The Bills Should Steal This Upcoming Free Agent Away From the Patriots After the 2020 Season

After decades in the wilderness, the Buffalo Bills are in position to be long-term contenders in the AFC East. With Tom Brady leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New England Patriots are vulnerable for the first time in a generation. The Bills made the playoffs last year on the strength of their defense and are set up for future success.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are in danger of losing another group of key veterans at the end of 2020. The Bills would be wise to hurt their competition by signing a Patriots' free agent and bolstering their own roster.

One such name to target is cornerback Jason McCourty, who is on the final year of a two-year $10 million deal. McCourty was limited to 12 games last season, but he once again showed off his skills as a stellar defensive back.

The Bills will need a cornerback after Josh Norman's one-year deal expires in 2020. Buffalo didn't address the position in the NFL Draft, and that means they'll need to add someone who can step in and start right away. Even in his age-33 season, McCourty will fit the bill. He was graded as an above-average cornerback by Pro Football Focus in 2019, and he helped anchor one of the league's best defenses. Losing him would be a big blow to the Patriots.

Considering Bill Belichick has already let key veterans on defense like Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins depart, he might not be willing to shell out for McCourty, especially if the Patriots aren't looking like contenders after the 2020 season.

With the Patriots already rostering a group of skilled cornerbacks and other players like Dont'a Hightower and Lawrence Guy also in need of new deals in 2021, McCourty might be a luxury the Patriots can't afford at this time.

Meanwhile, the Bills are in a good cap situation and should have the money to offer McCourty a slight pay raise. If the Bills want to match Belichick's vaunted defense, adding a high-quality cornerback is a good way to go.

McCourty will get offers from other teams and could want to stay with his brother Devin, but Buffalo is in position to make a strong offer. The Bills are a rising contender with a great defense and a great defensive coordinator in Leslie Frazier, and shoring up their own defense while hurting the Patriots is something fans in Buffalo would love to see.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.