Patriots have lots of uncertainty at linebacker

Patriots have three unrestricted free agents among their linebackers, and only two of the remaining three have NFL experience.

With the 2019 season in the books, The Providence Journal will take a look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed in 2019 and where it might be heading in the future.

Linebacker

Dont'a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, John Simon, Chase Winovich, Elandon Roberts, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Shilique Calhoun, Terez Hall

Contract situation

The Patriots don't lack free agents from this group.

Van Noy, Collins, Roberts and Calhoun are all unrestricted free agents. That leaves three players under contract and only two have NFL experience. Not only do the Pats lack depth at the moment, they also lack long-term depth at the linebacker position.

Hightower enters 2020 in a contract year. His cap hit is set to be around $11.32 million. If the Patriots want to lower that number, they could extend the 29-year-old to lessen the 2020 cap hit. Simon also enters this season in a contract year. His cap hit is set to be $2.35 million this season.

Winovich enters this season in the second year of his rookie deal. His 2020 cap hit is $930,328 and his contract runs through 2022.

Bentley enters this year in the second year of his four-year rookie contract. His cap hit is $735,988 and goes up to $825,990 in 2021. Hall was signed to a futures contract. If he makes the 53-man roster, he'll have a cap hit of $510,000 next season.

2019 review

The Patriots had so much depth at linebacker that they decided to move to a 3-4 base defense, which utilizes four linebackers on the field at the same time. You can thank the acquisition of Collins for this move. With him, Hightower and Van Noy, the Patriots had outstanding linebacker depth in 2019.

Collins led the Patriots in sacks (seven), tackles (80) and tackles for loss (10). He also had three interceptions. After being released by Cleveland, this 30-year-old looked like his old self in New England. He started 15 of 16 games played and wasn't the only linebacker to excel.

Van Noy had a career-year in 2019. He led the Patriots in quarterback hits (15) and was second on the team in sacks (6.5) to go along with 56 tackles. You can make the argument that Van Noy was snubbed for the Pro Bowl.

Hightower was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. He finished the season with 71 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits and eight tackles for loss. He was outstanding – along with Van Noy and Collins.

The Pats also started Simon, who played an outside linebacker-type role. The 29-year-old was an under-the-radar type player for the Pats. He finished with four sacks, 43 tackles and an interception.

The Pats didn't have much playing time to go around after Hightower, Van Noy, Collins and Simon. That didn't stop Winovich from excelling as a third-down pass rusher. The third-round pick finished with 5.5 sacks despite limited playing time.

Bentley appeared in all 16 games. He finished with 39 tackles. Roberts' playing time went down on defense as he was also used as a fullback on offense. He finished with 28 tackles after having 60-plus in the last two seasons

The future

You can expect some changes at this position.

Van Noy is in position to cash in big. He's set to become one of the premier edge rushing free agents in March. It's very likely that Van Noy, 28, prices himself out of New England. That's also a possibility for Collins. However, since he turns 31 next season, it is possible he returns to the Patriots if his market cools.

It wouldn't be a shock to see Roberts leave, either. The hard-hitting middle linebacker is solid against the run. He just didn't play as much on defense last season as he obviously would've liked to.

If those three players leave, the Pats are left with Hightower, Simon, Winovich and Bentley. Hightower and Simon are also signed for one year. The team could try to replace Van Noy with Winovich. However, they need more youth. They should look into drafting a linebacker.

If you lose Van Noy and Collins, that's a lot of talent gone. It wouldn't hurt to search the free-agent market for a veteran. The Pats could look at players such as Nick Kwiatkoski, De'Vondre Campbell and Blake Martinez.