The New England Patriots could shore up their defense by acquiring former Washington Redskins safety/linebacker Su’a Cravens, according to Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Kyed reported that Cravens wanted to resume his NFL career as he applied for reinstatement from Washington’s reserve/left squad list, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network insider. Earlier, John Keim of ESPN said that Cravens is unlikely to return to the Redskins who placed him on the reserve/left squad list after he considered retirement last September due to a knee issue. It was later discovered that Cravens also suffered a concussion, according to his agent, Fadde Mikhail.
In a statement, Mikhail said Cravens underwent targeted treatment and rehabilitation at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program and is now cleared to return to all things fooball. Mikhail said Cravens received a medical clearance to resume all football activities as of December 7, 2017. “Su’a is excited and looking forward to the 2018 NFL season and the many years to follow,” said Mikhail.
Cravens could play safety for Patriots
If Cravens returns to the NFL, the Patriots could be interested as they wanted to draft him in 2016 and formally interviewed Cravens at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine. However, they were beaten to the punch by the Redskins, who took Cravens 53rd overall. The Patriots then settled for cornerback Cyrus Jones 60th overall.
If the Redskins don’t want to keep Cravens, the Patriots could work a trade with Washington for the versatile defender. The 6-foot-1 Cravens could play the hybrid safety/linebacker role that Patrick Chung and Jordan Richards manned last season. In 2016, Cravens tallied 34 tackles, one sack, one interception and five pass breakups in his rookie year.
15 Patriots players to become free agents
It was earlier reported that the Patriots stand to lose 15 players to free-agency in the summer. On the defense side, the Patriots will lose cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Johnson Bademosi, free safety Nate Ebner, linebacker James Harrison, defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois, defensive end Geno Grissom and outside linebacker Marquis Flowers.
Other free agents for the Patriots are left tackle Nate Solder, running backs Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden and Rex Burkhead, wide receivers Matthew Slater and Danny Amendola, and tackles Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle. Among the list, Butler is expected to leave the Patriots after he was benched by coach Bill Belichick in Super Bowl LII.
