Justin Francis meets the media at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. (WEEI.com photo)

FOXBORO — Justin Francis recalls his first meeting with the Belichick family: It was his sophomore year at Rutgers, and he was sitting next to Steve Belichick in a math class.

“Yo, you’re coach Belichick’s son,” Francis said to the son of the Patriots’ head coach. “I suck at math, so don’t judge me, all right?

The two soon struck up a friendship, one that deepened shortly after Steve Belichick walked on the Rutgers team as a long snapper. He and Francis became teammates, and now, the two have been able to extend their relationship: this spring, Francis was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent, while Steve was added to the New England coaching staff as an assistant.

“It’s been a good little journey,” Francis said Saturday before practice at Gillette Stadium. “Steve has been a great friend for me for quite some time.”

Francis said there are “a lot of similarities” between the father and son, and it’s been good having a familiar face on the coaching staff.

“It’s kind of weird,” looking at the younger Belichick as a coach instead of a teammate. “But like I said, he’s a good friend. I know he’s never going to direct me down the wrong path. I take that and I keep that. I’ll always respect him. I respect his job. I respect him as a friend as well.

“We haven’t really sat down and got into anything like that. He’ll give me a wink and keep my spirits up — ‘Hey, let’s work.’ And I’ll tell him and give him a nod like, ‘Let’s work.’ Just keeping my spirits up. I’m keeping his spirits up. We know we’re going to go for a tit-for-tat thing.”
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Jermaine Cunningham faces a key offseason. (AP)

On the heels of our post last week that detailed six players who are still in limbo as we near the midway point of the offseason — and keeping in mind that the offseason workout programs started this past week at Gillette Stadium — here are five Patriots who need a good offseason to help solidify their status before training camp rolls around in July.

Defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham – Bill Belichick fell in love with Cunningham as a collegian, but the Florida product has been underwhelming in his first two seasons in the NFL. There were occasional flashes as a rookie — he had 35 tackles and a sack in 15 games in 2010. But 2011 was forgettable for the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder, as he had just one tackle and spent most of the year on special teams. By the time he was placed on injured reserve in December with a hamstring problem, it marked the end of a disappointing year. He’s just 23, but he’ll likely find himself in a fight for a job come July. The former second-round pick is entering the third year of a four-year deal he signed with the Patriots as a rookie.

Defensive lineman Ron Brace – The 25-year-old has been plagued by injury and inconsistency in his relatively short career in the NFL. Despite the fact that the Patriots picked up several veteran defensive linemen before the start of the 2011 season, he showed some flashes last season, but never really managed to break through, playing just 62 snaps all year, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot-3, 330-pounder is entering the final year of a four-year deal he signed as a rookie.

Safety Sergio Brown – The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Brown had issues, mostly in coverage, for a bulk of the 2011 season. (He had three crippling pass interference calls last year, and as a result, was assessed more penalty yardage — 86 — than anyone on the team.) After starting the year as a regular part of the rotation, he slipped down the depth chart, and didn’t play a single snap after Week 16 of the regular-season. Despite the fact that the Patriots picked up safety Steve Gregory, he could be helped by the fact that the safety market (in free agency and the draft) is pretty bad. A former undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, the 23-year-old is entering the third year of a four-year contract he signed as a rookie.

Running back Shane Vereen – The 23-year-old Cal product was slowed by a hamstring early on, and by the time he got fully healthy, the 5-foot-9, 205-pounder was buried so deep on the depth chart it was essentially a lost year when it came to playing time. With BenJarvus Green-Ellis departing as a free agent, he should get some opportunities to prove himself over the summer. (His opportunities in 2012 could be tied to whether or not the Patriots pick up a veteran free-agent running back: New England reportedly kicked the tires on Tim Hightower, Ryan Grant and Joseph Addai this past week.)

Safety Josh Barrett – The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Barrett is a relatively young safety who had four starts last season and was starting to play better, but fell out of favor as the year went on last season. (He went on injured reserve with a calf injury in November, and was dogged with a thumb injury along the way as well.) With some moving parts in the secondary — including the arrival of Gregory and the appearance of Devin McCourty as a part-time safety — Barrett needs a good offseason and to prove that he’s healthy in order to reclaim his spot in the defensive back rotation. This year marks the last season of a two-year contract the 27-year-old signed last February.

The Patriots made some noise in free agency on Thursday, picking up a pair of new players in defensive lineman Marcus Harrison and safety Steve Gregory; re-signing a pair of their own free agents in offensive lineman Dan Connolly and special teamer Matthew Slater; and apparently kicking the tires on safety LaRon Landry and defensive end/outside linebacker Trevor Scott. Here’s a quick look at what it all means for the franchise.

Harrison: A guy who has been in New England before — he was on the roster for a day last October — Harrison is a 6-foot-3, 316-pound defensive tackle who projects as a backup along New England’s defensive front. The 27-year-old was a third-round pick of the Bears in 2008 (90th overall) out of Arkansas, but in 37 career games over three seasons with the Bears, Harrison has done little to distinguish himself: he’s amassed 55 tackles, 3.0 sacks and three passes defensed. (He had previously failed a physical with the Panthers in September because of a knee problem.)

