mgteich

Without cutting players with major salaries, we will already need to have a restructure or two in order to sign the rookies and have the cap money to go into the season. That's fine. That's business as usual.

If we want Taylor, either he needs to play for about what Woods plays for or we will need to figure out where to get the cap monies.

One option is to cut Faulk and draft a running back or two to replace Faulk and Green-Ellis. Surely, Taylor AND Morris AND Maroney AND two rookies can handle the load and put us in good shaper for the future. Hopefully one of the rookies will turn out to be a major contributor.
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Well, I made the argument as best I can. My choice would be to extend Faulk and not worry about Taylor.

BelichickFan

I think we have a little to spare actually. Miguel is guessing we're around $4.3M under the cap with 50 players signed (if I counted right). The draft picks won't cost much, for an example #2, Wheatley's cap hit was $615K last year. And for the #1, Meriweather was $1.4M as a rookie. As we have 50 players signed, the hit to our cap will be those relatively small amounts minus a minimum salary guy at around $400K or so.

spacecrime

With the money we save by replacing BJGE with a rookie, the Patriots won't save enough to sign another cheerleader, never mind Jason Taylor.

I've never been a huge Kevin Faulk fan. The less he touches the ball, the lower my stress levels during a game. But I don't know about replacing him with a rookie for third downs. If he hadn't been suspended for the first game of the season last year, Pollard probably never makes it to Brady's knee.

Right now I think a good third down back is more important than Taylor.

mgteich

If Faulk were to go, I would want to use two draft picks to find a replacement. One would likely replace Green-Ellis.

Rob0729

I don't see it being a problem getting Taylor signed without any major renegotiations or cuts. All they would need to do is convert some of Brady's and/or Light's base salary into a signing bonus. We aren't talking signing Peppers to a long term deal. We are talking signing Jason Taylor probably to a two to three year deal. We are probably talking a cap hit of $2-3 million this year for Taylor. Fred Taylor's cap number is only about $700k more than Woods and he is getting paid significantly more.

ctpatsfan77

Remember, though, the 30% rule applies to renegotiated contracts, not just new ones. So, for example, if the Pats want to convert Brady's salaries to signing bonuses, they need to convert much of his 2010 salary, as well.

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"Momentum was quickly snatched away by New England, who once again proved that any Patriot, at any moment, can make a play." —Inside the NFL, Packers v. Patriots

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Jackson 2

I want Kevin Faulk on this team. Period.

patsox23

This is a totally false choice, IMO. We will have Faulk AND Taylor on this team if we feel like it. They are not even CLOSE to mutually exclusive.

signbabybrady

Why radomly oust Faulk?

He has such a key role and comes up so clutch time and time again....I just can't see us cutting Faulk.

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fnordcircle

It's because of that new rule forbidding teams who have players named Faulk on the team from signing a player named Taylor.

No seriously it's a bizarre choice because Kevin Faulk retires a Patriot.

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