-time incentives.)

Free Agency For New England May Involve Defensive Tackles :Pats Pub

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Free Agency For New England May Involve Defensive Tackles :Pats Pub

Good stuff as always from Steve, another member on the D-Tackle train like yours truly…

Look back to the Patriots Super Bowl seasons of 2001, 2003 and 2004 and some of the better role players were those guys who battled on the interior of those Patriots defenses. And yet many people scarcely remember Anthony Pleasant, Bobby Hamilton and Keith Traylor, and Ted Washington. Those players were stout in the run department but could also push the pocket from the interior. The team recognized that this was a weakness last season and thought they addressed it with the signing of Jonathan Fanene, like the year before with Albert Haynesworth. But Fanene was beset by unknown knee problems and never stepped on the field. Haynesworth never was in shape and the desire was no longer there.

One overlooked topic in the offseason at this point has been what to do at the Kicker position with Gostkowski. He carries a $3m cap charge next year and $3.4m in 2014 which doesn’t seem sustainable in a flat salary cap situation with more pressing needs to address. I think the Patriots strongly need to consider cutting ties with Gostkowski (who has been fairly average this year) and going with a new, cheaper K (probably a late pick) sooner rather than later. Thanks for your thoughts Mike!

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I wouldn’t totally rule it out, but Gostkowski’s been pretty consistent, and barring a major need to open up even more cap space I think he’ll be safe.

Gost missed 6 field goals this year, tying a career high from his rookie year, but he also hit a career-high 15 from 40-plus yards. I wouldn’t rule out some quality competition for him in training camp, but it would take a lot to dethrone him.

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