The New England Patriots have not experienced as much roster turnover as one might expect for a team entering back-to-back new coaching regimes. One mainstay, who has only seen his role increase since the departure of Bill Belichick, is linebacker Jahlani Tavai. Tavai joined the team in 2021. In the last two seasons combined he has recorded 225 total tackles and three interceptions.
Despite putting together a very solid stat line for a 5.3 million dollar per year middle linebacker, popular writer for the Boston Sports Journal, Greg Bedard, wonders if this iteration of the Patriots has room for Tavai.
“I still think he could get dealt,” said Bedard on the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast. “But as of right now, I think the the new Patriots coaches see him, the more they’re going to realize that he’s not really a fit for them, and that maybe a more veteran team, maybe somebody that suffers an injury decides, You know what? Let’s go get Tavai to make sure we’re covered. He’s a veteran, he’s seen a lot. He’s won a lot of games with the Patriots at times. So maybe he would be better. I still think he’s trade bait.”
Bedard believes several newcomers threaten Tavai’s spot on this team. Of the newcomers, he points to Monty Rice. Rice is a six-foot-even, 26-year-old middle linebacker out of Georgia who spent his first three years with the… Tennessee Titans.
Another name Bedard threw around was Jack Gibbens. Gibbens is entering his fourth year in the league after spending his first three with, you guessed it, the Tennessee Titans.
“I don’t remember Jack Gibbens playing a ton of middle linebacker during the offseason practices, but both Gibbens and Rice have a background with the Titans and the scheme,” Bedard continues. “They know them really well. I want to say Monty Rice is more the middle linebacker, but I think Gibbens can do both. And I’ll be interested to see in training camp how many snaps he gets as middle linebacker.”
What This Means For Jahlani Tavai’s Future
If the Patriots want to part ways with Tavai, they must first find a way to replace his 100 tackles a year. The linebacker room is overcrowded at the moment, to say the least. There will be several roster battles taking place next month to see who will round out this second level crew. But Bedard believes Tavai’s future hinges on the performance of a few young players this preseason.
“If they feel good about Gibbens and/or Monty Rice, which it would not be a shock, I have both of those guys on my roster for this reason where they’re just like, ‘All right, well, if something happens, Gibbens and Rice can play both inside linebacker spots, and we can be okay,’” said Bedard. “But I do wonder if they give a healthy Jahlani Tavai, a little bit more of an opportunity to perhaps prove that he could be.”
Built In ‘Out’ In Tavai’s Contract
Tavai will be 29-years-old when the season starts. Not old by any means, but certainly aging. Also worth noting, according to Spotrac, it appears that Tavai’s contract has a built in out after this season. The Patriots could get out of the last $10 million of his contract with a minimal dead cap penalty.
For me this means that, most importantly, if Tavai doesn’t carve out a role this season, that will be the end. But secondly, it is very enticing for a team looking to trade for the backer. This means they could take on the $5.3 from the Patriots then essentially make their own contract the following season.
The stars do seem to be aligning for the end of an era in Foxboro with Tavai.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Patriots Predicted To Part Ways With Four Year Contributor At Linebacker, ‘Not Really A Fit For Them’ appeared first on Heavy Sports.