Logan Mankins Traded

No doubt it caught everyone by surprise! I was listening to Reiss on a Spreecast saying he had to leave the session because the Pats had just traded Mankins. I am sure other media experts were similarly caught unprepared.

My first reaction was negative. Mankins has been a stalwart of the team for so long, yet I don't feel that he has declined as much as he has become inconsistent. When he brings his stuff there are none better. He might be quiet, but he has always been the guy on the line with the 'tude. I will miss him, and cant see anyone who will immediately replace him as "enforcer".

That said the benefits seem to be well balanced in favor of the team as others have pointed out. The jury is still out on Wright, but I am delighted that we have another pass catching TE, one with youth and reasonable stats for the short time he has been playing. This is so much better than snagging older TEs with injury problems like Finlay and Keller, and much better than hoping that Justin Jones would develop into an NFL ready product.

The fourth rounder is actually better than I anticipated when checking out Wright. I had feared it would be a 5th or 6th rounder, based on the fact that Mankins probably only has 2 or 3 years left with increasing inconsistency.

Cap space cannot be underestimated, though expecting to sign McCourty and Revis as a result might be over-optimistic.

All said and done, I hope Mankins has a great back nine to his career. He served us well and has many attributes that I would like to see developed in those that remain.

shmessy said:

Guess that pretty much discounts the whole "BB got ride of him because he still held a grudge about the 2011 salary negotiation" argument.

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Why? Would you expect him to admit it?

ctpatsfan77 said:

That trade for TE Alex Smith worked out so well.

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We are talking about the NFL not the AFL get out of the stone age!

ctpatsfan77 said:

That trade for TE Alex Smith worked out so well.

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Surprised but nothing surprises me anymore... when Brady is traded I don't think I will be shocked.

KontradictioN said:

And Wendell is probably the worst starting center in the NFL. If he starts this year while Mankins was traded, it's a huge gaffe and my prayers go out to the Brady family.

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i wasnt aware that mankins was possibly going to be our starting center...

I know posters hate measurables but I do find it interesting how similar Josh Kline is to Logan Mankins:

Josh Kline
Height: 6025
Weight: 307
40 Yard Dash: 5.06
20 Yard Dash: 3.00
10 Yard Dash: 1.76
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 25
Vertical Jump: 27
Broad Jump: 08'06"
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.59
3-Cone Drill: 7.63

Logan Mankins
Height: 6041
Weight: 307
40 Yard Dash: 5.06
20 Yard Dash: 3.00
10 Yard Dash: 1.85
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 21
Vertical Jump: 31 1/2
Broad Jump: 07'11"
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.45
3-Cone Drill: 7.54

Maybe they have a lot of confidence in Kline and expect him to fill the void. The question really comes down to can a 24-year-old Josh Kline play at the same level as a 32-year-old Logan Mankins who has suffered his fair share of injuries over the past 3-4 years.

shmessy said:

Kline's only start of the season last year was, arguably, the Patriots most impressive win, 41-7 on the road against the Ravens.

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Which is why I'm holding off judgment until I see who gets the starts and how it looks for at least a few weeks. If Kline can hold that spot and he added another weapon for Brady, I'll consider it a good trade.

Have Patriots freeing up $5.755m in cap space since a player with a 495K salary will replace Mankins in Top 51. Mankins's 2014 dead money equals 4.25 million. His 2015 dead money hit will be 4M. The Patriots did not have the option of taking the entire dead money cap hit this year. Per the CBA, the 2015 dead money will be hitting the 2015 dead money since trade occurred after 2015.

Ridley, Cannon, Revis, Vereen, and Slater may benefit from this as the Patriots now have the cap room to afford their extensions. If any of the five are extended, their 2014 cap numbers would most likely increase.

KontradictioN said:

And Wendell is probably the worst starting center in the NFL. If he starts this year while Mankins was traded, it's a huge gaffe and my prayers go out to the Brady family.

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Kontra, I share your feelings on Wendell, but it looks like it's been trending towards the team sticking with him & Connolly, and probably moving Connolly back to RG out of necessity anyway. Devey has not proven a capable starting RG from what I can tell.

We were stuck with Wendell before this trade went down.

