Saturday Patriots Notebook 3/7: Patriots 'Confident' in Deal For Revis, Vereen 'Probably Gone', More Notes
 We'll likely learn a lot about Revis' future next week. (USA TODAY Images) |
A few weeks ago Patriots president Jonathan Kraft appeared on WEEI and talked about the future of Darrelle Revis, pointing out the option the team had for the veteran still technically kept him under contract and was simply a "placeholder", and that the hope was to try and get a long-term deal done to keep him in a Patriots uniform.
At the time, Kraft was hopeful both sides would want to get something done in order to keep him here, and they were focused on trying to keep him.
“Hopefully both sides want to make a deal and we’ll be able to get one done,” said Kraft. “People understand that that’s a placeholder and we’ll get to work on trying to make it happen.”
As the March 9th deadline approaches the two sides don't appear to be on the verge of any type of agreement, and according to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole the Patriots are going to decline his option on Monday and forego the $25 million cap hit they'd sustain by going that route with the veteran defensive back. Cole reports that New England will know by Monday if Revis will hit the open market or if he'll be negotiating with the team, and he classified the Patriots as "confident" in getting a deal done with him.
As it stands right now, per a report from ProFootballTalk.com, the negotiations between the two sides haven't begun.
Just a month ago Revis described his decision to come to New England as a "no-brainer", and now we'll have to wait and see how he feels about staying here.
“This was a no-brainer,” said Revis following the Patriots victory over Seattle. “This was a no-brainer to come here and be a part of this organization and help be one of the missing pieces – that the organization felt – at the cornerback position.”
ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on Mad Dog Sports Radio with Adam Schein on Thursday, and he pointed out that with the New York Jets among teams who will likely take a shot at getting him under contract. But according to Schefter it will ultimately come down to what's more important and what he'd like to do with the remainder of his career.
“I don’t know what New England is going to offer him, I really don’t," said Schefter via Boston.com. "Say it’s $10 million, $11 million a year, $12 million and you’re the Jets and offer $15-16 million a year. Worth it to go back to New York to finish your career for a few million dollars more where you would be saluted as a king? I don’t know. It’s a question of what you find most important, what you value most in your life and what you want to do with your career.”
It sounds like we'll get a feel for what direction Revis is headed in this week.
HOWE TALKS ABOUT RIDLEY, VEREEN'S FUTURE:
Boston Herald beat writer Jeff Howe spoke to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich on Friday and he believes both Patriots running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen will be playing elsewhere in 2015.
“Vereen’s market right now is up to $3.5 million dollars a year, which is pretty much the going rate for running backs these days," said Howe via CBS Boston. "That is kind of what you can expect Vereen to look at this offseason. The Patriots have shown so far no willingness to go anywhere near that number, which is how they’ve treated running backs since Belichick has been around.”
Howe points out that Vereen isn't a player who has enough production to warrant that type of deal and despite what he's done at times in the passing game, he doesn't believe the Patriots will pay him that much.
“$3.5 million dollars for a guy who still has never rushed for 400 yards in his career, and I know how valuable he is for the passing game, but I don’t see the Patriots moving anywhere near that," said Howe. "If Vereen wants to get paid those figures, he’s probably gone.”
As for Ridley, he believes that looking at the Patriots current situation in their backfield that Ridley likely wouldn't receive enough carries to warrant a big pay day after the season if he was to re-sign on a one-year deal coming off his ACL and MCL tear.
"I think Ridley wants to be back, but he owes it to himself that he’s going to get a one-year deal or something that looks like a one-year deal," said Howe. "He owes it to himself to find a depth chart where he can go out and guarantee that he’s probably going to be no worse than second, earn some carries and maybe take on the lead role at some point in the season."
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- According to the Boston Herald, kicker Stephen Gostkowski signed his franchise tender on Friday, which will earn him a fully guaranteed $4.59 million for 2015. That appears to be just a formality and the two sides appear focused on trying to hammer out something long-term for the veteran. “Stephen has been extremely productive and a vital component to our success since joining our team in 2006," the team said via a statement the day he was given the designation. "Utilizing the franchise designation allows both sides more time to try to reach an agreement, which is the goal.” The two sides have until July 15th to get something done.
- After the Jets recent addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who they recently acquired in a surprising trade, Percy Harvin is set to hit the open market and there seems to be a belief that he could be someone who ends up on New England's radar. According to NFL.com's Chris Wesseling, he believes that the Patriots could be on the list of the veteran's potential landing spots, especially given New England's reported interest in 2009 after the team worked him out one day after he Vikings visited him. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune the Patriots were going to draft him, but the Vikings snatched him away. This is a team that has done a good job with players who have had troubled pasts, but given their current group of receivers it would be hard to imagine Harvin fitting in at the type of money he'll likely be seeking.
- Speaking of which, another player whose name continues to be mentioned as a potential target is Andre Johnson, whose current situation in Houston has become contentious and the Texans have given the disgruntled receiver permission to seek a trade. Gordon McGuinness of ESPN Insider calls the Patriots a "perfect match" given who would be throwing him the football and the fact he wouldn't have to be the primary focus of the offense. Johnson has two years and $21.5 million remaining on his existing deal, and if the Patriots were to acquire him they would definitely have some work to do in order to rework the numbers to fit him in. He's an explosive player, there's no question about it and putting him on the field with Tom Brady would likely be a lethal combination. But given his reaction at a reduced role in Houston, it would be tough to imagine how he'd react to how many passes he would likely see here in New England. Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Brandon LaFell accounted for 248 of Tom Brady’s 373 completions in 2014. So there's not much left to go around, although he would certainly make them even more dangerous.
- Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston believes the Patriots level of need at the guard/center position is moderate to high this offseason, and believes that Dan Connolly will be one of their priorities and given his history with the team, he's an obvious fit here in New England. Other names he mentions that fans may want to keep an eye on are Justin Blalock (Falcons), Clint Boling (Bengals), James Carpenter (Seahawks), Orlando Franklin (Broncos), Todd Herremans (Eagles), Rodney Hudson (Chiefs), Mike Iupati (49ers), Chris Myers (Texans), Stefen Wisniewski (Raiders).
- The Boston Herald reports that receiver Brian Tyms, who is an exclusive rights free agent, is working on a deal to remain with New England. Tyms caught 5 passes for 82 yards including a memorable 43-yard touchdown against the Bills in Week 6, which was the 6th longest scoring reception for a Patriots receiver last season.
