Patriots free agency profile: Myles Bryant has shown his value to the team

Bryant is headed into unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.

The New England Patriots are already in the middle of a franchise-altering offseason. They have a new head coach, restructured their front office, and are expected to overhaul their roster from the top down.

Free agency will be a key part of this process. And while adding external players to the mix will undoubtably happen, there are also quite a few in-house free agents to be taken care of. In total, 24 are headed toward the open market this spring and in need of a new contract.

Among them is cornerback Myles Bryant, the next player in our free agency profile series.

Hard facts

Name: Myles Bryant

Position: Cornerback/Safety

Opening day age: 26 (1/2/1998)

Size: 5’9”, 192 lbs

Jersey number: 27

Free agency status: Unrestricted free agent

Experience

Bryant spent four years at the University of Washington before his arrival in the NFL. A former walk-on who served as a backup during his true freshman season, he became a starter in the Huskies’ defensive backfield in his sophomore campaign and never looked back.

Over the next three seasons, Bryant appeared in 39 games and registered four interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 3.5 sacks. He also was named to the All-Pac 12 squad either as an honorable mention or a second-teamer each year. Despite a successful college career, however, Bryant did not hear his name called in the 2020 draft.

Instead, he had to go through free agency before eventually arriving in New England. His status as an undrafted rookie did not prevent him from making the team and carving out a prominent role over the course of his first four seasons as a pro. In total, Bryant has a combined 56 regular season and playoff game appearances on his résumé and has registered four interceptions as well as three forced fumbles and a pair of sacks.

In addition to his work on defense, he also has seen some part-time action as a punt returner.

2023 review

Stats: 17 games (9 starts) | 851 defensive snaps (74.8%), 96 special teams snaps (21.0%) | 77 tackles, 10 missed tackles (11.5%), 2 forced fumbles | 74 targets, 59 catches (79.7%), 570 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT | 6 quarterback pressures (1 sack, 5 hurries) | 15 punt returns, 105 yards (7.0/return) | 1 kickoff return, 11 yards

Season recap: As a former undrafted rookie, Bryant was already set to enter the open market last offseason. However, the Patriots decided to use the right-of-first-refusal tender on the restricted free agent, keeping him around for the 2023 season on what was essentially a one-year, $2.63 million contract. On a per-snap basis, that deal proved itself a good one for the organization.

Bryant, after all, was one of the Patriots’ most-used defenders last year. He saw action in all 17 games and played 851 of a possible of 1,138 defensive snaps; his resulting playing time share of 74.8 percent ranked fourth on the team and tops among New England’s cornerbacks.

Of course, Bryant’s usage was a direct result of the team’s personnel issues at the cornerback position. Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones were both lost for the year within the first month of the regular season; Jonathan Jones missed time due to an ankle injury; Jack Jones was released halfway through the year; J.C. Jackson was reacquired via trade and later finished the campaign on the non-football illness list.

Bryant, on the other hand, was as steady as they come. His availability might have been his best attribute in 2023, but far from the only one worth mentioning.

The fourth-year man also played arguably the best football of his career despite a) his surprisingly heavy workload, and b) the numbers seemingly not supporting this claim. However, fact is that Bryant showed improved awareness in coverage, communicated well despite a near-constantly-changing cast of characters around him, and was able to play multiple spots allowing for advantageous matchups elsewhere.

He furthermore was employed as a punt returner as well. While only the third-string option behind Marcus Jones and DeMario Douglas, he ended up playing 41 snaps as a returner and ran back 15 punts for 105 yards and an average of 7.0 yards per return — not groundbreaking but an improvement over his previous stint playing the position.

All in all, Bryant did not suddenly develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player in 2023. His presence did help the Patriots secondary stay afloat despite a boatload of injuries, however, and he also made some big plays along the way.

Free agency preview

What is his contract history? As noted above, Bryant entered the league as a UDFA in 2020. He originally signed a standard three-year deal at a value of $2.29 million with the Patriots, but that pact was altered on a handful of occasions. He later added the aforementioned restricted free agent tender as well to bring his estimated career earnings up to roughly $4.8 million, per Over the Cap.

Which teams might be in the running? The cornerback spot is one of the most important in football these days, but multiple teams will be looking for upgrades this summer — a group that includes the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, and Los Angeles Chargers. Of course, the Patriots themselves also would benefit from increased depth at the position.

Why should he be expected back? Bryant did have his ups and downs over the last four years, but he also showed steady improvement and developed into a valuable contributor in the Patriots secondary. His versatility and experience are a plus as well, and he additionally is not expected to break the bank either. For a team that had to rely on its cornerback depth quite a bit in 2023 and is facing questions beyond the likes of Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones, keeping a player like Bryant would make a lot of sense.

Why should he be expected to leave? Even in a post-Bill Belichick world, “value” will be a key phrase when it comes to the Patriots evaluating free agents. And Bryant might turn out to be a tricky case: if the team feels like he has hit his peak and will be little more than a rotational depth piece moving forward, it might be hesitant to make a competitive offer to keep him around.

What is his projected free agency outcome? The Patriots have considerable resources at their disposal this offseason, and not all of them will be spent on external free agents. Some of it might just go to Bryant, who may not be in the same tier as the likes of Kyle Dugger or Michael Onwenu, but who still has shown he can play solid football and step in when needed. As a consequence of this and New England’s general uncertainty at the cornerback position, it would not be a surprise if New England and Bryant reached an agreement on a deal in the two-year, $7 million ballpark.

What do you think about Myles Bryant heading into free agency? Will the Patriots try to keep him around? Or will they want to go in a different direction at cornerback? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.