Patriots Sign WR Brandon LaFell to 3-year contract

harrison was also projected as having possibly a small(ish), pass catching TE skillset, no?

BelichickFan said:

Like I said on the other thread, I wonder if Amendola will make it.

Edelman, LaFell, Dobson, Boyce seem like certainties. That leaves Amendola, Thompkins, Harrison and whoever else competing for one spot. Maybe 2 but we almost always seem to have 5 plus Slater.

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Boyce is certain, but Amendola with the contract isn't?

Carolina: 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounders for Thompkins and Amendola. Now.

RayClay said:

Boyce is certain, but Amendola with the contract isn't?

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In my mind, yes. Amendola and Edelman duplicate each other more than Boyce is duplicated by anyone with his rare athleticism. I may be wrong but that's how I see it.

I thought if we were going to cut Amendola it would be before the 11th.

I don't see him getting cut this year.

Unless Amendola is traded, he is a lock. His new money additional cost is $1M. The first $2M of his contract is now non-reoverable.

RayClay said:

Boyce is certain, but Amendola with the contract isn't?

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Yes (but two weeks ago TJ Moe was certain).

BobDigital said:

3/11 is too much for a guy like LaFell. However I am not going to get too down on it until i see the guaranteed money and how much he will cost this year.

This is really a lot to invest on a WR that has not been in out system and makes me wonder how much we paid Edelman. We had to pay him at least more than this right?

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Ok, with all these signings, how much $$ do we have left? At minimum we need 5-6m to sign Draft picks, no?

And then here is Wilfork. Will he be released LATE in free-agency?

BradyBranch39 said:

Disagree. I wanted neither. We know BB's WR drafting is questionable, but we weren't required to sign an outside WR in FA; drafting one would have done just as good. I would've rather added Owen Daniels than any of the FA WRs left (other than J Jones, who is probably asking for >$15M).

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I think Owen Daniels is a good player also but the guy gets hurt a lot more then Gronk does

BradyFTW! said:

At this point, i would find it weird if he said anything else

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I heard that his agent is playing in a amateur jai alai tournament tonight.

I look at this signing, along with the report of Britt coming in, as insurance against Dobson and Boyce's availability to start the year and/or develop after injury. If either is PUP'd, you have your crew with Amendola, Edelman, LaFell, and possibly Britt.

chasa said:

I thought if we were going to cut Amendola it would be before the 11th.

I don't see him getting cut this year.

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mgteich said:

Unless Amendola is traded, he is a lock. His new money additional cost is $1M. The first $2M of his contract is now non-reoverable.

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Right but cutting him earlier didn't allow the "June 1" split of the contract hit. I'm well aware of what the new league year meant but the whole hit would have been this year had they done it earlier.

I'm not saying he's gone but he's got a lot of work to do right now.

I forsee cutdowns to 53 being brutal this year with all the talent we are bringing in.

BradyBranch39 said:

Disagree. I wanted neither. We know BB's WR drafting is questionable, but we weren't required to sign an outside WR in FA; drafting one would have done just as good. I would've rather added Owen Daniels than any of the FA WRs left (other than J Jones, who is probably asking for >$15M).

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I think we will have better luck transitioning a rookie TE vs a rookie WR. I think the team's sample size drafting rookie receivers is too large to ignore at this point. While Dobson and Boyce MAY emerge what we pretty much KNOW at this point is that it will take minimum a few seasons. Its a lead pipe lock drafting a WR in this draft won't really help until maybe the 2nd or 3rd year if at all.

Lafell V. Sanders is the question, because that's who we have answered the outside issue with(depending on guaranteed money), and Denver signed ES just before.

I highly doubt a vet TE is signed at this point. I could be wrong though.

Armchair Quarterback said:

His agent is saying he has not signed.

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Have you been paying attention this year? They always deny it. We'll probably see final confirmation within the next 24-48 hours.

I like the Lafell signing. He has produced 600 yards per season consistently with Cam Newton throwing to him. Yeah, that probably translates to 750 per season with Brady throwing to him. LOL.

Brandon LaFell NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

We don't need Lafell to be a star. We just need him to be a better #3 or #4 option for us.

I expect Edelman and Gronk to be our top two targeted receivers. Then Amendola, Lafell, and Dobson can fight for that #3/#4 spot. If we add Britt to the mix, then good. Even more competition at the wideout position!

A bit pricey:

Brandon LaFell - New England Patriots - 2014 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

Patriots signed WR Brandon LaFell to a three-year, $11 million contract.

LaFell will provide the Patriots with another outside receiver to compete with Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins for playing time. A disappointing four-year player, LaFell posted 49 catches, 627 yards, and five touchdowns with Carolina last season. He won't be higher than the No. 3 wideout in New England and could struggle for consistent snaps. The Panthers have now lost their top-four receivers to free agency and currently have Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt atop their depth chart.

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I really don't know much about this guy.

Here's people on another forum I go to when I asked them their thoughts on LaFell. I consider them quite knowledgeable.

Falcons fan- "Lafell is a respectable and quick WR. He's not very physical...but he'll fit in well in NE IMO. Drops the ball though."

Eagles fan- "Lafell is average."

zipster9 said:

Ok, with all these signings, how much $$ do we have left? At minimum we need 5-6m to sign Draft picks, no?

And then here is Wilfork. Will he be released LATE in free-agency?

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No idea how much we have i would guess not much right now.

However we can fairly easily create 10M+ more.

Cut Wilfork (7.5M) or extend (3 M lets say)
Cut A. Wilson (1M)
Restructure Connolly (1M) Gost (1M) McCourty (1M)

Probably a few other minion moves we can make to squeeze another million out.

BelichickFan said:

In my mind, yes. Amendola and Edelman duplicate each other more than Boyce is duplicated by anyone with his rare athleticism. I may be wrong but that's how I see it.

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I bet you are rarely wrong.

Deus Irae said:

The Patriots don't have a WR1

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Unless the player just has to be a #1 from another team to be considered a #1 here, Dobson has much more potential to be #1 here than Britt.