No one knows how to play the free agency game better than Bill Belichick and the Patriots coach proved that again this week. 

According to NFL.com, the Patriots have agreed to terms with veteran offensive tackle Jared Veldheer on a one-year deal worth up to $6.5 million. The interesting part of this deal is that Veldheer won't be signing his new contract until 4 p.m. Tuesday at the earliest, and there's a good reason for that. 

Veldheer is part of the second wave of free agency, which is expected to jump into high gear at 4 p.m. ET on May 7. The reason that's a key date is because any free agent signed after that deadline won't count against the league's compensatory pick formula. If Veldheer were to sign his contract at 3:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday or any time before that, the compensatory formula would ding the Patriots and reward Veldheer's former team, the Broncos. 

The flip side of that is that if Veldheer signs after the deadline, then there's no compensatory ramifications.  

Although the move is coming late in free agency, the addition of Veldheer could end up becoming a key acquisition for the Patriots. Not only does the 31-year-old add some much-needed depth at tackle, but there's a chance he could be thrust into a starting role if the Patriots can't get healthy at the position. 

The team's first-round pick from 2018 (Isaiah Wynn) is still battling back from an Achilles injury that caused him to miss the entire 2018 season. The Patriots also have a tackle that they added in the 2019 draft in the form of third-round rookie Yodny Cajuste, but he's still recovering from offseason quad surgery, which is why the move to add Veldheer was so important. 

The Patriots made a similar move to add a tackle late in the offseason last year when they traded for Trent Brown and that paid off, as Brown ended up starting all 16 games for them at left tackle. However, Brown ended up leaving New England this offseason to sign a four-year, $66 million deal with the Raiders. 

As for Veldheer, the Patriots are getting an offensive tackle who plays well when he's heathy, but the issue with him is that he's had trouble staying healthy. Two different triceps injuries caused him to miss multiple games in his career (He missed 11 games with the Raiders in 2013 and eight with the Cardinals in 2016). 

Veldheer has also battled ankle problems in his career and he even dealt with a knee injury in 2018 that caused him to miss four games with the Broncos. Over the past six seasons, Veldheer has missed a total of 26 games due to injury. 

The lineman's career started in Oakland after the Raiders made him a third-round pick in 2010. After four seasons with the Raiders, Veldheer moved on to Arizona in 2014 when he signed a five-year deal with the Cardinals. Veldheer then spent four years in Arizona before being traded to Denver prior to the 2018 season.