Does this just make too much sense? (Andre Johnson wants out of Houston)

I would rather have that 10 million go twords keeping DMC and revis and building a solid defense because brady can start to decline anytime

Bobs My Uncle said:

I'm sure the trade compensation side of the equation could be worked out just fine. I think the million dollar question might end up being .... how much does Johnson prefer making more money compared to playing with a HOF QB and being on a serious SB winner.

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While I agree with you that this may indeed be the million dollar question, we also must remember that there are definitely a good handful of other teams aside from N.England who remain highly competitive and give Johnson a solid chance at winning.

The only reason I point this out is because I feel as though too many here sometimes use this logic incorrectly when it comes to hoping that these bigger named free agents play in Foxborough. Of course, you'd be right in stating that the Patriots are a highly winning organization, but there are plenty of other teams who are either playoff contenders, or have been in the postseason the past year or two. They may not all have the same caliber of QB play, but they may have other attractive qualities just the same. Hopefully he decides to come here if both parties want it to happen.

xlcjw72 said:

I would rather have that 10 million go twords keeping DMC and revis and building a solid defense because brady can start to decline anytime

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If Brady declines it becomes even more important to surround him with playmakers and talent. Or surround his successor with talent. Because Tom Brady has been a luxury. Its very rare to find a qb who can carry Edelman and journeyman pass catchers to a productive offense. Even if Garappollo becomes a franchise its unlikely to think or expect he can run a potent offense with sub par talent to throw to. Matt Ryan and Stafford Flacco are franchise QBs but how would they have performed as our QB last season. Its realistic to think Garapollo will be a good franchise QB. Its very unrealistic to think he can carry a sub par cast of WRs like Brady did because that is VERY RARE a qb can do that. Which makes having legitimate top WR talent even more necessary. Consider us fortunate if Garapollo is as good as Matt Ryan,Cutler,Rivers or Eli. Pro Bowl QBs but could never flourish with the cast Brady had last season. If Garapollo is even very close to Brady we would be lucky. Matt Ryan,Jay Cutler,Rivers is realistic thinking. Not saying he can't be Brady or Aaron Rodgers but those are rare talents.

PatFanCraig said:

If Brady declines it becomes even more important to surround him with playmakers and talent. Or surround his successor with talent. Because Tom Brady has been a luxury. Its very rare to find a qb who can carry Edelman and journeyman pass catchers to a productive offense. Even if Garappollo becomes a franchise its unlikely to think or expect he can run a potent offense with sub par talent to throw to. Matt Ryan and Stafford Flacco are franchise QBs but how would they have performed as our QB last season. Its realistic to think Garapollo will be a good franchise QB. Its very unrealistic to think he can carry a sub par cast of WRs like Brady did because that is VERY RARE a qb can do that. Which makes having legitimate top WR talent even more necessary. Consider us fortunate if Garapollo is as good as Matt Ryan,Cutler,Rivers or Eli. Pro Bowl QBs but could never flourish with the cast Brady had last season. If Garapollo is even very close to Brady we would be lucky. Matt Ryan,Jay Cutler,Rivers is realistic thinking. Not saying he can't be Brady or Aaron Rodgers but those are rare talents.

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I understand your first point greatly, as I was one of the posters clamoring to get a TE for Brady within the first two rounds. However, regarding your next point about the successor having talent, that does not apply to this situation. By the time Garoppolo steps in, Andre Johnson will either be gone or literally on his last leg. I'd guess that he'd be gone.

The point that xlc makes is a good one, but I still think Brady needs weapons. I believe AJ has another 2 years of elite play left in him, with another 2 years or so thereafter with good play. If we can get him to restructure his contract to be around $7 mil. per year, I'd be on board.

Amendola + 3rd round pick?

Or would there be a cap hit penalty if we traded Amendola after only 1 season??

JPsPats said:

Amendola + 3rd round pick?

Or would there be a cap hit penalty if we traded Amendola after only 1 season??

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Unfortunately, Ben Volin tweeted out yesterday that there would be a cap penalty.
Ben is wrong.

From his Tweeter feed.
Ok kids, time to throw some cold water on those “Andre Johnson to the #Patriots” trade rumors, especially any involving Amendola
#Patriots are currently $6.4M under the cap. Johnson’s base salary is slated to be $10M. And trading Amendola adds $2.25M more to Pats cap

Amendola counts 4.575 million against the 2014 cap and 5.575 million against the cap. If traded, he would count $1.2 million against the 2014 cap and $3.6 million against the 2015 cap. In both years, the trade creates cap space for the Patriots.

As an aside, I found it hilarious that Ben would tweet out "Ok kids" and then get his facts wrong. On June 29 he tweeted this teaser to his Sunday notes column (are #Patriots bracing for a Brady contract dispute). His column did not provide any basis for the speculation.

Miguel said:

As an aside, I found it hilarious that Ben would tweet out "Ok kids" and then get his facts wrong. On June 29 he tweeted this teaser to his Sunday notes column (are #Patriots bracing for a Brady contract dispute). His column did not provide any basis for the speculation.

