Patriots Rumors: New England Trying To Retain These Free Agents

The New England Patriots have publicly expressed their desire to retain some of their own homegrown talent.

Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo have told reporters they want to keep 2020 second-round safety Kyle Dugger and 2020 sixth-round offensive lineman Mike Onwenu. But those two players apparently are not alone.

MassLive’s Mark Daniels, Chris Mason and Karen Guregian on Sunday published a report and highlighted a handful of players the Patriots are hoping to keep in Foxboro, Mass.

MassLive wrote New England is hoping to retain tight ends Hunter Henry and Pharaoh Brown along with wideout Kendrick Bourne. On the other side of the ball, the Patriots have expressed interest in bringing back linebacker Mack Wilson and cornerback Myles Bryant, among others.

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However, the Patriots are not seeing eye-to-eye in contract talks with either Bourne or Henry, per MassLive. Both players are likely to hit free agency March 13, two days after the legal tampering period begins March 11.

The Patriots also can use the franchise tag on players like Dugger or Onwenu, and while Mayo would not rule it out, he said the preference is to come to long-term agreements to ensure those players are happy.

The Patriots have until Tuesday to use their franchise tag and until March 11 to re-sign who they want without other teams competing.