Again, discussed by Miguel:
http://www.patsfans.com/salary-cap/?p=1000?sc=rss
Tim Wright can be used as a move TE or as a split end, which gives some flexibility. The Pats could go after a reasonably priced UFA move TE (I've suggested Lance Kendricks or Rob Housler; Charles Clay could also be an option, though I doubt he gets out of Miami) and use Wright mainly as a possession receiver, or go after a WR and continue to use Wright as a move TE. I'm not sure Miles Austin has much left in the tank, and he is injury prone. I think that Eddie Royal is much faster than Danny Amendola, and could be used both in the slot and to stretch the field, similar to Emmanuel Sanders - someone who the Pats attempted to sign as an RFA after they already had signed Amendola as a UFA. JMHO.
Again, I've outlined elsewhere where I think the defense can be addressed in a "zero sum" fashion, without increasing the current net cap hit for the defensive players under contract. As for Carpenter, a lot depends on how badly Seattle wants to keep him. The Seahawks have more cap space than the Pats, though they have a major issue looming with Russell Wilson's contract. They elected NOT to exercise their 5th year option on him. He has been good but not great, and somewhat injury prone. I don't see his market value being exorbitant, but you never know what the FA feeding frenzy will do.
Once again, discussed in detail by Miguel:
http://www.patsfans.com/salary-cap/?p=936 (see #2 under "players under contract")
And, as mentioned above, Brady and the Pats just re-negotiated to change $24M of his remaining contract to be guaranteed only for injury, not for skill. That doesn't affect his cap number, but it does free up $24M of real money that otherwise would have had to be put in escrow - likely a sign that the team is planning on doing something with that money.