KontradictioN said:

And Wendell is probably the worst starting center in the NFL. If he starts this year while Mankins was traded, it's a huge gaffe and my prayers go out to the Brady family.

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They certainly are disadvantaged, so those prayers are warranted.

Miguel said:

Have Patriots freeing up $5.755m in cap space since a player with a 495K salary will replace Mankins in Top 51. Mankins's 2014 dead money equals 4.25 million. His 2015 dead money hit will be 4M.

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So am I correct saying we save $2.75M next year as his salary was $6.75M ?

BB does this almost every year. Milloy, Seymour, Vrabel, Moss, Welker, and now Mankins. If you've followed BB and the Pats, you should've seen this coming. BB always parts with players right before they hit a decline in their career. "Better a year early than a year late".... and they have been consistent with that over the past 10 years. Welker technically wasn't cut or traded but the point remains the same. The Pats basically let him walk.

I'm surprised that some people are still surprised by this. Reading through the Mankins thread, there are so many people who are "floored" and "shocked" by it. People are in disbelief.

I'm actually surprised it didn't happen earlier.

Mankins is overpaid. He was one of the highest paid players on the entire team. No matter how many Pro Bowls he's been to, he hasn't performed like a 10 million dollar Guard in the past couple of years. He's also 32 and at the tail end of his career. Now we got a move Tight End (position of need) who is young and only making 500k per year. Last season he had the 3rd most receiving yards of any rookie Tight End in the past 10 years. and we got a draft pick as well.


We have a lot of players that will need to be re-signed next year, and this move will help free up cap space for that. Revis, McCourty, Vereen, Vollmer, to name a few.


Oh, and Wilfork is probably playing his last year in New England. Wilfork will be the "surprise" trade or cut next year.

No one is "special" to Belichick. Good guy Vince is loyal to the organization and probably thinks he will get different treatment than those who went before him... but his fate will be the same as theirs. Maybe we'll get a 3rd rounder out of Oakland for him next year. Wilfork will be pissed, but he'll retire in a couple years and come back a few years later, teary eyed, while getting inducted to the Patriots HOF just like Ty Law did this year.

Don't be surprised if Brady gets shopped around sooner than expected either. If Garoppolo keeps playing as well as he has, BB will have no problem getting rid of Brady a year early. The only thing that will save Brady is if he brings home another Lombardi. BB makes good business decisions and NO ONE over 30 is ever safe.

So Im not thrilled with it but I do trust in the management to do the right thing, we keep hearing how BB has screwed this and that up yet they have the best team overall for the last 12 years. Come on. He knew something about Welker and got rid of a guy that wont play a whole season anymore, he know when Milloy was done, even Seymour wasnt the same when he left, we can go on.

But with the rules enforcement this year it makes sense to load up on receivers of any kind because we are going to see all out offense from the NFL here on in. The rules will dictate this and with the way flags are flying there is no way a defensive backfield can hold for more than a few seconds, this could be a win big time for QB's like Brady, Manning or anyone who has a quick release. I think the Pats know exactly what they are doing.

Is anyone really surprised that Lovie Smith fleeced Bill Belichick?

I think people are more shocked by the fact that Mankins was traded with so little talent behind him anywhere else on the interior of the line. C/G was already a huge question mark. If there was better talent at guard after Mankins, this trade wouldn't surprise me at all.

Wow, i didn't see this coming. I wonder if there's something we don't know (injury, drugs, personal issues, etc...)

I'm never shocked by a veteran cut. I always know one is coming. But I'm somehow always surprised by WHO the veteran cut turns out to be. BB is basically the Velociraptor of NFL coaches.

BradyFTW! said:

I think people are more shocked by the fact that Mankins was traded with so little talent behind him anywhere else on the interior of the line. C/G was already a huge question mark. If there was better talent at guard after Mankins, this trade wouldn't surprise me at all.

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Just look at the history behind some of those other departures. It hurt us sometimes in the past. No downfield threat after Moss was traded. No trusted WR last year after Welker walked.

But Belichick always knows he will find a replacement sooner or later.

People aren't surprised by veteran trades/cuts. People are surprised by surprising trades/cuts.

It's definitional.