With Free Agency set to start are the Patriots in a good cap position?

[MoLewisrocks]

A couple of brief observations.

First, The thing I notice the most when I read posts that give team's estimated cap figures is how wildly different they all are. In this case here, Miguel is attributed with giving the Pats a cap number of $113MM, while the ESPN link that was given has them at $103MM. While I would put my money on Miguel, I can't help but wonder why these numbers are so different all the time, yet they all are reported as if they were set in stone accurate. (except for Miguel who has more disclaimers on his page than my health insurance

Secondly, IMHO trying to judge a team's cap situation requires TWO figures. Besides the actual dollar figure, you need to know how many players are under contract. In other words, A team who has is within $5MM of the cap, but has 45 players under contract is better off that a team who is $10MM under the cap but has only 32 under contract.Unless you know how many players that cap number represents, the dollar figure is kind of meaningless.

From what I understand the Pats have about 45 players under contract, and are about $10-13MM under the estimated cap. The Jets on the other hand are currently over the proposed number and only have around 35 players under contract. Please correct me if I'm drastically wrong in those estimates.

Per Miguel the Pats currently hae 75 players signed or tendered and we will only lose one tender if the RFA rules change back to normal. The JETS will lose several of their tendered players including starters. They hope to sign back two of them as FA, they can't afford to sign them all.

 

[Joker]

Per Miguel the Pats currently hae 75 players signed or tendered and we will only lose one tender if the RFA rules change back to normal. The JETS will lose several of their tendered players including starters. They hope to sign back two of them as FA, they can't afford to sign them all.

anything is possible as far as the Rats are concerned...as long as Goodell is omissioner ,they will be able to break any rules, exceed any caps and pretty much do and say whatever they want to...historical evidence bears this out

 

[MoLewisrocks]

anything is possible as far as the Rats are concerned...as long as Goodell is omissioner ,they will be able to break any rules, exceed any caps and pretty much do and say whatever they want to...historical evidence bears this out

I don't doubt they are one of the teams angling for multiple transition like status for a number of their pending FA...otherwise they risk losing out on the couple they most want to retain. They've already moved their camp back to NJ so Rex can be close to the phones...

 

[Triumph]

Would love to hear Miguel chime in. Looks to me like the likeliest spots for cuts/savings, if they needed any, would be:

1) a long-term deal for Mankins that reduces this year's number;
2) cutting or restructuring Kaczur;
3) cutting Banta-Cain.

Also, I'd imagine Crumpler and one of Page or Sanders should feel just a little worried. Sanders is an important contributor, but with Page they have four safeties making nearly $2 million or more. Sergio Brown is under contract for a few more years and is cheap. You wonder if something has to give there.

I can't see them cutting a team captain in Crumpler, but he is their third tight end and they did draft a player who duplicates his skill-set.

Looking at this list makes you wonder about their decision to sign Banta-Cain to such a big deal. For them, that was a serious investment. It makes me think those rumors about him being hurt all last year were true. He has to be better than he showed last year, right?

Kaczur should be gone. The Pats dont need him and quite frankly Ive never seen whats so great about him. Hes not better than Vollmer thats for damn sure.

Isnt cutting Banta Cain basically a break even deal? A 2M cap hit to save approximately 2M?

I cant see the Pats giving Mankins 10M just for this season either.

 

[Triumph]

I don't doubt they are one of the teams angling for multiple transition like status for a number of their pending FA...otherwise they risk losing out on the couple they most want to retain. They've already moved their camp back to NJ so Rex can be close to the phones...

And Rexs favorite eating establishments.

 

[Calciumee]

Kaczur should be gone. The Pats dont need him and quite frankly Ive never seen whats so great about him. Hes not better than Vollmer thats for damn sure.

Isnt cutting Banta Cain basically a break even deal? A 2M cap hit to save approximately 2M?

I cant see the Pats giving Mankins 10M just for this season either.

Kaczur is a very very average, over paid player! I can't seem him staying here and moving onto a team, where he might start!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Kaczur is a very very average, over paid player! I can't seem him staying here and moving onto a team, where he might start!

I hope that double dipping with 2 teams is outlawed in the new CBA!

Time to tighten up the immigration and border laws and keep the cheap Canadian labor outa the NFL?

 

[jeffbiologist]

Did I miss something Freeagency is set to start? When?

Go back to sleep, we'll wake you when we get there....

 

[jeffbiologist]

Kaczur should be gone. The Pats dont need him and quite frankly Ive never seen whats so great about him. Hes not better than Vollmer thats for damn sure.

Isnt cutting Banta Cain basically a break even deal? A 2M cap hit to save approximately 2M?

I cant see the Pats giving Mankins 10M just for this season either.

Kaczur has value because he has started at both RT and LT, if we lose a starter in camp I feel good having him there. In the regular season....he is expensive to sit on the bench. But the Mankins situation is far from over, he was training to play guard last year and could see him trying again. You need him in camp minimally, if Solder needs a few games watching at the start of the year Kaczur would be invaluable.

