Things are slowly starting to ramp up for the New England Patriots in free agency. After a quiet first day, and a second day filled with visits, the team has reportedly signed Bills wide receiver Chris Hogan to an offer sheet and also signed defensive tackle Frank Kearse.
Per @AdamSchefter, Chris Hogan is signing 3-year, $12M offer sheet with NE this morning. $5.5M cap number in 2016.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) March 11, 2016
Hogan fills a definite need at the receiver spot and can be pencilled into Brandon LaFell‘s spot, for now. He checks all the boxes the Pats look for, but doesn’t come with the kind of previous production that would get fans excited. Still, he’s big, athletic and can play any of the receiver spots in the Pats system. But most importantly (to Bill Belichick), Hogan is a former lacrosse standout and can also punt. Is there anything BB loves more than lacrosse and versatility? Nope.
Now we’ll see if Hogan can truly live up to his always-open 7-11 nickname with the best quarterback he’s ever played with. That is assuming the Bills don’t move salary cap mountains to retain their third receiver. With Rex you never know.
It appears @GoodFella_99 has landed with the Patriots. Good luck! pic.twitter.com/L5kiInGO8Z
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerRedskins) March 11, 2016
Frank Kearse was the 53rd man on the Redskins last year. Again, that gets no one excited but if you read this article about the kind of player he is you’ll quickly understand why the Patriots pursued him. In a lot of ways the signing of Kearse embodies what I ranted about earlier today with the Pats and free agency. Kearse isn’t being pencilled into a starters spot, but you know if injuries strike he’s going to be ready, working his tail off and will compete his ass off.
