The Patriots have 22 players set to hit unrestricted free agency when the NFL league year opens March 17. As that date approaches, we’re taking a closer look at New England’s free agents.
Up next: special teamer Justin Bethel.
2020 stats: 13 special teams tackles (16 games)
Likelihood of return: High
Analysis: Perhaps no NFL head coach values special teams more than Bill Belichick does, and since scooping up Bethel midway through the 2019 season, the Patriots have boasted the league’s most formidable punt gunner duo.
Working opposite nine-time Pro Bowler Matthew Slater and alongside first-team All-Pro punter Jake Bailey, Bethel has been a lethal weapon in New England’s kicking game. His 13 solo tackles on special teams in 2020 were tied for second-most in the NFL, and he’s made a habit of downing punts in spectacular fashion, like his goal-line chasedown of a Bailey boot in Week 13.
“That’s one of the hardest plays in football,” Slater said after that game, a 45-0 rout of the Los Angeles Chargers. “You’re running full speed, you’re having to track a ball up over your head, get the ball, throw it back before you run into the end zone.
“There are very few players in this league that can make that play. And we were laughing on the sideline, because Justin made it look like it was a routine play, almost to the point where if you’re watching it at home, you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s what they do.’ But for anybody who’s tried to do that, it is dang near impossible.”
Expert coverage from Bethel and Slater helped the Patriots rank seventh in the NFL in yards allowed per punt return. Opponents returned just 12 of Bailey’s 55 punts, totaling 71 yards. Fifteen of the 55 were downed inside the 20-yard line, tied for tops in the league.
Bethel, a three-time All-Pro, also blocked an extra point in Week 7 and nearly got his hand on a Chargers field-goal attempt six weeks later. Teammate Cody Davis blocked that kick, and Devin McCourty returned it for a touchdown.
The lone knock on Bethel’s 2020 campaign was his uptick in penalties. He was flagged four times for holding on returns, equaling his total from the previous four seasons.
The Patriots haven’t had trouble finding high-quality special teamers over the years, but few in the league are on Bethel’s level. With the 35-year-old Slater yet to announce whether he plans to play in 2021 or retire, New England would be wise to keep their other special teams superstar around.
Previous free agent profiles: LG Joe Thuney, RB James White, DT Lawrence Guy, C David Andrews, CB Jason McCourty, RB Rex Burkhead, DT Adam Butler, DE Deatrich Wise, OL Jermaine Eluemunor, WR Damiere Byrd, K Nick Folk