 

[spacecrime]

I still don't see how they can have a cap of say 120M and a floor at 99% of that as is being reported. What happens when midway through pre-season you lose three or four players to injury? Or what if you're sitting at 116M and everybody is under contract and you're happy with your squad? Give people raises just to get over? Sure there's always creative accounting and restructures but there has to be more flexibility.

What will likely happen is that teams will operate as now, staying a few mil under the cap in case of emergencies such as you describe. Then, at the end of the year, they can dole out that emergency fund to one or more players is the form of a contract re-do, giving him cash now and a lower salary next year. Player gets money up front, and the team gets to keep an emergency fund right down to the wire before commiting it to a player.

 

[spacecrime]

I hope that double dipping with 2 teams is outlawed in the new CBA

Took me a coupla seconds before

 

[mgteich]

Some folks seem fine with Maneri and LeVoir fighting it out to be the Game Day backup at OT and to be the replacement at either OT position in case of injury. I would much rather have Kaczur as our backup. Also, he can be used at OG if there is an injury there. Or are folks all warm and fuzzy about about Wendell and Ohrnberger stepping in as starters if Mankins or Connolly is not available? I presume that Cannon will be on the PUP list.

So, for me, Kaczur is an overpriced backup. HOWEVER, since he has started at both OT spots and can backup both OG spots, he may be well worth the overpayment. There is certainly no reason to cut Kaczur until the last cut. Injuries do happen in this league.

Kaczur has value because he has started at both RT and LT, if we lose a starter in camp I feel good having him there. In the regular season....he is expensive to sit on the bench. But the Mankins situation is far from over, he was training to play guard last year and could see him trying again. You need him in camp minimally, if Solder needs a few games watching at the start of the year Kaczur would be invaluable.

 

[Ring 6]

Based on the current reporting, it looks like Page is a free agent which puts the Pats at more like a 111 million cap number.

Also Brandt and Clayton are suggesting the cap will be about 120 so the Pats aren't actually all that far under it.

It looks like there's going to be a cash floor near 120 million that the Pats are actually very far away from meeting that number-their cash number is something like 81 million right now so they have to figure out how to spend about 40 million more in cash while only increasing their cap value by about 9 million. Lots of signing bonuses is the most obvious way so I'd expect to see a Mankins signing, maybe another big ticket free agent, and possibly some extensions for guys like Mayo/BMW/Chung/Vollmer.

The rumored cash floor is also rumored to be on a 3 year cycle, not each individual year.

 

[Ring 6]

Some folks seem fine with Maneri and LeVoir fighting it out to be the Game Day backup at OT and to be the replacement at either OT position in case of injury. I would much rather have Kaczur as our backup. Also, he can be used at OG if there is an injury there. Or are folks all warm and fuzzy about about Wendell and Ohrnberger stepping in as starters if Mankins or Connolly is not available? I presume that Cannon will be on the PUP list.

So, for me, Kaczur is an overpriced backup. HOWEVER, since he has started at both OT spots and can backup both OG spots, he may be well worth the overpayment. There is certainly no reason to cut Kaczur until the last cut. Injuries do happen in this league.

I think it depends on Light. If Light is here Kaczur is overpaid and unneeded. If Light is not, he becomes pretty valuable.

 

[Ring 6]

The ESPN link doesn't include RFAs and players who got hit with the franchise tag. It also doesn't reflect a lot of the late February cuts like Gholston/Woody/Taylor/B. Sanders.

Were they all cuts, or just expired contracts?

 

[Sciz]

Were they all cuts, or just expired contracts?

All cuts. The other guys' contracts expired at the same time as the lockout started.

 

[Miguel]

The ESPN link doesn't include RFAs and players who got hit with the franchise tag. It also doesn't reflect a lot of the late February cuts like Gholston/Woody/Taylor/B. Sanders.

Bingo. The Patriots did not place the franchise tag on Mankins on 2/14, seven days after the ESPN report.

 

[Miguel]

Looking at Miguel's site the Patriots have $113 million comitted and his projected cap is $114 million.

Miguel's UNOFFICIAL 2011 Patriots Salary Cap Information Page

Are the Patriots tight against it? or is there a top 45 rule? How much cap space will the Patriots have once free agency starts?

There is a Top 51 rule.

 

[mgteich]

I agree.

However, if Light stays, he will likely be the overpaid one unless one expects Light to move to LG in 2012. Even then, paying Light LT salary to play LG seems wrong.

Re-signing Light seems a huge longshot at this point.

I think it depends on Light. If Light is here Kaczur is overpaid and unneeded. If Light is not, he becomes pretty valuable.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I agree.

However, if Light stays, he will likely be the overpaid one unless one expects Light to move to LG in 2012. Even then, paying Light LT salary to play LG seems wrong.

Re-signing Light seems a huge longshot at this point.

Light's LT salary @ LG is less than we'd pay Mankins to play LG