Joe Thuney was back in the news on Wednesday when Albert Breer of the MMQB threw out the possibility of the guard being traded to the Eagles following Brandon Brooks tearing his Achilles and being out for the season.
While the Eagles' interest makes sense, and a Thuney trade for the Patriots once did, it doesn't really make sense anymore.
The Patriots placed the franchise tag on Thuney this offseason and the thought was they could potentially trade him around the draft. But, when he was still on the roster afterwards, it now makes most sense to keep him and look to sign him to a long-term deal.
Right now, Thuney counts for $14.78 million against the cap for the 2020 season, which is obviously a huge number. Trading him would get that off the books, but the question becomes what would the Patriots do with that money?
It's not like there are any big name free agents at really any position still available. They were already scooped up during free agency. Trading him now would likely get 2021 draft picks in return, and what good does that do the 2020 team?
It would also leave a huge hole on the offensive line, as behind Thuney on the interior there are a ton of questions. Right now, Thuney is even the backup center. The Patriots really do not have the pieces in place to move on from Thuney and with it being so close to the season, there's not really time to find them.
Some might say this is a rebuilding year and it would be OK to look towards the future, but having a poor interior line wouldn't be a good thing for Jarrett Stidham and the rest of the offense's development post-Tom Brady.
Since Thuney is still on the roster, he needs to be part of the 2020 Patriots' plans and beyond. The most logical thing is to work towards a contract extension to lower his 2020 cap hit while also keeping the guard in the mix for the future.
