Bill Belichick and the Patriots have strayed from the norm this offseason.
New England, which hasn't been much for free agency fireworks since Belichick took over in 2000, has been uncharacteristically active this week. The Patriots have been dishing out cash left and right and even double-dipped at the tight end position.
Belichick and Co. did execute one move this week that was vintage Patriots, however, and the deal currently is one of Bill Barnwell's favorites of the offseason.
"I have to admit that I'm skeptical of the spending spree the Patriots went on in the opening hours of free agency, in part because it's the opposite of how the Patriots have typically acted in free agency," Barnwell wrote for ESPN.com. "The move to bring back (Kyle) Van Noy seems much more in line with the Patriots' typical predilections. Bill Belichick traded a late-round pick for Van Noy, got three years of below-market, above-average performance from the former Lions draftee, then added a fourth-round comp pick when the Dolphins signed Van Noy away last year in free agency.
"Miami paid $15 million for one year of Van Noy and then cut the 29-year-old. The Patriots will now bring him back for less than that over two seasons without having to give up a compensatory pick as part of the deal. Guaranteeing Nelson Agholor $16 million for one year doesn't seem like a typical Patriots move. Getting the best out of Van Noy and getting a pick for loaning him out for a year? That's more like it."
Finessing aside, the move to bring Van Noy back was a sound one for the Patriots. New England featured one of the weakest linebacking corps in the league last season, and the unit now boasts Van Noy -- who has three-plus years of experience in Foxboro -- and newcomer Matt Judon. Dont'a Hightower, who opted out of the 2020 season, also is expected to return.
It probably is too early to say the front seven will be an area of strength for the Patriots in 2021, but it's certainly trending in that direction.
