Future of Logan Mankins as a Patriot

Deus Irae said:

Torn Patellar tendon in 2012. Bad year in 2013.

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AndyJohnson said:

Your calculation wrong. The saving is the cap hit minus the cost to keep.
You cant compare the sb to the salary, it doesn't work that way.
Hit to keep 10.5
Hit to cut 8

Savings by cutting 2.5

Simple as that.

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Wilfork#75 said:

If Mankins chooses to not re-structure/extend his deal he will not be a Patriot in 2015. I just can't see them keeping a 33 year old OG with an $11mil cap hit. As others have said the $2.5mil cap saving if he is cut in 2014 isn't enough incentive to cut him now, but the $7mil saving in 2015 I think will be. If he isn't willing to work with the team I think its a much easier decision than Wilfork, cut him and move on.

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NE_PATS_FAN_54 said:

This is a topic I've been pondering for a little bit and was amplified when I read Greg Bedard's mock draft on MMQB:
2014 NFL Mock Draft: What teams should do in the first round | MMQB | Greg A. Bedard


Bedard is usually ahead of the curve on things like this so seeing this comment made my wonder: are the Pats going to put Mankins in the same boat as Wilfork next offseason? Obviously Wilfork's situation was complicated because of his achilles injury last year but there was no way they were going to pay Vince even if he finished last year healthy. A very similar situation is looking to play out with Mankins and the team during the 2015 offseason. See below for Miguel's breakdown of Mankins' deal:
Miguel's Unofficial Patriots Salary Cap Footnotes and Documentation Page - Logan Mankins - PatsCap.com

Based on Miguel's numbers, it seems as though the Pats stand to gain $7M in cap space in 2015 if they cut Mankins (with him counting $4M against the 2015 cap and nothing against the 2016 cap). Mankins will be 33 years old going into the 2015 season and by my view, hasn't shown significant signs of slowing down. The question will be: do the Patriots view Mankins as an $11M player next year? The rumors are, of course, that the cap will rise beginning next year so that may make the decision a little easier. However, the Pats have a significant of their core players that could hit FA in 2015: (McCourty, Slater, Revis, Gostkowski, Vereen, Ridley, Cannon, etc).

Mankins health and level of play during 2014 will most likely be the determining factor going forward. I would think given Mankins contract history that he will not be receptive to a re-negotiation but a lot can obviously change. Going into Thursday's draft, it will be awfully interesting to see how high the Pats go to draft an OL. As Bedard mentions, the Pats always plan ahead and OL is a position that they haven't invested much draft capital into in the past few years.

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