The trade for Michael Bennett shows the Patriots, sigh, are at it again

Just as the Patriots were slated to lose star defensive end Trey Flowers to free agency, they made a big move to acquire Michael Bennett from the Philadelphia Eagles. All it took to land him was swapping late-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

This is the type of move the Patriots have made over the years to help continue their reign over the AFC. Whether it’s trading a fourth-round pick for Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss, swapping late-round picks for All-Pro cornerback Aqib Talib, or trading a third-round pick for left tackle Trent Brown and a fifth-rounder, the Patriots always seem to find valuable players across the NFL.

Last season, Flowers was the main disruptive presence on New England’s defensive line. He led the Patriots in sacks (7.5), tackles for loss (9), and quarterback hits (20). Flowers is just 25 years old and is likely to be in store for a big payday as the top defensive end on the market. With Dee Ford, Jadeveon Clowney, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Brandon Graham not hitting free agency, Flowers can set the market with no real competition.

That’s no big deal for New England, who has replaced Flowers with an equal or better talent in Michael Bennett. Last season for the Eagles, Bennett nine sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 30 quarterback hits — all of which are better than the numbers that Flowers put up. Bennett surely benefitted from playing on the same defensive line as Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, but his numbers are still impressive.

Spotrac is projecting Flowers to have a market value worth $15.7 million per year, which is more than double the $7.2 million it’ll cost the Patriots to have Bennett on their team for the 2019 season. Bennett currently has the 39th-highest cap hit amongst all defensive linemen this season. That’s lower than guys like Dontari Poe, Tyrone Crawford, Vic Beasley, and Mario Addison — none of them have been as productive as Bennett has been in recent seasons.

While Flowers is younger than the 33-year-old Bennett, New England got a comparable player to Flowers with this trade for less money to ensure it’ll have at least one impact defensive lineman on the roster.

Bennett also allows the Patriots to continue being versatile with how they mix and match their defensive line based on the matchup. Bennett played 12 different positions up front for the Eagles last season, something Bill Belichick will surely take advantage of in New England. It should be a seamless transition for Bennett and the Patriots as they integrate him into the defense.

Spotrac is now projecting the Patriots to have roughly $13.7 million in cap space to maneuver the rest of free agency.

While that’s not a ton of money to work with, it’s still enough to add players who can help fill some of the holes they have on their roster.

If they’re not sold on Josh Gordon returning to the team in 2019, they can use that money on a receiver like John Brown. If they’re in the market for a versatile safety, they could throw some of that cap space at the recently released Jahleel Addae. Or if they want to keep bolstering their defensive line, they might be able to sign a guy like Muhammad Wilkerson for a cheap deal considering he’s coming off of a season-ending ankle injury.

They can also address some of these needs in the draft. New England has a first-round pick, two second-round picks, and three third-round picks for the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft. That’s not bad for a team that just won the Super Bowl and is coming off of three straight Super Bowl appearances.

Every year, the Patriots always seems to find a way to replenish the talent that they lose in free agency. They just lost Trent Brown to the Oakland Raiders on a massive deal, but have last year’s first-round pick Isaiah Wynn waiting to replace him at left tackle. Plus, New England will likely receive a third-round compensatory pick for Brown in the 2020 NFL Draft.

There aren’t many teams that are able to consistently find value in free agency and on the trade market, but the Patriots are one of them. Moves like trading for Bennett as a high-priced defensive end is about to walk out the door shows why they’ve been able to stay atop the AFC for the better part of two decades.