Nick Kaczur was the starting right tackle last year and had signed a large contract deal with the Patriots. He was expected to be the right tackle for the Patriots over the next half decade. Well, Sebastian Vollmer entered the picture and took away Kaczur's starting spot on squad, moving Kaczur and his giant contract to the bench. Add in the fact that Kaczur spent last season on the IR due to a back injury, and all the facts point to an iffy situation with the back-up tackle. Well, according to the Rap Sheet, the Patriots wanted Kaczur to take a pay cut, which he did not want. I don't see the fiscally responsible Patriots holding onto Kaczur's large contract for this upcoming season.
There are only two scenarios I see Kaczur staying with the Patriots.
1) The Patriots do not re-sign Matt Light. In this situation, Light gets a contract deal somewhere else. Vollmer will be moved to the left tackle position and Kaczur gets his right tackle spot back. I do not see this scenario happening and, if this does happen, the Patriots are almost guaranteed to draft a tackle in the first two rounds. Kaczur will still be a stop-gap tackle.
2) The Patriots manage to trade Logan Mankins. In this situation, the CBA has a deal and Mankins gets dealt to the NFC West. As a result, the Patriots are without a starting left guard. I can see the Patriots moving Dan Connolly to left guard and putting Kaczur at right guard. This also assumes that Stephen Neal has retired. I would also assume that the Patriots would make a move to get one of the top guards in the draft if Mankins is dealt.
Of course, I still think the most likely scenario is that Kaczur is gone. While he's a capable starter, he's fallen out of the fans' graces and the depth chart and his large contract is too much for a back-up (I'm looking at you James Sanders). If Kaczur leaves, the Patriots will need to find a replacement in the draft. Then again, all of these scenarios involve the Patriots finding a new player in the draft, so maybe their draft plan won't change.
Likely players to replace Kaczur through the draft are:
Tackles: Anthony Castonzo, Gabe Carimi, Tyron Smith, Nate Solder, Derek Sherrod
Guards: Mike Pouncey, Stefen Wisniewski, Danny Watkins, Rodney Hudson, John Moffitt