Should the Patriots make a run at Shaun Philips?

Joe Mahoney/ AP Photo

It's been a very productive weekend for the Patriots on the free agency market. They finally signed cornerback Brandon Browner, giving them a pair of big physical cornerbacks to stifle opposing receivers. They re-signed Julian Edelman, Tom Brady's leading receiver and BFFL. They signed former Panthers receiver Brandon LeFell, adding some size and experience to Brady's receivers. They could be adding even more to the offense, as receiver Kenny Britt is in for a visit today.

However, one big need has yet to addressed: adding a pass rusher. Simply put, the Pats have an obvious need for a third defensive end. According to PFF, Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich had the two highest snap counts for defensive lineman in a season since 2008, with Jones playing 98% of the snaps and Ninkovich 95.5%. Both noticeably wore down from this workload late in the year, particularly Jones, who had just one sack in his final seven games.

The market for pass rushers looked intriguing at the start, but most of the big names have been snapped up by now. DeMarcus Ware joined Aqib Talib and TJ Ward out in Denver. Michael Bennett stayed in Seattle. Chris Clemons and Jason Babin are in "Sacksonville". Julius Peppers is a Packer. Lamarr Houston is replacing him in Chicago. Justin Tuck and Lamarr Woodley are Raiders. Jared Allen is still out there, but he's likely expecting the 3 years, $30 million Peppers and Ware got. To the untrained eye, it looks like the Pats are starting to run out of viable options.

However, there is one guy still out there who has flown under the radar in free agency so far but could fit Patriots needs and cap situation perfectly: Shaun Philips. Despite a productive 2013 season, the 32 year old Philips has seen no action so far on the market.

Languishing on the market is nothing new for Philips. It was just last year that Philips lasted on the market until the end of April, waiting until Denver signed him to a one year, $1 million deal (with $2 million more in incentives) to replace Elvis Dumervil. Philips rewarded Denver with 10 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, helping them reach the Super Bowl despite losing Dumervil and getting only 9 games from Von Miller.

How would Philips fit in New England? He'd likely be the team's third defensive end, rotating with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich to keep all three players fresh. This would pay immediate dividends on the field, as fresh players are always more effective pass rushers than fatigued ones. Philips would add a little more pass rushing "ooomph" than Rob Ninkovich, and his penchant for forcing fumbles (22 in his career) would certainly be welcome.

Philips would also have a little additional value to the Patriots because of his scheme versatility. He played defensive end in Denver's 4-3 defense last year, but prior to that spent most of his time in San Diego playing as a rush linebacker in a 3-4. The Patriots are more of a 4-3 than 3-4 team now, but they still like to mix in 3-4 fronts. Philips would give them extensive experience playing that role.

Signing Philips would also be an adaptation of the Seattle Seahawks "strength in numbers" approach, one that would go hand-in-hand with what could be a more aggressively called defense thanks to the shutdown presence of Darrelle Revis in the secondary.

Don't get me wrong, Philips is a few steps down from Jared Allen. Philips has 79.5 career sacks in his 10 year career, but only three seasons with double digit totals. In the same period of time, Allen has 128.5 sacks, with eight such seasons. Profootballfocus also took note that Philips wasn't nearly as a effective as a pass rusher than his sack numbers suggest, as he only notched a sack, QB hit or hurry on 10.6 % of his pass rushing attempts.

However, it seems unlikely that the Pats will be able or willing to throw down the kind of money Peppers and Ware got on the open market. Simply put, whoever the Patriots add will be in a situational role, and the Patriots aren't paying $10 million a year for a role player, no matter how good they've been in their career. Perhaps the market will dwindle enough for his expectations to drop into realistic range for the Patriots, but it's hard to imagine Jared Allen won't get paid by someone out there if Julius Peppers can still get 3 years, $30 million.

For a much more realistic price, Philips could fill that situational role well for the Pats. A three man rotation of Jones, Ninkovich and Philips would still be a very solid pass rushing trio, and they'd also likely get much more help than in the past in the form of blitzes and stunts thanks to Revis Island in the secondary. Considering the blitzing potential of all three projected starters at linebacker (Jerod Mayo, Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins) and the return of a hopefully healthy Tommy Kelly inside, this would have the potential to be an explosive, attacking unit.

Should the Patriots try to sign Philips? Or would you prefer them to address their pass rushing need elsewhere? Let us know in the comments and on social media.