Taking a look at our own Free Agents before we look at others...

[SeanBruschi54]

Everyone has to start somewhere and this team starts with its own players first. You have to believe right now they are talking back and forth with several players and hope to bring some of them back while looking to upgrade others.

First off we have a total of 13 UFA.

Randy Moss, Asante Samuel, Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Troy Brown, Rashaad Moore (sp), Chad Scott, Mel Mitchell, Jabar Gaffney, Randall Gay, Larry Izzo, Eugene Wilson and Lonnie Paxton.

Some are must haves some are upgradeable. Lets look at each individual player and see what he means to this club.

Randy Moss - Record setting WR with Tom Brady this past season. They connected on more passes and TD's than any other WR tandem in history. Do they play well together? Yes. Do they seem to have an ability to have a strong force together? Yes.

Moss has had a remarkable season and has said that he wants to remain a Patriot for the rest of his career. I believe the team honestly values him the same and they keep Moss. Probably not at top dollar but probably at reasonable dollar.

Asante Samuel - When you think of our backfield two names jump out at you. Harrison / Samuel. Ones a hard hitting veteran the other is a young play maker who has been labeled one of the top 3 CB's in the league today. Say what you want about Samuel but the guy has been consistent as consistent can be for our team. He covers, tackles, reads the QB, defends and intercepts all at a high level. He would be a key figure for our team in the future the way Ty Law was or the way Champ Bailey has been in Denver. BUT the only dilemma is the price tag that Asante labels himself with. If the price tag were a 20+ million 7 year deal do you make that type of deal and hurt your teams cap for years to come or do you find a cheaper lesser player on the open market/draft? This is the real big decision for his management this off-season and this love alone will dictate the rest of our offseason. We lose Asante then we go after CB's in the draft and in FA. If we keep him then we focus in the LB unit. Tom Curran and Felger both seem to think the Patriots WILL keep Asante.

Tedy Bruschi/ Junior Seau - At this stage of their careers they both are pretty much the same. Tedy gives you a bit more then Junior can but neither of them can fully play an entire season anymore nor should they. As rotational players i believe they both can still play but as starters i will pass. Once again Tom Curran believes both players will come back if not Seau then absolutely Bruschi. I honestly dont believe anybody on this board can complain with the talent that these two players can produce on a situational basis.

Troy Brown - Great player for us in the past but is past the point where we can actually use him in a game. Troy has been great but he just cant do it anymore. More than likely will retire.

Rashad Moore - Nothing more than depth for Wilfork Semour Warren Green and Wright can be replaced with a cheaper alternative if need be.

Chad Scott / Mel Mitchell - I dont think Chad Scott can offer anything more than Safety depth at this point. Mel Mitchell can only add ST's help. I could see Scott being brought back but the cost might be too high even at the vet min. Mel can be replaced on ST's by Ventrone or another depth player. I dont think he's worth the roster spot or money.

Jabar Gaffney - Has really come on for this team again late in the year. He actually at the end of the year replaced Donte Stallworth in many formations and plays. Every week his number of plays he was in seemed to improve. Always caught the ball when needed and gave the little extra for a few more yards. Reminds me of a weaker (only in stregth) version of David Givens with his ability. I would like to see Donte released maybe brought back on a cheaper deal but i believe that Gaffney can give you more than what Stallworth offered but at a very discounted rate.

Randall Gay - The only way i see Gay coming back to this team is if Asante is not resigned. Then they would bring him back for some consistency in the backfield so there isn't much turnover at the position. I think Gay is a fine nickel corner but not a guy you want to leave on the outside for several games, and yes i remember 2004 and remember Gay through some games being killed especially in the postseason. I also dont think this club thinks hes very durable even as a part time player.

Larry Izzo - Special teams captain who probably was the 3rd or 4th best STer on our roster last year. (Listing Washington, Woods and EA better than him) Very high priced at this point in his career with vet min and maybe could use some change. Would i mind if he returned? No but i think there is better value available.

Eugene Wilson - Under no circumstances do i think he should be retained. Even at depth he is not very dependable. Was torched by almost any slot receiver another team faced including Matt Jones of the Jaguars, AKA laughing stock of the WR NFL. Injured to often, cant tackle well anymore, doesn't have his big hits in him anymore either. All together its as if he dropped off as a player.

