The Patriots Could Find A Single Season Band-aid In Chris Harris.

While the Patriots had J.C. Jackson, the Patriots lost Stephon Gilmore and tried to fill the hole with Jalen Mills and Miles Bryant. They were not even an adequate committee. When free agency hit they lost J.C. Jackson, the Patriots did a band-aid fix and brought in Malcolm Butler. Butler at this point of his career should be an average outside corner but he is a band-aid for the Patriots secondary. The Patriots also drafted Jack Jones but there are concerns over whether or not he can play outside corner.

Options:

The Patriots do not have a lot of room to maneuver in free agency. One name being thrown around is James Bradberry but he may be driven out of the Patriots price range. The Patriots could look to free agency to find another veteran to be a band-aid for the 2022 season. One name to keep an eye on is Chris Harris who recently played for the Chargers. He's not the best out there but he maybe the cheapest for the value.

2021 stats:

Harris age 32 played in 14 games in 2021 starting 11. He had 37 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 1 interception in 2021. 

What does he bring?

Harris does a good job of prevent quarterbacks from completing their passes, allowing less than a 60% completing percentage. Harris is a band-aid fix but he brings 11 years of veteran experience to the Patriots locker room. Harris has missed 10 games due to injury over the past 2 seasons, so that is a concern but to counter that, PFF still ranked Harris as the 60th best corner in the NFL, a far cry from what it was onlyba few short years ago.

Overall thoughts:

If there's anything left the Patriots would be the team to get it out of him. He should come cheap as there's not a large market for him. This would buy the Patriots a season to develop their young talent and the Patriots are supposed to have a good amount of salary in 2023. Worst case scenario the Patriots go with him and he ends up on the I.R. during the season and Mills and Bryant have to play outside corner for a second year.