Wilfork's 2015 cap number

Brady6 said:

Odd to me that I have seen so much talk about Bolden, Amendola, etc. being the saviors yesterday but in reality the difference in the game was the field goal that Wilfork blocked. He is still the best NT in the NFL and a great leader if we cannot find a way to make his cap number work I will be disappointed.

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If not for amendola and Bolden that blocked fg might not have been the difference.

Another way of looking at it.

I hope they keep him they probably will. Team leader and all that.

patsfan-1982 said:

one of my all time fav pats but you cant have a 34 year old none pass rusher making 8 million next year, they need to bring his cap hit down to 3 or 4 million or just cut him

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I understand you to see that the patriots "can't" pay Wilfork $8M and bring back the 2014 defense. There have been several threads and lots of analysis that says, given the current cap numbers listed on Miguel's site, that the patriots can bring back ALL of the current defense (plus Mayo and Easley).

There are decisions to be made before the seasons starts. However, if you think that the patriots cannot bring back Wilfork, you are incorrect.

mgteich said:

I understand you to see that the patriots "can't" pay Wilfork $8M and bring back the 2014 defense. There have been several threads and lots of analysis that says, given the current cap numbers listed on Miguel's site, that the patriots can bring back ALL of the current defense (plus Mayo and Easley).

There are decisions to be made before the seasons starts. However, if you think that the patriots cannot bring back Wilfork, you are incorrect.

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Oh, we can being him back. But, I'd rather re-up 3 valuable pieces for longer than one year. Than hope I can squeeze another year out of an aging vet.

Who do folks think is/was more valuable -- current Vince, or Ted Washington as we had him?

Washington was the better NT, I think, but Wilfork is more versatile on the field, and a better person off (although I think Washington had largely reformed by the time he was a Patriot). So it's pretty close.

kennyb said:

If not for amendola and Bolden that blocked fg might not have been the difference.

Another way of looking at it.

I hope they keep him they probably will. Team leader and all that.

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I'm not taking anything away from Amendola or Bolden I'm just saying Wilfork should be getting appreciation too.

Fencer said:

Who do folks think is/was more valuable -- current Vince, or Ted Washington as we had him?

Washington was the better NT, I think, but Wilfork is more versatile on the field, and a better person off (although I think Washington had largely reformed by the time he was a Patriot). So it's pretty close.

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It is not even close in my opinion, Wilfork is head and shoulders better and more valuable than Washington.

McCourty's handiwork...

Brady6 said:

It is not even close in my opinion, Wilfork is head and shoulders better and more valuable than Washington.

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Do you think Washington was overpaid?

Restructure him. Cut Solder and his hefty $7MM contract. Draft a LT in the first round. Pay Revis, McCourty and hoard your $$. Also keep in mind they will have to pay Collins, Hightower and Ch. Jones eventually too. Also, Randall Cobb is a FA. I'd love NE to take a run at him.

Double TE said:

Also, Randall Cobb is a FA. I'd love NE to take a run at him

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Yeah.. with what money ? Why stop at Cobb... think bigger.. DT and Dez are also FA and are similarly unrealistic targets..

Double TE said:

Draft a LT in the first round.

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The place where we are drafting it is very questionable if you can find a LT that can replace Solder's level of playing, especially in his rookie year. Very doubtful that Solder is gone in 2015.

Vince probably won't restructure.

Along with Amendola his salary appears to be the low hanging fruit. Thats a shame.

luuked said:

Yeah.. with what money ? Why stop at Cobb... think bigger.. DT and Dez are also FA and are similarly unrealistic targets..



The place where we are drafting it is very questionable if you can find a LT that can replace Solder's level of playing, especially in his rookie year. Very doubtful that Solder is gone in 2015.

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I wouldn't be chocked if we moved Vollmer to LT and Cannon to RT, cut Solder, and draft a tackle that can play guard in the first round.

You cut Mayo, that saves around $5 mil, then Solder, that saves $7 mil, so you have $12 mil right there. Restructure Revis and his $25 mil number, cut Amendola and save $2.1 mil, cut or restructure Wilfork, either save $7.6 mil via cut or restructure to garner some cap flexibility.

So mathematically you save around $20 mil with cuts/restructures. Solder has just not been very good and for $7 mil he is overpaid. Sign Bulaga if you have to and structure as such that your annual hit is lower than $7 mil.

best case scenerio we win it all this year and vince decides to retire.

worst case scenerio we ask him to restructure and there is a messy public feud and he ends up on the broncos for vet minimum.

We can trade him to the Raiders for a 1st round pick.

Double TE said:

You cut Mayo, that saves around $5 mil, then Solder, that saves $7 mil, so you have $12 mil right there. Restructure Revis and his $25 mil number, cut Amendola and save $2.1 mil, cut or restructure Wilfork, either save $7.6 mil via cut or restructure to garner some cap flexibility.

So mathematically you save around $20 mil with cuts/restructures. Solder has just not been very good and for $7 mil he is overpaid. Sign Bulaga if you have to and structure as such that your annual hit is lower than $7 mil.

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You don't save any money unless you wait until after June 1st if you cut mayo. Save 3.8 m then. Nothing if before June 1st. All fa's will be gone by then. You save 1,590,000 if you cut Amendola. You won't get anything better for that price. Solder is as good as Bulaga.

patsfaninpa said:

You don't save any money unless you wait until after June 1st if you cut mayo. Save 3.8 m then. Nothing if before June 1st. All fa's will be gone by then. You save 1,590,000 if you cut Amendola. You won't get anything better for that price. Solder is as good as Bulaga.

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I think savings from Mayo depend on if he passes a physical or not. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure that we can save cap space by releasing him before june 1st if he passes a physical.

Marinlik said:

I think savings from Mayo depend on if he passes a physical or not. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure that we can save cap space by releasing him before june 1st if he passes a physical.

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He's coming off of an ACL he tore on Oct 12th. New league year starts March 10th. You think he'll pass in 5 months?? Nope. He'll be back at a lower number next year. Converting some salary to incentives. Because, after June 1st. The Pats have some bargaining power

luuked said:

The place where we are drafting it is very questionable if you can find a LT that can replace Solder's level of playing, especially in his rookie year. Very doubtful that Solder is gone in 2015.

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I agree. However, to me, this depends a lot on the free agency market.

QUESTION 1
Will there be a better value option than Solder for a one-year transition year.

QUESTION 2
Will there be a better value option than Solder for a long-term deal. I find unlikely that Solder will sign with us, given his agent. He will think that he will get more than the patriots will give in free agency this off-season or next.

QUESTION 3
What does Belichick think of Vollmer as a LT? Personally, I am a bit confused. We are paying two RT's starting money: Vollmer and Cannon.

CONCLUSION
If we have a one-year transition player, the LT we draft doesn't have to start in his first year. We could have a transition player or Vollmer as a starter for a year. If the player doesn't work out, we'd need a transition player again in 2016.

We need a long-term answer at LT and at LG. I don't think Solder is part of that answer, other than perhaps as a one-year transition.

I understand that cap hits are always something that has to be addressed and you can't keep all the players that you would like.
I will say that Vince's play this year has been excellent and I cannot see any drop off even from his last healthy year 2013. For a guy his size and age he has been steady and there have been several "wow' that plays he has made this year.