The trade

[Ring 6]

If we had traded Cassel to the Titans for their #1 pick, and cut Vrabel as a cap casualty would anyone be whining?
Essentially, thats just about what we did, because we got the 2nd pick in the 2nd, which is virtually the same as a late 1st.
I think Vrabel was thrown in because we didn't have the cap room to want to keep him, KC did and BB let Pioli have his rights instead of just cutting him.
There is no way we do this deal if BB intended to keep Vrabel on the roster, he wouldn't have traded him straight up for a 2nd with no replacement unless he was gone already.
Expect a quid pro quo favor back from Pioli.

 

[Ring 6]

Vrabel was due a 1mill roster bonus on Monday

Thanks Miguel for that fact from your cap page

Another reason behind the deal.

 

[JSn]

Re: Vrabel was due a 1mill roster bonus on Monday

Do I need to call a Mod in here to merge your Barrage of Trade threads?

I think Mike was going to get cut and this way they saved ALL the potential lost cap space and managed not to send him out in disgrace. Classy move.

NOW MERGE.

 

[Joker]

I do expect that very thing...call me an optimist...which is a VERY rare breed on THIS board

 

[Deus Irae]

There not the same. There's a year lost on the contract. Furthermore, there was no need to cut Vrabel as a cap casualty.

 

[maverick4]

It's odd the way it went down, trading Vrabes for an undisclosed pick... only to see it was 2 players for a second rounder.

I expect the Pats to be active in free agency with the money they freed up.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

There not the same. There's a year lost on the contract. Furthermore, there was no need to cut Vrabel as a cap casualty.

Unless they needed the money for certain free agent/agents.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

The best way to describe this trade: prudent. It makes sense, that's about it.

Comparing it to other moves BB has made, it isn't in the same universe as bringing Rodney to town in 2003 and Moss in 2007. Those were truly brilliant moves.

 

[Deus Irae]

Unless they needed the money for certain free agent/agents.

So your theory is that the team now has deals done and they haven't been announced? And part b of the theory is that those deals required the extra space that Vrabel's contract gave?

 

[BelichickFan]

Sometimes "it is what it is".

From the Herald :

"“That was the best deal they could get for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the only deal. In talking with teams, I couldn’t find anyone interested in him, to be honest with you,” said former NFL general manager and current NFL Network analyst Charlie Casserly."

I liked Cassel. He played well for us and he passed the eye test for me. Maybe they could have gotten more if they'd waited but it appears there wasn't a LOT more out there.

 

[Joker]

there was no need to cut Vrabel as a cap casualty.

uh...OK...you're just gonna throw that out there naked and let it sit like some kind of stone monument....what would YOU have done, Mr. Newborn NFL General Manager Genius? I really want to know..you resign him at a lower cap hit? On what planet? He's gonna agree with YOUR plans? There was no need to cut Milloy as a cap casualty...you want to revisit THIS now, Oh Exalted Overmind Of All NFL GM's? Do I have to drag out the laundry list of moves made the past nine years that have been questioned incessantly by this burgeoning horde of GM wannabe's? Are you going to be sitting there on opening Sunday still gnashing your teeth over this deal? K-rist...let it go

 

[maverick4]

What is interesting is that Cutler is acting like a little baby and wants out now in Denver.

If the Pats waited just 2 more days, the price for Cassel would have gone up dramatically.

I really hope we make a few more FA signings to explain why the timing was so urgent to make a deal.

