Elliot Wolf, the New England Patriots’ Director of Scouting, recently said in his opening press conference as “decision maker”; read de facto general manager; that he would like to keep offensive lineman Michael Onwenu on the team, and see him as a “cornerstone” of the Patriots’ future.
It seems like, on cue, New England has found a way to keep one of their “core players” around for the foreseeable future, per Ian Rapoport.
Sources: The #Patriots are re-signing versatile OL Michael Onwenu, one of their cornerstone players, to a 3-year, $57M deal including $38M guaranteed. A clear priority for New England, he gets a $22.5M signing bonus. pic.twitter.com/mDpUz5CvSS
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2024
The New England Patriots have managed to keep an important piece of their offensive line puzzle, alongside agreeing to sign former Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle, Chukwuma Okorafor.
However, New England will still likely be down a tackle, as Trent Brown is unlikely to re-sign with the team this free agency period.
The question remains whether the Patriots will keep Okorafor and Onwenu as their bookends, or move Onwenu inside and keep searching free agency and/or this year’s draft for answers at the blindside pass protector.
Regardless, this is a great re-signing for both the Patriots and Onwenu, who finally gets his payday after playing the past 4 years on a 6th round contract.
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