Players Who Could See Extensions/New Contracts: S Patrick Chung

 Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America

Unrestricted Free Agent in 2013

Chung was drafted by the Patriots in the second round in 2009. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2012 season. The Patriots defense, their pass defense in particular, was historically terrible this pass season, but Patrick Chung was one of the few bright spots in the secondary. The Patriots defense noticeably suffered when Chung missed 8 games this past season. As shown below, the defense gave up touchdowns twice as often when he was off the field compared to when he was on it. Obviously, not all of those statistics can be attributed to Chung's absence, Brandon Spikes missed the same 8 games and he is also an essential cog to the defense, particularly the run game.

	On Field	Off Field
Plays	661	553
Yds per att	7.7	9.8
Att per TD	25.5	10.0
Rush per TD	36.4	18.8
Source:    ESPN

Proposed Contract: $12.5M/3 year, $2.5M guaranteed

An average of $4.2M/year (similar money to Ryan Clark of the Steelers and Reggie Nelson of the Bengals) solidifies Chung as the starter for the next few years, but not quite at the level of Pro Bowl safeties. I limited the length of the contract due to Chung's difficulties with injuries the past two seasons. This just as easily could be a 4-5 year contract with a clause for a cheaper buyout should he get injured, or a team option for more years with a roster bonus.