The New England Patriots gave themselves a bit of salary cap flexibility Saturday.
After the initial wave of NFL free agency, the Patriots reworked defensive lineman Henry Anderson's contract, according to a report from ESPN's Field Yates.
Anderson's base salary shrinks from $2.5 million to $1.25 million, giving New England an additional $1.25 million in cap space. The restructure also tweaked Anderson's playing-time incentives to make them easier to achieve.
Anderson, who turns 31 in August, signed with the Patriots as part of last year's star-studded free agent class. The former Indianapolis Colt and New York Jet had long been viewed as a good fit for New England's defense, but he struggled to climb the depth chart during the preseason and suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 4. He played just 35 total snaps on defense and 28 on special teams over his four appearances.
The Patriots have been far less active in this free agency period, signing just two players thus far (cornerback Terrance Mitchell and hybrid running back Ty Montgomery) and added another via trade (linebacker Mack Wilson). They entered the weekend with roughly $11.3 million in cap space, per OverTheCap, after releasing linebacker Kyle Van Noy, trading right guard Shaq Mason and re-signing six of their own free agents.