 

[Deus Irae]

there was no need to cut Vrabel as a cap casualty.

uh...OK...you're just gonna throw that out there naked and let it sit like some kind of stone monument....what would YOU have done, Mr. Newborn NFL General Manager Genius? I really want to know..you resign him at a lower cap hit? On what planet? He's gonna agree with YOUR plans? There was no need to cut Milloy as a cap casualty...you want to revisit THIS now, Oh Exalted Overmind Of All NFL GM's? Do I have to drag out the laundry list of moves made the past nine years that have been questioned incessantly by this burgeoning horde of GM wannabe's? Are you going to be sitting there on opening Sunday still gnashing your teeth over this deal? K-rist...let it go

Seriously, would you kindly just stop before I say something that gets me put in the penalty box? Get this through your head:

I don't have a problem with the trade. I don't mind that Belichick gave Pioli a parting gift. I do, however, mind people who are acting as if this was the best the Patriots could do when we know that there were better deals out there (assuming the reports aren't all false). Pioli received a discount, and that discount cost the team a lower spot in the draft, along with the shorter contract that comes with it. BB also, apparently, didn't have to include Vrabel in the deal in order to make the deal with Denver. So, either read about what supposedly happened or stop with the inane posts.

 

[JMarr]

Re: Vrabel was due a 1mill roster bonus on Monday

Thanks Miguel for that fact from your cap page

Another reason behind the deal.

Vrabel: $1 mil roster bonus due tomorrow, overall cap hit 4.4 million if he remained with the team.

Some posters have implied (or stated outright) that BB slipped his old friend Pioli a little favor in this trade. As far as Vrabel is concerned at least, it seems that the opposite is true.

 

[BelichickFan]

I do, however, mind people who are acting as if this was the best the Patriots could do when we know that there were better deals out there (assuming the reports aren't all false).

I trust common sense and that tells me that if there was a better deal out there we would have taken it. With a deep but not top heavy draft it's very possible Belichick preferred this pick to something higher. I don't know what was offered but it's crazy, borderline dumb, to think that Belichick was offered something he considered noticeably better and declined just to make a deal with his pal Scott.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

So your theory is that the team now has deals done and they haven't been announced? And part b of the theory is that those deals required the extra space that Vrabel's contract gave?

No, Im saying lets see what they do with the money before we judge.
Part B, apparently BB thinks that Vrabel wasnt worth 4 mill.

I wonder about some of their moves too and he makes mistakes but hes done a pretty good job since hes been here and that earns him the benefit of the doubt in my mind. This isnt Harrington trust or Mike Oconnell running the Pats.

 

[Joker]

I know what happened and I'm not banging the drums about what a great deal it was...it's the deal...it's YOU that keeps up with the Steve From Fall River "I Know Better" routine.And just because you READ what some scribe in Denver published doesn't mean SQUAT. How many complete bullcrap articles have we seen printed across this country the past two years? What I'm saying is I, as a fan of the New England Patriots, am FINE with the decision of Bill Belichick as this team goes forward...and yes,any decision by BB at this point IS the best we, as fans can expect. The rest is inflated overactive egotism running amok.

 

[JFK]

Hmmm. I do remember the Giants and Chargers swaping their draft choices. Perhaps the Chiefs draft Curry and swap him for whoever we acquire in the draft?
I'm just trying to make sense of this Cassel trade.

 

[BelichickFan]

Hmmm. I do remember the Giants and Chargers swaping their draft choices. Perhaps the Chiefs draft Curry and swap him for whoever we acquire in the draft?
I'm just trying to make sense of this Cassel trade.

We got a pick just short of a #1. We got a really good pick. Not an astounding value but a good value. There's nothing to make sense of. Who is it who says "it is what it is" ?

 

[Deus Irae]

I trust common sense and that tells me that if there was a better deal out there we would have taken it. With a deep but not top heavy draft it's very possible Belichick preferred this pick to something higher. I don't know what was offered but it's crazy, borderline dumb, to think that Belichick was offered something he considered noticeably better and declined just to make a deal with his pal Scott.

I'm sorry, but we know that a better deal was out there. Or, rather, we know that another deal was out there being discussed, and the reported parameters are better than the Chiefs deal. We know that there was a deal involving the Broncos being discussed, because Cutler found out and is throwing a hissy fit about it. McDaniels hasn't even denied that there was talk about it. His 'defense' was to claim that he didn't initiate it.