Patriots discussing new deal with longest-tenured player

Lawrence Guy continues to seek a new contract, and it sounds like the defensive lineman’s camp has started negotiations with the Patriots. After arriving at training camp on time, Guy told reporters that he’s been in contact with the organization about a new contract but wants to “keep that private between us.”

“I’m here. A big smile on my face,” Guy said (via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald). “I’m going to do whatever I can for the organization. I’ll work as hard as I can. That’s why we play this game—to be out on this field. To be a brotherhood.”

The Patriots’ longest-tenured player still has two years and $6M remaining on the four-year, $11.5M pact ($24M max value) he signed with the organization during the 2021 offseason. Guy is set to earn $2M in 2023 and could earn another $3.5M via incentives, and there’s no remaining guaranteed money on his contract. Per Kyed, the Patriots could free around $3M in cap space by releasing or trading the veteran (and they’d be left with a $500K dead cap hit).

As a result of his contract situation, Guy skipped the mandatory minicamp earlier this summer. A source previously described the contract situation as “a challenging negotiation,” so there were some pundits who wondered if the defensive lineman could end up holding out during training camp. Guy would have faced daily fines of $50K if he skipped out on practices.

Guy is one of the team’s few remaining Super Bowl champs. The 33-year-old spent the previous six seasons in New England, earning a spot on the organization’s All-2010s Team after starting 60 of his 62 regular-season games between 2017 and 2020. In 2022, Guy started all 14 of his appearances, compiling 46 tackles, two sacks, and five QB hits. Pro Football Focus wasn’t all that fond of his performance, ranking him 89th among 127 qualifying interior defenders while also handing him the lowest grade of his career.

“It’s football season. Most players play football in football season,” coach Bill Belichick said when asked about negotiations. “We’ll see how it goes.”

The Patriots aren’t cash-strapped at the moment, so they do have some flexibility to give Guy a raise. However, New England has traditionally been stubborn when it comes to handing out revised deals, so it will be interesting to see which side prevails during negotiations.