Available Roster Talent

[Aßßynormal]

If you don't give young players the ability to play in games they won't develop and your team stagnates. Someone steps up or BB moves on to another player in season. I like that about him. Seven or eight of these players won't even dress but may make a difference in a year or two. A perfect example is Wendell.

 

[Miguel]

before I can comment is here a list by team of the number of players cut that were picked up by other teams?

Sorry for the formatting

ARIZONA
Sowell, Bradley
T
Mississippi

From INDIANAPOLIS
Ta'amu, Alameda
DT
Washington

From PITTSBURGH

BALTIMORE
James, Robert
LB
Arizona State

From ATLANTA

BUFFALO
Burton, Brandon
DB
Utah

From MINNESOTA

CHICAGO
Bass, David
DE
Missouri Western

From OAKLAND


CLEVELAND
Gray, MarQueis
RB
Minnesota

From SAN FRANCISCO
Johnson, Dennis
RB
Arkansas

From HOUSTON
Lewis, Patrick
C
Texas A&M

From GREEN BAY
Magee, Brandon
LB
Arizona State

From DALLAS
Milton, Keavon
TE
Louisiana-Monroe

From NEW ORLEANS
Rainey, Bobby
RB
Western Kentucky

From BALTIMORE

DALLAS
Bosworth, Kyle
LB
UCLA

From NEW YORK GIANTS

DENVER
Robinson, Adrian
LB
Temple

From PHILADELPHIA

DETROIT
Gomes, DeJon
DB
Nebraska

From WASHINGTON

INDIANAPOLIS
Doyle, Jack
TE
Western Kentucky

From TENNESSEE



















JACKSONVILLE
Burton, Stephen
WR
West Texas A&M

From MINNESOTA
Guy, Winston
DB
Kentucky

From SEATTLE
Harbor, Clay
TE
Missouri State

From PHILADELPHIA
McClendon, Jacques
G
Tennessee

From ATLANTA
McCoy, Chris
LB
Middle Tennessee

From PHILADELPHIA
Thomas, J.T.
LB
West Virginia

From CHICAGO
Williams, D.J.
TE
Arkansas

From GREEN BAY

KANSAS CITY
Cooper, Marcus
DB
Rutgers

From SAN FRANCISCO
Hall, Chad
WR
Air Force

From SAN FRANCISCO
Howard, Jaye
DT
Florida

From SEATTLE
Johnson, James-Michael
LB
Nevada

From CLEVELAND
McGrath, Sean
TE
Henderson State

From SEATTLE
Moses, Dezman
LB
Tulane

From GREEN BAY
Parker, Ron
DB
Newberry

From SEATTLE

MIAMI
Clutts, Tyler
RB
Fresno State

From HOUSTON

MINNESOTA
Webb, J'Marcus
T
West Texas A&M

From CHICAGO






NEW ENGLAND
Barker, Chris
G
Nevada

From MIAMI
Cave, Braxston
C
Notre Dame

From CLEVELAND
Francis, A.J.
DT
Maryland

From MIAMI
White, Chris
LB
Mississippi State

From DETROIT

NEW YORK JETS
Green, Alex
RB
Hawaii

From GREEN BAY
Ijalana, Ben
T
Villanova

From INDIANAPOLIS
Solomon, Scott
DE
Rice

From TENNESSEE

OAKLAND
McClain, Antoine
G
Clemson

From BALTIMORE
Sanford, Brian
DE
Temple

From CLEVELAND

PHILADELPHIA
Prater, Shaun
DB
Iowa

From CINCINNATI

SAN DIEGO
Manning, Terrell
LB
North Carolina State

From GREEN BAY
Nevis, Drake
DT
Louisiana State

From INDIANAPOLIS

TAMPA BAY
Jones, Chris
DT
Bowling Green

From HOUSTON
Shepard, Russell
WR
Louisiana State

From PHILADELPHIA

 

[Miguel]

True, but so did a lot of teams' players.

I should have been clearer.

The Pats are close to the top in having players on IR.

2013 NFL Depth Charts All Teams | Ourlads.com

 

[Deus Irae]

...Do you think this is an issue in terms of available talent on the roster? As in this roster isn't as talented as we think it is.

I think it's a combination of things including, among other things:

The "better" talent cuts that are higher priced (i.e. Mesko)
The "better" talent that became IR cuts (i.e. Wilson)
Some really weak low end talent at particular positions (i.e. OL)

 

[PatsFanStnfrd]

Any1 remember Greg Salas, who BB traded for last year, then proceeded to waive him to the Pats practice squad--only to lose him to the Eagles. BB gave up a 5th rounder for him. Well Greg Salas was cut by the Eagles and is now available having cleared waivers.

No, I am not suggesting getting him for our PS. Rather, my point is -- last year we were so desperate for a younger, taller WR -- this year, we are stacked, yes, stacked with talented rookies. Last year, we were paying dearly for the very talent, this year we have no room for.

