Dwight Freeney says signing with Patriots would be a win-win
He had eight sacks in 11 games during the 2015 regular season.
Veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney hopes to return to the NFL for a 15th season. The team atop his wish list may be the one he played for during the 2015 season: The Arizona Cardinals. But if that doesn’t work out, the former Indianapolis Colts star would consider putting old rivalries aside to head to New England.
“Well, that’s hard to fathom. But I’m not against Bill [Belichick],” Freeney responded when asked about playing for the Patriots by Peter King of MMQB.com. “I understand the dynamic involved, but at the end of the day, this is a business. My first allegiance right now is to Arizona, if they’re interested. But if it happened that I ended up in New England, I can tell you, both sides would win.”
Freeney has played against the Patriots 14 times during his 14-season career. During that span, he has four sacks and a 5-9 record.
“Freeney’s the defensive equivalent to Reggie Wayne,” Belichick said in November 2009 after a game in which Wayne put up 126 yards and two touchdowns on the Patriots. “You can do everything right and there are still a few plays that those guys are going to make.”
Freeney was 29 years old when Belichick made that remark. He’s now 36 years old. He has played all 16 games in only one of the last four regular seasons. In 11 games last season with the Cardinals, he finished with three forced fumbles and eight sacks, his highest total since 2011 with the Colts.
During the 2016 offseason, the Patriots traded starting defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona, and signed defensive ends Chris Long and Frank Kearse. While they did not add any defensive ends in the 2016 draft, the Patriots did select a pair of pass-rushers in Geneo Grissom and Trey Flowers in the 2015 NFL Draft. They also have veteran defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard.
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