Dre Kirkpatrick, the one-time Arizona Cardinals cornerback who was most remembered for a stupid penalty against D.K. Metcalf and the Seattle Seahawks, stopped by the New England Patriots last Thursday for a free-agent visit.
Kirkpatrick played opposite of Patrick Peterson last year and had 56 combined tackles and three interceptions. Two of them came at critical moments in games against the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots- in which the offense was only able to make good on his interception in the Buffalo game ( we all know how that ended)
Bill Belichick has a thing for players from the University of Alabama, and boy is it showing this year. His first two draft picks were from the defending National Champions, joining Damien Harris and Dont’a Hightower.
Former #Bengals and #AZCardinals CB Dre Kirkpatrick is visiting the #Patriots today, source said. A potential landing spot for the former #Bama first-rounder. If there is one thing Bill Belichick loves, its ex-Bama stars...
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 13, 2021
Now if there’s anyone who can fix Kirkpatrick’s skills when it matters most, it’s Belichick. Kirkpatrick gave up 660 yards in coverage last year, an average of 10 yards per catch and two touchdowns. His best performance was against New England (ironically), where he allowed only 16 passing yards and had his aforementioned interception. At his worst was “the punch” game against the Seahawks, surrendering 118 yards and 2 touchdowns.
So maybe Dre Kirkpatrick would be more of a fit in the Northeast than he was in the desert. Steve Keim made the right move to not bring back either of the “Patricks” as it was just time to move on. There wasn’t an improvement by any means, but I guess we have to give Robert Alford a chance. Tay Gowan and Marco Wilson were drafted by the team and it will be the most interesting thing to watch come training camp.
So best of luck to Kirkpatrick, Gowan, and Wilson. May they find a spot on the rosters they are competing for and make an impact.