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Unfortunately Ben is a paid fan (NFL not Patriots) and is no Greg Bedard. Not here to rip Volin but it's a bad thing that someone who's position gives him credibility really isn't that knowledgeable.

Thanks to you, Miguel, for correcting him as fast as possible and getting the facts straight.

Sigh. We've all made stupid mistakes in our professions but it's SO easy for PROFESSIONAL football writers to check in with Miguel's info or contact him (and cite credit) before beclowning yourself. I don't fault casual fans for this oversight, but professional football writers...

Yea, Volin has been horrible. Unbelievable dropoff from Bedard.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Sigh. We've all made stupid mistakes in our professions but it's SO easy for PROFESSIONAL football writers to check in with Miguel's info or contact him (and cite credit) before beclowning yourself. I don't fault casual fans for this oversight, but professional football writers...

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Mistakes don't typically bother me, especially in regards to NFL salary cap matters (which often make my head spin). It's the arrogance of the (wrong) statement that really makes Volin look like a dope. You can't look down on the unwashed masses if you're currently sitting in a pile of their ****.

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 7m
If #Texans don’t budge, would be surprised RT @McClain_on_NFL: Count on Johnson to be with Texans when dust settles http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texans/article/Count-on-Johnson-to-be-with-Texans-when-the-dust-5614180.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=9d596f5f90cc308649…

So Rapoport would be surprised if the Texans don't budge, meaning they don't trade Johnson? So he expects them to do that? Am I reading that right? Sorry, it's early morning.

Yea it's making my head hurt just reading that tweet.

Miguel said:

None of it is. The below shows a possible Patriots deal with Andre Johnson.
View attachment 6703

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Yes, sorry, you are correct. But the Texans have to pay ~$12M in dead cap over 2014-2015 if he's traded now, correct?

And Volin does suck. So condescending and, yet, so wrong. Does he not know how simple it is, if a team and player agrees, to convert salary into signing bonus?

Sicilian said:

Mistakes don't typically bother me, especially in regards to NFL salary cap matters (which often make my head spin). It's the arrogance of the (wrong) statement that really makes Volin look like a dope. You can't look down on the unwashed masses if you're currently sitting in a pile of their ****.

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There are several posters here who, I'm convinced, could do a better job than Volin if given the power of the Globe behind them. Of course, the same is true of Guregian at the Herald, and of SMY, as well.

The Golden Age of sports reporting in the northeast is over. The Silver Age of sports reporting in the northeast is over. I'm afraid we're stuck with something more akin to the rust age.

PatFanCraig said:

Its realistic to think Garapollo will be a good franchise QB.

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I disagree. The odds on him becoming a good franchise QB are 1 in 20 at best. There are only a dozen of them in the league in any given decade, and only four or five in any given year. The odds on him becoming a back up, or washing out of the league in two or three years, are much higher.

unless andre johnson is taking a huge paycut hes not the solution to the patriots problems.

The patriots offense was what 3rd last year in scoring?

We need to keep adding money to defense, not offense.

The jets made AFCCG with defense and Mark Sanchez.

Garappalo is at least as good as sanchez, With a better coaching staff around him(not going to be a new OC and new Offense every year) Build a elite young Defense and the transition when brady steps down will be smooth

chasa said:

Garappalo is at least as good as sanchez

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Hope, not fact

chasa said:

Garappalo is at least as good as sanchez, With a better coaching staff around him(not going to be a new OC and new Offense every year) Build a elite young Defense and the transition when brady steps down will be smooth

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The point of adding Andre Johnson would be to win now, not 2-3 years down the road. I don't know what we have in Garappolo so I'm not going to speculate on his talent level. But Andre Johnson has stated that he is willing to restructure his contract so that he can fit under his new team's salary cap.

Miguel has also stated that the remainder of Johnson's contract is non-guaranteed money. That means if the Pats restructure him to 5/12/14, they could fit him under the cap for 2014, and then in 2015 they can cut him if need be without cap consequence or they can restructure him again if they feel he is still going to be a valuable contributor.

VJCPatriot said:

The point of adding Andre Johnson would be to win now, not 2-3 years down the road.

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That strange, I remember the patriots having a wide receiver that ended up putting up the current RECORD for touchdowns in a season, and then we didn't win the title.

Andre Johnson is not a "instant win" button. if we have Andre Johnson last year we STILL lose vs the broncos, because our defense falls apart when one CB goes down.

We need to stop teams, not get into shoot outs with them. Offense is nice we have plenty of offense, but what we REALLY need is a defense that can shut other offenses down.

Case in point Seattle vs Denver, Pats vs Giants, Pats vs Giants.

Take all that Andre johnson money, and give it to Revis if he plays like hes still a top corner.

VJCPatriot said:

Miguel has also stated that the remainder of Johnson's contract is non-guaranteed money. That means if the Pats restructure him to 5/12/14, they could fit him under the cap for 2014, and then in 2015 they can cut him if need be without cap consequence or they can restructure him again if they feel he is still going to be a valuable contributor.

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Where is this "no cap consequence" coming from? Any time you restructure a contract like that, you're creating future cap consequence. In Miguel's example, it's $14.5M if he's on the roster or $6M if he's cut.