Gregory: This is probably the biggest signing of the day. New England gets itself a safety who some believe was playing out of position with the Chargers — next to Eric Weddle, San Diego had him in more of a strong safety position. (Pro Football Focus had him graded out as a -10.8 for the 2011 season.) With the Patriots, the 29-year-old could find a home at free safety, challenging James Ihedigbo for snaps. In addition, the presence of Gregory on the roster (and the possible acquisition of Landry) could mean Devin McCourty will make a full-time return to corner in 2012. Regardless, the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder does have some positional versatility — he has worked as a safety, and also spent time in the slot and on special teams, bringing the positional flexibility that they crave in Foxboro. According to reports, it’s a three-year deal worth roughly $8 million.
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Brandon Marshall is out of the AFC East, which will make the New England cornerbacks very happy. (AP)

After the first few hours of NFL free agency, here are five incredibly early Patriots’-related thoughts:

1. Devin McCourty is a happy man. The deal that sent wide receiver Brandon Marshall from Miami to Chicago for draft picks gets one of the premiere receivers in the division out of the AFC East, which should make life considerably easier for the New England secondary, and McCourty in particular. Marshall absolutely hammered McCourty and the Patriots last season, going for seven catches and 139 yards in the season opener and adding six catches for 143 yards and a touchdown when the two teams met again in December.

2. Wes Welker is a happy man. Before the start of free agency, the Patriots hit Welker with the franchise tag, which will likely mean the veteran wide receiver will get a $9 million payday for the 2012 season. But the next time the two sides sit down at the negotiating table, the landscape will be far different, especially after the Redskins reportedly signed fellow receiver Pierre Garcon to a five-year, $42.5 million deal, including $21.5 in guaranteed money. While Welker is a full five years older than Garcon, his numbers over the last three years have been demonstrably better than the former Colts’ pass catcher. So that effectively changes the market for Welker, who will likely look for something north of that when the two sides do decide to revisit talks.

3. BenJarvus Green-Ellis could be a happy man soon. There’s apparently some movement with Green-Ellis. The veteran running back was one of New England’s 16 unrestricted free agents who hit the market on Tuesday afternoon, but according to Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports, there are two “unknown teams” involved in a possible pursuit of the free agent, while the Patriots “want him back.” (In the past, the Chiefs have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Green-Ellis.) Cole says to look for a deal in the $3 million to $4 million range, which is probably a little too much for New England. Not saying the Patriots would be completely against signing him at that price — only that it would make New England take a long look at their in-house options at running back going forward and what might be available in free agency.

4. No Red Bryant for the Patriots. The talk about the defensive tackle possibly heading to New England hit a fever pitch Tuesday afternoon, but it was quickly squelched when the Seahawks locked up Bryant with one of the first big deals in free agency. The 6-foot-4, 332-pounder started all 16 games for Seattle last season, the team that drafted him in the fourth round out of Texas A&M in 2008. (As for another big defensive body, Mario Williams is making a visit to the Bills on Tuesday night, who appear to be very aggressive in their pursuit of what is likely the premiere defensive player on the market.)

5. As for the Patriots, they were mostly quiet. The one bit of news that did pop up specifically relating to the franchise was the report that New England was expected to re-sign special teams ace Matthew Slater some time on Tuesday, per Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network. Slater, who made the Pro Bowl this past season, just finished up his fourth season with the Patriots, having worked as a wide receiver, defensive back and special teamer. The 6-foot, 200-pounder, an unrestricted free agent, caught one pass for 46 yards this season, and also saw extensive time at safety.

Brandon Carr intercepts a pass intended for Chicago's Johnny Knox last December.

We continue our look at 15 possible fits for the Patriots in free agency this offseason with a breakdown of cornerback Brandon Carr. With the understanding that the NFL’s franchise tag window is from now until March 5 (which means some of these players we list could ultimately be retained by their team) here are some players worth keeping an eye on that might be a fit in New England when free agency begins March 13:

Brandon Carr
Position: Cornerback
Age: 25 (turns 26 on May 19)
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 207 pounds

At the combine late last month, Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel was asked about the possibility of a Patriot free agent adjusting to life with the Chiefs relatively quickly because, at least on the surface, there are some similarities between the two systems. The question came in the context of free agent New England running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis possibly signing with Kansas City, but that situation is a two-way street when you’re talking about some of the Chiefs’ free agents, like Carr.

With Brent Grimes now franchised and Cortland Finnegan likely to command a big deal (if he’s not franchise quickly), Carr could represent the best value on the market if he doesn’t get the franchise tag. He’s going to get good money if he’s available, but he had a lot in his favor: he’s the youngest premiere free agent corner available, he has excellent coverage skills (he had four picks last season and has eight over the course of his career) and has shown himself to be extremely durable (he hasn’t missed a game in his four seasons in the league with the Chiefs).

