Defensive tackle Danny Shelton’s first season with the New England Patriots had its ups and downs.
Shelton was acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns last March for a third-round, fifth-round pick swap. The Patriots declined to pick up Shelton’s fifth-year option, and he started just one game. He was a healthy scratch in four contests, including the Patriots’ AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Still, Shelton’s season with the Patriots concluded with a Super Bowl LIII victory over the Los Angeles Rams, a game in which he had a tackle for loss. ver the Los Angeles Rams, and he had a tackle for loss in that game.
Despite being inactive four games and the lack of starts, Shelton would welcome a return to the Patriots, a source told NESN.com at the NFL Scouting Combine.
2018 STATS: 21 tackles, one tackle for loss, one QB hit
Shelton also registered 12 hurries as a pass rusher and 10 stops as a run defender. It was the least productive season of Shelton’s career from a tackling perspective. It was Shelton’s second-most productive season as a pass rusher, however.
POTENTIAL COMPETITION: Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans
The Browns might sound crazy, since they just traded Shelton, but Cleveland hired Shelton’s old defensive line coach from the University of Washington, Tosh Lupoi, this offseason. Shelton and Lupoi had a strong relationship.
Shelton’s head coach from Cleveland, Mike Pettine, is now the Packers’ defensive coordinator, while Houston runs a 3-4 and employs defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, who also worked with Shelton in Cleveland.
PROJECTED DEAL: one year, $3.5 million
That’s roughly the going rate for a player like Shelton, who has been pigeonholed as a run-stuffer. It would behoove him to sign a one-year prove-it deal to see if he can show more disruption in a different defensive system.
PRIORITY TO RE-SIGN: medium-low
The Patriots need defensive tackles, so if they can’t bring back Malcom Brown, also a free agent with interest in returning, then they might shift their focus to Shelton.
The Patriots only are bringing back defensive tackles Lawrence Guy and Adam Butler. Defensive end Ufomba Kamalu also could be asked to bulk up a little bit more and move inside since he’s already tipping the scales at 300 pounds.
