The New England Patriots are looking to add some defensive line depth as we enter the second week of NFL Free Agency. New England will put Long through an extended workout on Monday as it would like to see how much stamina Long has left given his age and his lack of production over the last couple of seasons.
Long has been meeting with teams all over the NFL in order to determine where the best place to continue his career will be and, in all likelihood, will end. The former Ram is no longer an every down pass rusher, as his play has declined, however he is still a productive situational pass rusher.
The Patriots could use a veteran defensive end to replace the departing Akiem Hicks, who just signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears. Long would be placed in a defensive rotation with Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, and Jabaal Sheard, making this Patriots defensive line a bit more formidable.
Long is 30 years old and will be 31 in March, so the window for him to remain a productive NFL player is going to close fairly soon, which means he will need to sign with a contender if he wants a shot at winning a Super Bowl. Long has stated that he would like a shot to win an NFL championship and that will require him to sign with a playoff contender.
Between 2010 and 2013, he recorded at least eight sacks per season and played in every regular season game, marking his most productive string of performances in the NFL. Since then, Long's production has diminished greatly, and he has only registered four sacks and 24 combined tackles in two seasons. The injury issues that have plagued the once-dominant defensive end forced him to miss a large number of games over the past two seasons.
Long lost his starting job to William Hayes, who the Los Angeles Rams re-signed after he proved to be a more effective pass rusher. The Rams were likely tired of paying Long's large cap fee which hindered them in selecting quality free agents. The Patriots will likely sign Long if he impresses coaches on Monday.
