It might be a bit early for the Patriots to be offering extensions to some of their pending free agents, but because so many are playing well and will inevitably be highly-sought after, it's better for Mike Vrabel and Co. to get the ball moving early and lock these players down as soon as possible, just as they did with Marcus Jones earlier this season.
They've done that again in the days leading up to their Week 17 matchup against the Jets, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the New England Patriots have signed offensive guard/center Ben Brown to a two-year/$6.