Lack of Rookie Free Agents

[thecrazyeye]

Rookie free agent signing time is one of my favorite because its the chance that someone missed a diamond. Randall Gay, Mike Wright,Pierre Woods, Corey Mays there always seems to be some guy who just shows he should have been drafted.
So whats up with the Pat's lack of free agent signings?
I seem to remember them picking up 10 or more each year, is anything for more competition in camp.
So far as far as i can tell the Pats have signed
Matt Gutierez
Justin Warren
Jake Nordin
Zach West
Larry Anam

Are they really not liking this crop? Or are we just not hearing about some of the signings. When are they usually official.
Its just weird with a team like SD bringing in over 20 undrafted free agents.
Also, i havent seen DeAndre Jackson sign anywhere, I am holding out hope as I think he and Gutierez really would add to this draft class.
Before you kill me I know there isnt a lot of room on the roster, but having them for the competition is great, and we tend to find one gem each year.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Rookie free agent signing time is one of my favorite because its the chance that someone missed a diamond. Randall Gay, Mike Wright,Pierre Woods, Corey Mays there always seems to be some guy who just shows he should have been drafted.
So whats up with the Pat's lack of free agent signings?
I seem to remember them picking up 10 or more each year, is anything for more competition in camp.
So far as far as i can tell the Pats have signed
Matt Gutierez
Justin Warren
Jake Nordin
Zach West
Larry Anam

Are they really not liking this crop? Or are we just not hearing about some of the signings. When are they usually official.
Its just weird with a team like SD bringing in over 20 undrafted free agents.
Also, i havent seen DeAndre Jackson sign anywhere, I am holding out hope as I think he and Gutierez really would add to this draft class.
Before you kill me I know there isnt a lot of room on the roster, but having them for the competition is great, and we tend to find one gem each year.

The San Diego number is a very positive thing from my point of view. I trust SD with talent evaluation. They're good at it. They're the one team I can admit is better than us at it, at least at the high end. What SD's use of 20 UDFAs tells me is that this draft was the crap we have been saying it was. When you'd just as soon pull in a kid off the street to compete in camp, you know the quality wasn't deep. And that makes me feel that much better about moving picks to 08.

About the lack of stories on UDFAs: let one of them score a TD or two in the regular season, and the infatuation with the subject will be back. For right now, the rest of the offseason is just too monumental to make room for the "scraps" of the UDFA world. The press is still analyzing each others' analysis of our earlier offseason pickups, and BOOM, now we have the Moss pickup to analyze, and the analysis to analyze, and so on in a recursive loop. There won't be room for much more until at least the first preseason games are played.

Cheer up... just 4 months and a week 'til the J-E-S-T!

PFnV

 

[pats1]

Quite simply, there's no room on the roster. They can sign more UDFAs (I believe), but they'd just be cut when rookies start signing. Futile.

Basically, it's a question of whether you'd have Adalius Thomas, Kyle Brady, Sammy Morris, Tory James, Eddie Jackson, Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington, and Randy Moss or a bunch of UDFAs.

 

[patsfan13]

A lot of times the agent for the UDFA is looking for a place where the client can earn a job. Looking at the Pats roster a lot of the agents may be steering their clients in another direction. :singing:

 

[spacecrime]

Signings of large numbers of UFDAs is a sign of lack of established depth on a team.

The team is allowed 80 players. Most teams have their 53 and a few guys for competition and 3-4 returning from IR, so signing 10 seems fairly reasonable.

If a team has good players on its practice squad, they will take up the bulk of the remaining roster spots.

If a team has no proactice squad, or the guys on it aren't as good as this year's UDFAs, and the lower quarter of their roster is filled with last years UDFAs who turned out not to be any good, then look for them to sign 20 or even more UDFAs.

 

[thecrazyeye]

thank you for the education!
i would still like to see DeAndre Jackson though. if his knee isnt falling off.
Ellis! call him up! tell him to head to NE

 

[jbb9s]

Basically, it's a question of whether you'd have Adalius Thomas, Kyle Brady, Sammy Morris, Tory James, Eddie Jackson, Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington, and Randy Moss or a bunch of UDFAs.

Can I have some time to think about this?