Lonnie Paxton - As consistent as you can get on Long snapping and all around ST's play. Has never botched a snap in his career in NE. I think he is retained even if the minimum is 700,000 + is more than likely better than many alternatives.

Thanks for reading feedback is appreciated.

 

[BRiZ]

take whatever Felger says with a grain of salt. That guy is the biggest neanderthal. He said Moss would get under 50 catches this year. lol

I agree with most of what you said. Some thoughts:

Randy Moss: will deffinitly resign with Pats, hes not in it for money hes in it to win, and thats what goes on in NE. I dont think many other teams will throw alot of money at him anyway considering what happened in Oakland, i mean the only reason he was so good this year was because he was IN new england. Some dumb teams like Philly will throw money at him but Moss wont bite. 5-6 year deal, 6-7 mill a year he will sign with the Pats for.


Asante Samuel: deffinitly gone, noway the Pats match the offers hes gunna get. We can draft his replacement, theres alot of good CBs out there.

Tedy Bruschi/ Junior Seau: I hope they bring these guys back for one more year, they will come cheep and nobody is gunna go after them. I dont want to see both of them on the field though at the same time again, we need to get another stud in there, but if they rotate like Seau on 1st and 2nd down run plays and Bruschi comes in on 3rd down that would be good.

Troy Brown: retired

Rashad Moore: dont really care if we resign him or not its not like we couldnt find someone to replace him.

Chad Scott / Mel Mitchell: same as above.

Jabar Gaffney: we need to resign Gaff hes the perfect #4 WR, depth guy. I could see some teams going after him though, wouldnt break the bank on bringing him back.

Randall Gay: Id resign him only for cheep. Honestly he needs to go he gets picked on by every team we play and he can just be upgraded. With our CB depth getting thin though might as well try and bring him back. Hobbs would be a good upgrade over Gay, but we need to draft two stud corners for the outside for that to happen.

Larry Izzo: Resign him hes still good on special teams. Keep him off the D though.

Eugene Wilson: Let this scrub walk, dont even answer his phone calls. Hes done more to hurt the team then help them.

Lonnie Paxton: resign of course.

 

[Jimke]

In a year with very few good cornerbacks in free agency, I hope
the Pats make their best effort to re-sign Samuel. I fear that the
alternative may be a pass defense that leaks like a sieve.
With regard to our other free agents, I expect the Pats to franchise
Moss to gain time to work out a long term contract.
Like Welker, Wright will be tendered high enough for the Pats to get
a second round pick if he signs elsewhere.
I also hope Gaffney and Paxton are re-signed before free agency begins.
I am lukewarm about re-signing any of the others. If the Pats re-sign
them, it means they were unable to come up with any younger or
better replacements.

 

[mgteich]

I don't think that anyone is a "must have". I think want to play for us, but Stallworth would need to step if Moss doesn't come.

I would like to see Paxton and Gaffney signed soon. I expect Wright to receive the 2nd highest tender. I don't know what we will tender Moore, but we do need a backup NT. And contrary to what has been posted, they aren't easy to find.

I expect that we will re-sign Izzo, Scott and Mitchell, but none may make the final 53.

I expect Seau to be back, but no Bruschi.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I don't think that anyone is a "must have". I think want to play for us, but Stallworth would need to step if Moss doesn't come.

I would like to see Paxton and Gaffney signed soon. I expect Wright to receive the 2nd highest tender. I don't know what we will tender Moore, but we do need a backup NT. And contrary to what has been posted, they aren't easy to find.

I expect that we will re-sign Izzo, Scott and Mitchell, but none may make the final 53.

I expect Seau to be back, but no Bruschi.

I was wondering why Stallworth does not receive more attention in this forum.

 

[patsfan-1982]

i think moss will be back even if they have to tag him samuel is gone i would love it if thay would resign him but what good is it haveing a 10mil dolor a yer CB when he dose not even cover the the best WR on the field why was hobbs on plax one on one in the bigis game of the yer ty law was a lot better he would shut down the outher teams best WR and if samuel dose not do that no reason to keep him

 

[mgteich]

The presumption is that the FO is unwilling to pay for both Moss and Stallworth. While this may be true, it should be an item of discussion in these two weeks before the decision whether to pick up his option.

I was wondering why Stallworth does not receive more attention in this forum.

