The 2018 New England Patriots season will be the franchise's upcoming 49th season in the National Football League, the 59th overall and the 19th under head coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots enter the season as two time defending AFC champions, and will attempt to become the first team since the 1990–93 Buffalo Bills to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls.
| 2018 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Kraft |
| Head coach | Bill Belichick |
| Home field | Gillette Stadium |
| Uniform | |
| File:AFCE-Uniform-NEa.PNG | |
Offseason
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was announced as being hired as the new Indianapolis Colts' head coach.[1] McDaniels abruptly rejected the offer citing personal reasons, deciding to stay a part of the Patriots' organization.[2] The controversy surrounding this decision led then McDaniels' agent, Bob LaMonte to terminate their professional relationship.[3]
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was hired to serve as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.[4]
Roster changes
Free agents
Unrestricted
| Position | Player | 2018 Team | Date signed | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Danny Amendola | Miami Dolphins | March 15, 2018[5] | two years, $12 million[6] |
| CB | Johnson Bademosi | Houston Texans | March 16, 2018[7] | two years, $6.25 million |
| DT | Alan Branch | |||
| RB | Brandon Bolden | New England Patriots | February 24, 2018[8] | one year, $880,000[8] |
| RB | Rex Burkhead | New England Patriots | March 15, 2018[9] | three years, $9.75 million[10] |
| CB | Malcolm Butler | Tennessee Titans | March 15, 2018[11] | five years, $61 million[12] |
| SS | Nate Ebner | New England Patriots | March 13, 2018[13] | two years, $5 million[14] |
| OT | Cameron Fleming | Dallas Cowboys | March 24, 2018[15] | TBA |
| OLB | Marquis Flowers | New England Patriots | March 22, 2018[16] | one year, $2.55 million[16] |
| DT | Ricky Jean Francois | Detroit Lions | March 21, 2018[17] | TBA |
| OLB | James Harrison | |||
| RB | Dion Lewis | Tennessee Titans | March 15, 2018[18] | four years, $20 million[19] |
| WR | Matthew Slater | New England Patriots | March 20, 2018[20] | two years, $5.2 million[20] |
| OT | Nate Solder | New York Giants | March 15, 2018[21] | four years, $62 million[22] |
| OT | LaAdrian Waddle | New England Patriots | March 22, 2018[23] | one year[23] |
Restricted
| Position | Player | 2018 Team | Date signed | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS | Brandon King | New England Patriots | March 8, 2018[24] | two year, $2.6 million[24] |
Signings
| Position | Player | 2017 Team | Date signed | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Adrian Clayborn | Atlanta Falcons | March 16, 2018[25] | two years, $12 million[26] |
| RB | Jeremy Hill | Cincinatti Bengals | March 16, 2018[27] | one year, $1.5 million[28] |
| OT | Matt Tobin | Seattle Seahawks | March 16, 2018[29] | one year, $815,000[30] |
Releases
| Position | Player | 2018 Team | Date released |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Caleb Kidder | March 6, 2018[14] | |
| TE | Martellus Bennett | March 7, 2018[31] | |
| WR | Bernard Reedy | March 7, 2018[31] | |
| OLB | Shea McClellin | March 19, 2018[32] |
Retirements
| Position | Player | Date retired |
|---|---|---|
| MLB | David Harris | February 23, 2018[33] |
Trades
- On March 10, the Patriots traded their 2019 third-round selection to the Cleveland Browns for defensive tackle Danny Shelton and Cleveland's 2018 fifth-round selection (No. 159 overall).
- On March 15, the Patriots traded their 2018 sixth-round selection (No. 205) to the Cleveland Browns for cornerback Jason McCourty and Cleveland's 2018 seventh-round selection (No. 219 overall).
- On March 18, the Patriots traded their 2018 fifth-round selection (No. 159) to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and a 2018 sixth-round selection (No. 210 overall).
- On April 3, the Patriots traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks and their 2018 fourth-round selection (No. 136) to the Los Angeles Rams for their first-round (No. 23) and sixth-round (pick unknown) selections.
Draft
| Round | Selection | Overall | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | 23 | ||||
| 31 | 31 | |||||
| 2 | 11 | 43 | From San Francisco[A] | |||
| 31 | 63 | |||||
| 3 | 31 | 95 | ||||
| 4 | 31 | 131 | Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[B] | |||
| 36 | 136 | Traded to the Los Angeles Rams | Compensatory pick[C] | |||
| 5 | 22 | 159 | Traded to the Oakland Raiders[D] | From Cleveland[E] | ||
| 31 | 168 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[F] | ||||
| 6 | 31 | 205 | Traded to the Cleveland Browns[G] | |||
| 36 | 210 | From Oakland[D] | ||||
| 7 | 1 | 219 | From Cleveland[G] | |||
| 31 | 249 | Traded to the Cincinnati Bengals[H] | ||||
| 32 | 250 | Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[F] | From Philadelphia via Seattle[I] | |||
Draft trades
- ^ The Patriots traded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's second-round selection (43rd overall).