According to Pro Football Focus, Carr allowed fewer than half the targets into his coverage area to be completed (39 of 79, or 49 percent), and yielded 511 yards in coverage over 1,030 snaps over the course of the 2011 season. As was the case with Richard Marshall’s numbers, the closest example to a New England defensive back was the model presented by Kyle Arrington, who saw 54 of the 100 passes in his direction be completed (54 percent), and allowed 810 yards in 991 total snaps.

The Chiefs just added former Oakland corner Stanford Routt in free agency, which clouds Carr’s future in Kansas City. As for Crennel, he’s on record as saying the Chiefs would love to have Carr return. “We would still like to have Carr back, because Carr is a good player for us and he did a good job for us,” he said at the combine. “But he’s in that unrestricted free agency pool. We’re going to try to keep him, but we’ll have to see how it goes.”

This is not the sort of signing that will lead sportscasts. But Carr represents an upgrade in several areas from the current group of New England cornerbacks. He has experience in both man and zone schemes, and would give the Patriots some positional versatility if they chose to move Devin McCourty to safety (and possibly bump someone like Arrington to slot corner) at any point during the 2012 season.

Why it might not work: There’s still a lot of moving parts when it comes to Kansas City and free agency: the Chiefs could still franchise Carr, but that would leave Dwayne Bowe available. Then, there’s the fact that if Carr does get to free agency, the Cowboys would make him their top priority. In addition, New England has had mixed success when it comes to picking up veteran corners in free agency.

Wes Welker had an excellent 3-cone drill time as a collegian. (AP)

Tuesday marks the final day of workouts at the NFL scouting combine, and one drill that Patriots’ fans should be on the lookout for is the 3-cone drill for wide receivers and defensive backs. Over the years, it’s clear that New England puts an added emphasis on this drill when it comes to measuring quickness of wide receivers and cornerbacks.

Unlike the 40-yard dash, which measures straight-ahead speed, the 3-cone drill measures shiftiness and an ability to turn on a dime. The drill goes like this: Three cones are placed in an L shape. Players go 5 yards to the first cone and back, then to the second cone and back. Then, they run a loop around the third cone, switch direction and come back around the second cone. If you can finish the process in less than seven seconds, you’re looking at someone with good foot speed.

Through the years, several Patriots’ picks excelled at the 3-cone drill, whether it was at the combine or at their respective Pro Day. Julian Edelman had a 6.62 time in the 3-cone drill as a collegian, while Wes Welker was 7.06, also as a collegian. In addition, Devin McCourty’s 6.7 at the 2010 combine put him second among all corners and Deion Branch clocked a 6.71 at the 2002 combine, one of the better numbers among WRs. Of course, sometimes it isn’t always a good indicator as to how a prospect will do in New England — at the 2006 combine, Chad Jackson had one of the best finishes with a 6.74, but never caught on in his brief career with the Patriots.

Jim Leonhard (AP)

We continue our look at 15 possible fits for the Patriots in free agency this offseason with a breakdown of safety Jim Leonhard. With the understanding that the NFL’s franchise tag window is from now until March 5 (which means some of these players we list could ultimately be retained by their team) here are some players worth keeping an eye on that might be a fit in New England when free agency begins March 13:

Jim Leonhard
Position: Safety
Age: 29
Height: 5-foot-8
Weight: 188 pounds

The Patriots need to build some depth at safety, and while this wouldn’t be a high-profile move, but an intriguing one. The Wisconsin product is a smart, savvy veteran who has made his bones the last couple of seasons as the most integral safety on the New York roster. He suffered a torn patellar tendon last year and missed the second half of the 2011 season, but is expected to be ready for 2012. He’s not expected to be re-signed by the Jets, and could be had for relatively little cash (perhaps as low as the veterans’ minimum) because he’s coming off the injury.

In addition, there is value to signing someone away from your divisional rival, a player who has hurt you in the past. (The Patriots tried to do the same thing this past year with defensive lineman Shaun Ellis, but Ellis had little left in the tank.) Leonhard hasn’t been particularly impressive against New England over the course of his career, but he is credited in several circles as being one of the players who helped come up with the game plan to beat the Patriots in the divisional playoffs in 2010.

Patrick Chung is solidly in place as one of the safeties going forward, but the rest of the position is up in the air. Safety James Ihedigbo is an unrestricted free agent, while cornerback Devin McCourty spent some time at free safety in sub packages and Sterling Moore also displayed a similar versatility. Leonhard has a reputation as a solid player who is a positive locker room presence. While he doesn’t have the wheels that he used to and struggled in coverage the last couple of years, he would be competitive with the current group of New England safeties.

(One more important point: If the Patriots are looking to improve at the safety spot in the draft, it doesn’t appear that there will be many impact players available in the draft, other than Alabama’s Mark Barron and – perhaps – Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith.)

Why it might not work: Leonhard is an old 29, he’s lost a step and because of the injuries he’s suffered over the last few seasons, he’s developed a rep (fair or not) of being injury prone. (He’s been IR’ed over the last two seasons.) He’s smart and could bring some of the state secrets from a divisional rival, but it’s questionable what sort of impact he could have long term on the New England defense.