tailgater

I think the Pats are going to lose at least two Olinemen to FA this year. RAC and Mangini in particular can upgrade at both tackle and guard.

Ashworth I can see letting go (Gorin showed improvement at RT), but I'd hate to lose Neal. Will BB throw enough money at him or will he go into next year with Kazcur pencilled in at RG?

BelichickFan

So your subject was a statement of fact and then you begain your post with "I think"

I imagine they will, especially with Davidson in Cleveland. I'd like to get them back, you can never have enough Tackles and Neal is decent although he disappointed me this year overall.

A lot of people thought Kaczur would move inside in the NFL, I would be interested in drafting a RT fairly early and having an OL of Light, Mankins, Koppen, new guy with Hochstein and Gorin as good backups.

Box_O_Rocks

I agree with BBfan, the thread title needs clarification.

Cleveland has cap room to go after free agents, New York can only afford cheap ones and will be forced to draft for value. With the quality of OT I'm noticing in the draft, Cleveland may not want to spend a lot on free agent linemen and use the draft to build the team; Neal is about to hit the 30 wall, though a proven swing tackle like Ashworth isn't anything to sneeze at.

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IcyPatriot

Ashworth and Gorin would be smart to leave....Kaczur or Light will be next years RT and you can bet Belichick will draft another road grader by the 4th round to replace Ashworth. Neal will stay as long as it's ballpark...I even see him taking a discount....He owes that much to Scarnecchia who molded his desire and dedication into what he has become.

Alk

I won't be sad to see either go. Neal is okay but not much better than average. He's definately not worth getting into a bidding war over. He'll be easy to replace.

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Box_O_Rocks

Just to clarify since I've seen more then one person confused on this:

Ashworth and Neal are the starters who are Free Agents.

Mruczkowski and Tucker are the reserves who are Free Agents.

Yates, Britt, Krug are ERFA.

That leaves us with Light, Mankins, Koppen, Hochstein, Gorin signed to the regular roster, with Roehl and Steitz signed and allocated to NFLE.

Both Ashworth and Neal are proven performers who will attract attention, but I'm hopeful the value I'm reading into the OTs in this draft will slow down the market for Ashworth. Neal's age/inexperience will hopefully slow down the market for his services. In one sense I'd like both of these players to make out like bandits, they've earned it, but I'll settle for them being millionaires after taxes if they stay to keep the Dynasty rolling.

Bring back Mruc and Tucker for vet minumum, along with the three ERFAs and the NFLE players the Pats start with good depth and flexibility. Then BB is free to look at LTs and C/Gs in the draft/UDFA without any urgency.

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mgteich

I believe Mruc is also an ERFA.

Box_O_Rocks

He might be RFA, I wasn't sure on that, but I thought he was in the same draft as Givens so assumed he was a FA too.

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IndyKen

Box, what's an ERFA? I know these guys are all on the practice squad right now.

Box_O_Rocks

Exclusive Rights Free Agent - if they want to play they have to accept the Pats offer (Vet minimum, no signing bonus, for a third year player - Yates - and second year players.). Gus Scott is in the same boat because his rookie contract was disallowed by the Player's Association and he's playing year to year.

My fan club will correct any errors in my explanation so stay tuned.

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