BelichickFan

Starks is gone. We didn't tie $3M into Adam. We can save $7M by letting Willie dangle and risk losing him. Meanwhile :

Updating previous reports, Len Pasquarelli, of ESPN.com, reports the break down in negotiations over a new collective bargaining could cause what one general manager called "Bloody Thursday." With the projected salary cap expected to fall between $95 million to $96 million, some big-name players might get released by Thursday, March 2, as teams comply with the salary cap. An AFC team executive said, "In past years, you'd see a lot of guys released who maybe still had some name value, but who were really in decline in terms of production. This year? People are going to be stunned -- not just by the quantity of players who are cut by Thursday, but by the quality, too. It's going to be ugly. There's going to be blood in the streets and, compared to past years, it's going to be from some bluebloods, guys who can still play."

The Patriots aren't in the best cap position but we definitely have some space when factoring Willie in. We'll have room to play this game. Not with the best but we'll be in the game. We have other restructurings we can do later if we need the cap space if we use it on a few FA.

shirtsleeve

Wha???
You gotta be smokin' the crack pipe!

We lose Willie, this team is DONE. Stick a fork in it, its all done!
Willie is the reason why the locker room accepts these contracts and goes with the flow. He OWNS that locker room. He goes, all hell breaks loose!
You better PRAY he stays.

BelichickFan

I'm not saying I want him gone. But if the FA market is flooded, a 34 year old like him will get lost in the shuffle. We can still likely re-sign him but we'll need the money in the short term.

maverick4

Why?

I know Willie is a great veteran leader on this team, but how is he better and more indispensable than what Tedy, Tom, Rodney, Matt and Richard bring to the team? Those guys have heart, and also all took below market contracts...

.

shirtsleeve

On the field, no. In the locker room, you have no F' ing idea. Like I said. He OWNS the locker room. Its his. Period. Others, like Tedy, may mouth off and get all ra ra, but when a rookie starts mouthing off to the media, Willie just has to walk by, and boom! all you get outta the rookie is the company line. These guys stay focused and as a team, and put up with the selfless attitude and accept the constant restructurings and swallow their pride daily. Because of Willie.

groundgame

#55 in '06: Cleveland @ $7m per yr.

shirtsleeve

If we don't get our ***** together, Romeo will gobble him so fast, it'll make your head spin. No Doubt. He KNOWS.

spacecrime

After beating the Rams in SB XXXVI, BB exposed WMG to the Texans in the expansion draft.

He wasn't taken,obviously, but it shows that your opinion of WMG is not the same as BB's opinion.

Belichickfan has it right, I think. He has laid out what is likely to happen, and is supported by history.

Anyway, what you are saying is what most people were screaming when Lawyer Milloy was cut. 0-16 predictions were made. 14-2 was the reality.

This team can survive the loss of any one player. It would be sad to lose WMG, but hardlyl a calamity.

BelichickFan

There is no way the Browns will use up $7M a year for McGinnest unless there's some fake years at the end. No way.

hwc

Guys. With no CBA extension, the name of the game this offseason for the entire league will be how much you have to gut your team, not how much you improve it. The Pats are in pretty good shape. Losing Givens and Vinatieri is chicken-feed compared to what many teams will be facing. My guess is that there will be teams that don't have the cap room to field a 53 man roster.