The New England Patriots signed former Chicago Bears linebacker Shea McClellin to a three-year contract. McClellin should come in and immediately play the inside linebacker role, which used to be played by retired co-captain Jerod Mayo. Mayo does indeed leave some big shoes to fill, but McClellin has enough time to fit into them.
McClellin will be playing with linebackers Don't'a Hightower, Jonathan Freeny, Jon Bostic and Jamie Collins. At only 26, McClellin seems to have found his home at inside linebacker after playing defensive end and outside linebacker with the Bears. He was Chicago's 19th overall pick during the 2012 NFL Draft.
He has spent his entire career with the Bears until this point and was expected to be the next big playmaker for Chicago's defense. Unfortunately, he did not live up to his first round grade. During the 2015 NFL season, McClellin recorded 11 starts, 81 combined tackles, 1 pass defense and 1 forced fumble.
Throughout his career with the Bears, McClellin recorded 161 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks, 2 pass defenses and a forced fumble. It is almost amazing that the Bears drafted him so high to begin with when, if he was taken in the second round, he would be considered a pretty solid pick.
This is only one of the litany of moves made by the Patriots within the last week.
So far, New England has traded away its best pass rusher in Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals for offensive guard Jonathan Cooper and a second round pick, and traded its fourth round pick in the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft for the Chicago Bears' sixth round pick along with Pro Bowl tight end Martellus Bennett.
Bennett has been playing at a high level for a very long time and will make an excellent complement to Rob Gronkowski. In fact, Bennett and Gronkowski lead all tight ends in yards after contact since 2013, which currently makes them the most dangerous tight end duo in the NFL.
The Patriots also added defensive end and former Los Angeles Ram Chris Long and running back Donald Brown to their roster. The addition of McClellin just serves as another example of how the Patriots look to reload this roster without a first round pick.
