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Call it the Patriot Plan.
A year ago, New England made some ripples, but no real splashes, in the free-agent market: Antowain Smith, Mike Vrabel, David Patten, Marc Edwards, Terrell Buckley, Terrance Shaw, Larry Izzo. Bill Belichick and his staff then gave each signee a role he could perform and coached the beck out 'em. You know how it turned out.
When the free-agent market opens Friday, many NFL teams will look to duplicate the Patriots' offseason blueprint by signing mid-level free agents who can fill a specific role without breaking the bank. This is a good year to use that strategy. This class of unrestricted free agents has few impact players, but ...