We certainly have the cap room to sign him and my understanding is we also have the long term cap shape to do so.
Just because other teams have more $$ doesn't mean they will offer more....they also have more needs.
On top of this, cap management is not a one year project. Using the 9ers for example, if they spend most of their cap money on high priced FAs, they will also be longterm deals. Those long term deals increase over time in many cases substantially. If you could see the best offer on the table to every available FA, and the 9ers upped it 10% (or whatever it would take) they could sign a bonanza of top FAs. But they would immediately put themselves in future cap hell. Most FA cap numbers double within about 3-4 years. (Thats an estimate, i didn;'t look it up) The 9ers have the ability to spend all that cap room on top tier guys, but by doing so they will cripple their cap down the road, there is no way around it. I think they will be more prudent than that.
As far as the Pats, the only thing we know is that BB will use the cap room in the way he believes puts the best team on the field, now and in the long run.
In the past, that has meant midlevel free agents, because we have never had this kind of cap room.
I think everyone with the 'we dont sign big money guys' needs to look back at what are cap room was in each of BBs years. We have always spent to the cap, in some years needing to cut guys to do so.
In 2003, we had some room, getting us Colvin and Harrison, but almost every year since BB has been here we have been very tight to the cap. (Last year we had more room, but it was hard to spent it and still account for the possibility of extending Branch, and Koppen, and keeping cash available to sing Ty Law--if in fact we were entertaining that)
What BB did when he had 6-8mill of cap room for FA just isnt avalid inidcator of what he would do when he has 20mil.
