Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Shaun Ellis

Age: 34

Position: Defensive End

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 14 games played; 10 games started; 14 tackles; 1 sack

Overview: Shaun Ellis is certainly a name that should generate some interesting discussion. There's no doubt that Ellis had a disappointing 2011 campaign with the Patriots, after signing a one year, $4 million deal in August. Ellis' stats weren't impressive, but he seemed to develop more of a role for himself late in the year as the Patriots switched to the 3-4, and also came up big in the playoffs - picking up a sack against the Broncos and making several stops against the run in Super Bowl XLVI. It would be hard to see Ellis back at a high cost, but if he were willing to take a significant pay cut, I could see Ellis coming back real cheap to compete for a job in training camp. He could form a nice rotation at right end with Brandon Deaderick. But again, the price has to be right, and I'm not sure if Ellis will even want to return if the Patriots don't offer a good deal.

Prediction: Is offered a $1 million contract, but chooses to sign elsewhere / retire