 

[patsfanofNC12]

We have to get Lonnie back, he is to good to let walk.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

We have to get Lonnie back, he is to good to let walk.

Agreed.

Also we have less than 10 days to find out about Stallworth getting his option picked up.

 

[BelichickFan]

I think it's clear that Stallworth won't be back even with a different contract. In the second half Gaffney played more than Stallworth (a decision I wasn't thrilled with). I see no way Stallworth will get the money he will want based on how the Patriots evidently value him as shown by his playing time.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Great topic! Here's my 2 cents:

Randy Moss - Must resign

Asante Samuel - He's still a money grubbing blow hard based on his comments so far. I don't see us resigning this guy.

Tedy Bruschi/ Junior Seau - I wouldn't be suprised if both retire, but I think both could still give us another year if they want to.

Troy Brown - I am pretty sure he retires.

Rashad Moore - I'd like to resign him. No great loss if we can't.

Chad Scott / Mel Mitchell - I honestly couldn't care one way or the other.

Jabar Gaffney - If Stallworth goes, I think Gaffney would be an import retention.

Randall Gay - With Asante leave (my opinion), Gay is an important guy to retain.

Larry Izzo - Resign to reasonable ST contract if able, no tears if you can't.

Eugene Wilson - I could see resining him for cheap, but he is on the downside play-wise.

Lonnie Paxton - Resign him, but let's keep it in perspective, he long snaps - that's it. Don't get greed lonnie!

 

[ALP]

In a year with very few good cornerbacks in free agency, I hope
the Pats make their best effort to re-sign Samuel. I fear that the
alternative may be a pass defense that leaks like a sieve.
With regard to our other free agents, I expect the Pats to franchise
Moss to gain time to work out a long term contract.
Like Welker, Wright will be tendered high enough for the Pats to get
a second round pick if he signs elsewhere.
I also hope Gaffney and Paxton are re-signed before free agency begins.
I am lukewarm about re-signing any of the others. If the Pats re-sign
them, it means they were unable to come up with any younger or
better replacements.

our pass defense has leaked like a sleeve on many occasions this yr....add speed up front, and let the back be OK, b/c you can have the best backfield, but if there is no pressure on the QB, the backfield is doomed

 

[mb6592]

Randall Gay: Id resign him only for cheep. Honestly he needs to go he gets picked on by every team we play and he can just be upgraded. With our CB depth getting thin though might as well try and bring him back. Hobbs would be a good upgrade over Gay, but we need to draft two stud corners for the outside for that to happen.

I would not sign any STUD corners. The present NFL is geared toward the offense and pass rushers. A top corner cannot touch anyone anyway so why bother? The rules are so stacked against them that I would set my sites on the offense & a huge pass rush.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I don't think that anyone is a "must have". I think want to play for us, but Stallworth would need to step if Moss doesn't come.

I would like to see Paxton and Gaffney signed soon. I expect Wright to receive the 2nd highest tender. I don't know what we will tender Moore, but we do need a backup NT. And contrary to what has been posted, they aren't easy to find.

Did you mean a second-round tender or a first-round for Wright? [Either way, it's a heck of an ROI on a UDFA; my guess is that a second-round would suffice.] I'd probably do the same for Moore.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

I was wondering why Stallworth does not receive more attention in this forum.

Most think that Gaffney actually played better in the latter parts of the year.

 

[Jimke]

I was wondering why Stallworth does not receive more attention in this forum.

If Moss is not re-signed or franchised, I believe the Pats will have to

re-sign Stallworth and Gaffney.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Is Donte' related to the old Steeler? Once you get past the dreads and facial hair, they have a bit of a resemblance.

 

[mgteich]

I would give Wright a 1st round tender and attempt to sign him to a long-term contract

Did you mean a second-round tender or a first-round for Wright? [Either way, it's a heck of an ROI on a UDFA; my guess is that a second-round would suffice.] I'd probably do the same for Moore.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Is Donte' related to the old Steeler? Once you get past the dreads and facial hair, they have a bit of a resemblance.

Not to my knowledge.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I would not sign any STUD corners. The present NFL is geared toward the offense and pass rushers. A top corner cannot touch anyone anyway so why bother? The rules are so stacked against them that I would set my sites on the offense & a huge pass rush.

Very true ... the safety spot is becoming more valuable.