The NFL’s legal tampering window is not even open for an hour but already saw the New England Patriots lose one of their starting players: left tackle Trent Brown will sign a four-year, $66 million contract with the Oakland Raiders once free agency officially opens on Wednesday. Based on the reported per-year average, the deal is the largest for an offensive tackle in NFL history. Let’s find out what this means from New England’s perspective.
Between him becoming the Patriots’ starter and last offseason, Tom Brady played behind only two left tackles: Matt Light held down the fort from 2001 through 2011, with Nate Solder protecting his blindside from 2012 to 2017.