 

[supafly]

Any1 remember Greg Salas, who BB traded for last year, then proceeded to waive him to the Pats practice squad--only to lose him to the Eagles. BB gave up a 5th rounder for him. Well Greg Salas was cut by the Eagles and is now available having cleared waivers.

No, I am not suggesting getting him for our PS. Rather, my point is -- last year we were so desperate for a younger, taller WR -- this year, we are stacked, yes, stacked with talented rookies. Last year, we were paying dearly for the very talent, this year we have no room for.

While we definitely have a couple of rookies who have stood out, I'm not completely convinced that we're "stacked" with talented rookies. We still have to hope that Boyce and Dobson progress throughout the season and that Thompkins can keep up this high level of play for the duration.

I'm not trying to be argumentative b/c I understand your point and agree that we're in a better position than we initially thought, but the fact that all of Welker, Llyod, and Branch are gone certainly contributed to the fact that we have so many rookies to begin with in the first place.

There was somewhat of an upgrade in youth, speed, size, skill set, etc that was needed so that likely contributed to the complete overhaul. I think that Belichick would have liked to see one more acceptable vet blended in there and that's why he tried to bring in Sanders, so we'll have to hope that all of these rookies and/or Edelman work out.

In the meantime, I'm glad that Sims is still on the team in regards to the PS. It's always nice to see a progressing, bigger WR stay on the team for either the future and/or injury situations. We could do worse than Sims for one of our PS spots in my opinion.

 

[Sciz]

Any1 remember Greg Salas, who BB traded for last year, then proceeded to waive him to the Pats practice squad--only to lose him to the Eagles. BB gave up a 5th rounder for him.

The Pats traded a 2015 7th round pick for Salas, which is basically nothing. I'd even rank that lower than the 6th for Tracy White and a 7th trade they had a few seasons ago.

 

[Fencer]

Interesting point about the high end.

Guys who are being paid major bucks include:

• Brady
• Wilfork
• Gronkowski
• Mankins
• Vollmer
• Mayo

and to a somewhat lesser extent Amendola and Talib.


Hernandez was on the list. McCourty and Solder could join it whenever the Pats decide to lock them up long term.

There also are some more traditional "middle class" deals; I'd include Connolly, Gostowski, Arrington, Slater, Gregory, Kelly and a soon to be pay-bumped Ninkovich. Wendell will presumably join next year, as might Spikes.

A lot of deals are finishing in the 2014 season -- McCourty, Solder, Ridley, Vereen, Connolly, Gostowski, Slater and more. Presume the plan is to try to pay at least the first 4, rather than replacing them, but that will cost some money.

I don't think that this issue came all of a sudden. I think that our salaries for the top 25 has been going up, with less available for the bottom. We may have chosen two lesser player because of our salary structure for the bottom half (Hooman and Allen).

BTW, I'm not disagreeing with any of our decisions. I'm just commenting that the bottom of our roster seems to be getting worse over the past few years.

We used to laugh at the teams who were forced to fill the bottom of their rosters with 6ht and 7th rounders, and loads of UDFA's while we hired older veterans. Now, at this point in our cycle, we are the ones with the UDFA's.

As someone pointed out, we are among the youngest teams. Of the bottom ten youngest teams, almost all were rebuilding teams.

 

[ATippett56]

A lot of deals are finishing in the 2014 season -- McCourty, Solder, Ridley, Vereen, Connolly, Gostowski, Slater and more. Presume the plan is to try to pay at least the first 4, rather than replacing them, but that will cost some money.

2013 New England Patriots pending unrestricted free agents:

Blount
Hoomanawanui
Edelman
Wendell
Svitek
Ninkovich
Cunningham
Spikes
Fletcher
Talib

2014 New England Patriots pending unrestricted free agents:

Mallett
Ridley
Vereen
Slater
Solder
Cannon
Connolly
Wilfork
Kelly
Gregory
McCourty
Aiken, Danny
Gostkowski, Stephen

 

[Fencer]

2013 New England Patriots pending unrestricted free agents:

Blount
Hoomanawanui
Edelman
Wendell
Svitek
Ninkovich
Cunningham
Spikes
Fletcher
Talib

2014 New England Patriots pending unrestricted free agents:

Mallett
Ridley
Vereen
Slater
Solder
Cannon
Connolly
Wilfork
Kelly
Gregory
McCourty
Aiken, Danny
Gostkowski, Stephen

Strong bets to stay:

• Wilfork
• McCourty
• Several OL, one of whom will be Solder

Reasonable bets to stay:

• Spikes
• Ridley
• Vereen
• Slater
• Aiken

My hunch leans against Gostowski. It's too early to say re Edelman (his health, his and the other WRs' development).