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.