- ^ The Patriots traded their fourth-round selection (131st overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for cornerback Eric Rowe.
- ^ The Patriots were awarded a fourth-round compensatory pick (136th overall).
- ^ a b The Patriots traded the fifth-round selection they acquired from Cleveland (131st overall) to Oakland in exchange for Oakland's sixth-round selection (210th overall) and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
- ^ The Patriots traded their third-round selection in 2019 to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's fifth-round selection (159th overall) and defensive tackle Danny Shelton.
- ^ a b The Patriots traded their fifth- and seventh-round selections (168th and 270th overall) to Seattle in exchange for defensive end Cassius Marsh.
- ^ a b The Patriots traded their sixth-round selection (205th) to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's seventh-round selection (219th) and cornerback Jason McCourty.
- ^ The Patriots traded their seventh-round selection (249th overall) to Cincinnati in exchange for linebacker Marquis Flowers.
- ^ The Patriots traded cornerback Justin Coleman to Seattle in exchange for Seattle's seventh-round selection they acquired from Philadelphia (250th overall).
Staff
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| |||||
Current roster
Preseason
The Patriots' preseason opponents and schedule will be announced in the spring.
Regular season
2018 opponents
Listed below are the Patriots' opponents for 2018. Exact dates and times will be announced in the spring.[34]
| Category | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Division opponents (AFC East) |
Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New York Jets | |
| Conference opponents (AFC South) |
Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts |
Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans |
| Conference opponents (based on 2017 division placement) |
Kansas City Chiefs | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Interconference opponents (NFC North) |
Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings |
Chicago Bears Detroit Lions |
References
- ^ Brinson, Will. "Colts announce Josh McDaniels hired as new coach, Patriots purge underway". CBSSports. CBS. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Schefter, Adam. "Josh McDaniels changes mind, jilting Colts to stay with Pats". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Josh McDaniels' agent quits after being stunned by decision". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ Dubin, Jared. "Lions hire former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as new coach". CBS Sports. CBS. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ "Miami Dolphins Make Roster Moves". Miami Dolphins. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Cox, Zack (March 13, 2018). "NFL Rumors: Danny Amendola Expected To Leave Patriots, Sign With Dolphins". NESN. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Patriots special teamer Johnson Bademosi signs huge deal with Texans". Patriots Wire. 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ a b "Patriots re-sign core special teamer Brandon Bolden to one-year contract". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Patriots Acquire CB Jason McCourty in a Trade with Cleveland;Re-Sign RB Rex Burkhead". Patriots.com. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Brian (March 15, 2018). "2018 NFL free agency:Details released on Rex Burkhead's new deal with the Patriots". PatsPulpit. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (March 15, 2018). "Titans Reach Deal with Former Patriots CB Malcolm Butler". TitansOnline. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Titans to sign Malcolm Butler to five-year, $61M deal". NFL.com. March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Patriots re-sign special teams ace Nate Ebner to two-year contract". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ a b "Patriots free agency tracker: Rumors, news, signings, instant analysis". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Cowboys expected to sign Cameron Fleming". ProFootballTalk. 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- ^ a b "Patriots reportedly re-sign linebacker Marquis Flowers to a one year deal". Boston.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- ^ "Ex-Patriot Ricky Jean-Francois signing with Lions". NBC Sports Boston. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- ^ "Titans Reach Deal with Former Patriots RB Dion Lewis". TitansOnline. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Wesseling, Chris (March 13, 2018). "Titans expected to sign RB Dion Lewis to 4-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Patriots re-sign special teams ace Matthew Slater to two-year deal". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ "New York Giants sign OT Nate Solder". Giants.com. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (March 14, 2018). "Nate Solder signs four-year, $62M Giants contract". NFL.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Patriots re-signing left tackle LaAdrian Waddle". NFL.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- ^ a b "Patriots sign Brandon King to two-year, $2.6 million contract". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ Schefter, Adam (16 March 2018). "Patriots reached agreement with former Falcons' DE Adrian Clayborn, per source". @AdamSchefter. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ Rapoport, Ian (16 March 2018). "The #Patriots are signing #Falcons free agent DE Adrian Clayborn to a 2-year deal worth $12M, source said". @RapSheet. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ Yates, Field (16 March 2018). "Source: the Patriots are signing former Bengals RB Jeremy Hill". @FieldYates. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Jeremy Hill's One-Year Deal With Patriots: Details Released". 98.5 The Sports Hub - Boston's Home For Sports - WBZ FM. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ Reiss, Mike (16 March 2018). "Patriots are signing OT Matt Tobin to a 1-year deal, per source". @MikeReiss. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Patriots sign former Eagles and Seahawks offensive lineman Matt Tobin to a 1-year deal". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ a b "TRANSACTIONS". New England Patriots. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "Patriots release linebacker Shea McClellin". Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ "2018 NFL Transactions February Retired: Free Agency, Trades & more". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
- ^ "2018 Opponents Determined". NFL Communications. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.