The New England Patriots are interested in signing former first-round pick Nick Fairley.
After a quiet start to their offseason, things have been picking up in a big way out in Foxboro. New England traded Chandler Jones to the Cardinals and then made a move to sign ex-Rams defensive end Chris Long to a deal that might end up making Bill Belichick look like a genius.
The Belichick roll continues into this week, as the Patriots have eyes on another former first-round defensive player that Matt Patricia might be able to mold into a stud. According to Nick Wagnoer, the Pats are meeting with Nick Fairley:
Rams free-agent DT Nick Fairley on my flight to owners meetings this am. He tells me he's heading there to meet with the Patriots.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 21, 2016
If the Patriots went this direction and worked out a deal with the former first-round pick, it would be the second ex-Rams defensive lineman that they’ve added this month. The team signed former No. 2 overall pick Chris Long last week and adding Fairley would be yet another former Rams player signed.
It would also be the second former first-round pick the Patriots nabbed off the free agent market, not that it’s meant much to teams who have had Fairley over the last two years. He fizzled out in Detroit — the team that drafted him 13th overall back in 2011 — and was almost non-existent with the Rams.
Like Long, he Fairley didn’t make the trip with the Rams to their new home in Los Angeles, but he might find a new one himself in New England where he might finally be able to flourish.