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1. WILL GRONK RETIRE?

With Gronkowski reportedly frequenting Gillette Stadium since the season ended, the Patriots may already have an idea about his intentions. According to agent Drew Rosenhaus, those should be declared within the next few weeks.

If Gronk retires, he'll free up roughly $10 million in vital cap space. If not, New England will obviously welcome the former All-Pro's return. But there may be some contract restructuring to address.

Gronkowski is set to count almost $12 million against the Pats' 2019 cap.

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Report: Gronk told teammates days after Super Bowl LIII he wants another ring https://t.co/QB16zBwQAg — Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) February 20, 2019

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2. WHAT ARE THEY WILLING TO PAY TREY FLOWERS?

If star pass rushers DeMarcus Lawrence and Jadeveon Clowney are hit with a franchise tag as expected before March 5, Flowers will be in even greater demand than an ascending edge defender in his physical prime normally is. Which is to say he'll be in ridiculously high demand.

Ultimately, outside offers may price the Patriots out of keeping their best front-seven defender. Almost a third of the league is swimming in cap space. But if New England makes an offer close enough to top dollar, Flowers may be willing to pass that up for the league's top opportunity to win yet another Super Bowl.

The question now is what the Patriots' limit will be when the bidding gets started.

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3. HOW SHOULD TOM BRADY BE EXTENDED?

The goal and motivations here are clear. With one year left on his contract and a heavy cap hit for 2019, Tom Brady, still in Pro Bowl form, should be extended.

The execution of an extension is a bit trickier. Brady went 0-for-5 on the five $1 million performance incentives New England added to his contract last August. Perhaps he won't be as open to such amendments if/when the Patriots put them on the table in order to kick some of his $27 million cap hit down the road.

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4. WHO WILL TAKE A PAY CUT?

Tight end Dwayne Allen and defensive end Adrian Clayborn are the top candidates here.

Allen's immediate release would lift $7 million off New England's books for 2019, while Clayborn would incur just $2 million in dead money if let go. Otherwise, he'll count $6 million against the cap. Releases are the shortest route to freeing up cap space. Restructuring always takes more time and effort but can arguably be more fruitful.

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Ready to repeat?

10 offseason steps the #Patriots should take to win Super Bowl LIVhttps://t.co/WCpb1BqfQW — Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) February 11, 2019

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5. IS STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI WORTH USING THE FRANCHISE TAG?

The 35-year-old kicker is the only realistic candidate for the Patriots' franchise tag this offseason. New England has used it once in the last six years, when the team tagged Gostkowski in 2015. Then, the front office continued to negotiate a long-term deal that eventually replaced the tag and made him the highest-paid kicker in the league.

As a free agent in 2019, tagging Gostkowski would cost a little more than $5 million.

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6. WHAT WILL THE MARKET BE FOR GOLDEN TATE?

Akin to their pursuit of Flowers, the Pats could get elbowed out of the chase for Tate.

The 30-year-old is clearly the best wideout available and will have many suitors. If New England can determine before March 11 that Tate will either be firmly inside or out of their price range, it can approach the rest of the receiver market accordingly.

(Oh, and let's not pretend free-agent tampering isn't rampant this time of year.)

Tate is an ideal fit in the Pats' offense and publicly declared he wants to play for a contender. Thus, he should be the starting point of their offseason receiver plans.

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#Patriots reportedly targeting Demaryius Thomas and Golden Tate in trade talks https://t.co/yrpIkkwT1Z — Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) October 29, 2018

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7. SHOULD MALCOM BROWN AND/OR DANNY SHELTON BE RE-SIGNED?

If the Pats want Brown and/or Shelton back and the interest is mutual, negotiations should be fairly straightforward. Run stuffers don't command large contracts. If not, it's time to make plans for other targets.

Former Jet Henry Anderson is a name to watch.

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8. WHAT IS PLAN A AND B IF TRENT BROWN LEAVES?

On the same podcast he declared he would love to return to New England, Trent Brown intimated he's been waiting years for his big pay day. Here's betting the latter wins out.

The Patriots are unlikely to fork over the cash Brown wants (and deserves) with a first-round replacement in Isiah Wynn waiting in the wings. Even if Wynn capably fills Brown's shoes, they'll need depth at the position. Backup tackle LaAdrian Waddle is an unrestricted free agent, and starting right tackle Marcus Cannon is on the wrong side of 30.

So if Brown's not back, who signs instead?

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#Patriots OT Trent Brown "would love" to return to New England, but also says he's been waiting a long time to get paidhttps://t.co/7KRM8OqqwP — Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) February 18, 2019

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9. WHAT POSITION OF NEED WILL BE BETTER ADDRESSED THROUGH THE DRAFT?

Defensive tackle and tight end are two strengths of the 2019 draft class and projected Patriot needs. Relying on rookies to fill roster holes can be dangerous, but it's also cheaper. If New England sees enough depth and value at one position, it can forgo signing a player there and wait until April to fill out its depth chart.

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10. ARE THERE ANY NON-BRADY CANDIDATES WORTHY OF AN EXTENSION?

Kyle Van Noy is the only other obvious candidate for an extension. It would lower his top-10 cap hit for next season and be a deserved reward for his on-field performance. He's currently signed through 2019.

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#Dolphins coach Adam Gase called him a nightmare.



Teammates say he could teach the entire #Patriots playbook to anyone.



So what's to make of Kyle Van Noy? https://t.co/EpJqENP9MA — Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) December 5, 2018

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11. WILL DEVIN MCCOURTY RETIRE?

Jason McCourty says he'll play in 2019.

His brother is not so sure.

If/when Devin decides, the ramifications will be similar to Gronkowski's decision. McCourty carries a large 2019 cap hit that would otherwise free up significant room for the Patriots to use if he retires. If he returns, they may approach him about a restructure.