What Do Patriots Do If Matt Light Retires?
It has been reported that New England Patriots starting left tackle Matt Light might be considering retiring. The 33-year old three-time pro bowler has been a constant in the Patriots offensive line since 2001 and has been on each of the three Super Bowl winning teams.
Light signed a two-year contract extension on July 31, 2011 which would end after the 2012 season but it has been reported that Light is considering not playing out the remainder of that contract. Light is due to be paid $3.4 million with a $100,000 workout bonus in 2012. With a strong offensive line, the Patriots have done well at keeping Tom Brady upright throughout the years and Light has been a big part of that. So what do the Patriots do if Light does retire?
If Light does decide to finish his 11-year career, the Patriots are pretty well stocked with young talent on the offensive line. Most likely, his replacement would come from that group. One option is Marcus Cannon moving from right to left tackle. Cannon was a fifth round draft pick out of TCU in 2011 by the Patriots. Cannon wasn’t activated by the Patriots until week 10 as he recuperated from chemotherapy treatment due to being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Other options for a replacement include 2011 first round draft pick Nate Solder and 2009 second round pick Sebastian Vollmer. The two young tackles rotated at right tackle due to a back injury suffered by Vollmer during a 2011 preseason game. If healthy, Vollmer is likely to be the starter at right tackle in 2012 and would not move down the line.
Light may be back with the Patriots in 2012 but if he’s not, the Patriots are well equipped to handle the loss. Assuming that Cannon is fully healthy going into 2012, he will likely be the replacement. Though he was drafted late in 2011, he would’ve been much higher he hadn’t been diagnosed with lymphoma shortly before the draft. If Cannon is not able to do the job and Vollmer is healthy, it would likely go to Nate Solder. Either way, the Patriots have used the draft well enough to handle the possibility.
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I really liked that you mentioned that the patriots have the capability to replace Matt light with it the organization, but I would like to point out that Marcus cannon was picked in the draft as a guard even thought he played tackle in college, so Nate solder is the heir to Matt light and Marcus cannon should and will replace Brian Waters.