 

[Pats726]

There's still much time to sign players AND still some very good players left. ..also 17 teams have rookie camp this weekend, so they are more in a time bind than some of the other teams. The Pats have their camp the weekend of the 12th. I expect more signings this week.

 

[stinkypete]

We got a roster limit of 80, not including our NFL Europe exemptions. If you look at our roster, you'll feel pretty confident about the 70 or so we have locked up for 2007. I've looked at my draft rankings, and can't find anyone who'll crack that list.

 

[Pats726]

We got a roster limit of 80, not including our NFL Europe exemptions. If you look at our roster, you'll feel pretty confident about the 70 or so we have locked up for 2007. I've looked at my draft rankings, and can't find anyone who'll crack that list.

The draftees do not count on that limit until they are signed..but I agree, it's pretty solid..but I still feel there are some spots where competition will be fierce.

 

[DaBruinz]

There is a roster limit. Its 80 plus whatever exemptions you have from NFLE.

Now, the Pats are under that number because the draft picks aren't, technically, part of the team. (They stand at 84 including picks and 3 exemptions).

And there is still the thought that the Pats will sign a vet ILB or 2 like a Seau or Hartwell.

Its going to be interesting to say the least.

 

[Jimke]

As things stand now, the Pats are pretty well stocked at all positions.

I agree with DaBruinz that I'd like to see them sign another veteran

middle linebacker. Last year they had offensive linemen, wide receivers,

and defensive backs among their UDFAs. This year those positions are

pretty well set. I like the Gutierrez signing. I see a similarity to the

Matt Cassel signing except Gutierrez left Michigan and got a year of

experience. Mike Reiss stated Guitierrez was the Pats choice had they

drafted a quarterback.

 

[Urgent]

One of the point of udfa's is to train players in your system that are aimed at the practice squad. That way, players on your practice squad have received the playbook and learned the system with all the other players. In the event of an injury, they are a ready option.

That's how Eric Alexander ended up starting in the AFC Championship Game. He was a udfa, then practice squad, then back-up. That's how Wesley Britt made the roster. Pierre Woods. Billy Yates. And so forth.

Right now RB, WR, OL, DL, and S are deep.

The team typically keeps about 10 LB's.
The roster right now includes:
Thomas, Colvin, Bruschi, Vrabel, Woods, Alexander, Izzo, Mays, plus Rogers, Lua. That's only 10 right there. They could certainly use a couple to compete for practice squad spots.

 

[dryheat44]

Figure on another QB and another K being signed soon. Maybe a long snapper.

 

[patchick]

So whats up with the Pat's lack of free agent signings?
I seem to remember them picking up 10 or more each year, is anything for more competition in camp.
So far as far as i can tell the Pats have signed
Matt Gutierez
Justin Warren
Jake Nordin
Zach West
Larry Anam

I mentioned this in another thread, but...

Remember that the Pats made a whopping 6 picks in the final 2 rounds of the draft! A lot of those fringe players whom they would normally target as UDFAs simply turned into draft picks this year.

 

[ClevTrev]

I mentioned this in another thread, but...

Remember that the Pats made a whopping 6 picks in the final 2 rounds of the draft! A lot of those fringe players whom they would normally target as UDFAs simply turned into draft picks this year.

Good point. It makes sense as their feeling that this was a draft limited in quality players.

 

[zippo59]

One of the point of udfa's is to train players in your system that are aimed at the practice squad. That way, players on your practice squad have received the playbook and learned the system with all the other players. In the event of an injury, they are a ready option.

That's how Eric Alexander ended up starting in the AFC Championship Game. He was a udfa, then practice squad, then back-up. That's how Wesley Britt made the roster. Pierre Woods. Billy Yates. And so forth.

Right now RB, WR, OL, DL, and S are deep.

The team typically keeps about 10 LB's.
The roster right now includes:
Thomas, Colvin, Bruschi, Vrabel, Woods, Alexander, Izzo, Mays, plus Rogers, Lua. That's only 10 right there. They could certainly use a couple to compete for practice squad spots.

They also signed Justin Warren.

 

[DaBruinz]

Figure on another QB and another K being signed soon. Maybe a long snapper.

The Pats already have 2 long snappers and David Thomas supposedly was learning how to do it as well. Not sure that they will bring in a 4th.