First looking to 2015: Running backs

Blount is signed for another year, for a very reasonable $1million. I expect he'll be back.
Brandon Bolden just shined a contract extension, more for his ST work than pure RB. I expect he'll be back.
James White is signed for year 2 of his rookie deal. I expect he'll be back.
Stevan Ridley's contract is up, and he's coming off of injury
Shane Vereen's contract is up.
Jonas Gray is still under contract to the team, at a little over a half million dollars for the season.
Tyler Gaffney is under contract to the team, at under a half million dollars for the season.
James Develin will be an ERFA. I expect he'll be back.

The RB situation looks interesting. Even if the team doesn't add another through the draft or free agency, there are already too many RBs for the team to carry:

1. Ridley, coming off his injury, should be available for a small price, but does the team even want him back?
2. Vereen, coming off of a decent season where he showed that he's capable of playing the 3rd down RB role but, as a lesser Faulk/Woodhead, is a player who may have priced himself out of the team's range.
3. Gaffney is a player that is basically going to be giving the team a free look, due to his injury last season.
4. Gray is the question mark. Did he get benched, pretty much for good, because of behavior or talent? The answer there could go a long way towards determining how this team looks to fill in the RB slots.
5. Outsiders really don't know what White is, other than "unimpressive to date".

This is an area that could use an upgrade, IMO, and a value pick (Gurley?) would be interesting here.

I am surprised they did not give Gray a lot more touches to see what they have there? Nobody really knows what happened after he missed that meeting but he never really got a chance after that. Was the Colts game a fluke or do we really have something there?

Worried about losing Vareern. Too many crucial guys that they need to keep.

Good points Deus.

There are just so many ways for the pats to go hear. We could legitimately do nothing and let Vereen and Ridley go. but we would still have Blount, Gray, White, Bolden, Gaffney and Devlin.

If one of the top 2 RB's are there at 32... do we take one? How would a Lynch/AP type RB look next to Brady? Would sure help him out.

Personal preference woudl to be (if possible) Sign Vereen number 1 then try to bring Ridley back on a 1 year prove it deal. But Vereen is the important piece to me due to his involvement in 2nd and 3rd and long's.

But this will be a very interesting off season for this possition.

I agree that Blount, Bolden, White and Develin will be back. That leaves two openings. Possibilities include Gray, Gaffney, free agents and draftees. I'm fine with Gray or Gaffney filling one spot, although we certain might upgrade the position.

The issue is that we need a 3rd down back. Vereen made the short passing game work. If Vereen isn't worth the $3.5M or so might take, we will need someone else for that role.

RB: Blount, Bolden, Gray/Gaffney/Ridley
3rd Down RB: Vereen/fa, White
FB Develin

Deus Irae said:

Blount is signed for another year, for a very reasonable $1million. I expect he'll be back.
Brandon Bolden just shined a contract extension, more for his ST work than pure RB. I expect he'll be back.
James White is signed for year 2 of his rookie deal. I expect he'll be back.
Stevan Ridley's contract is up, and he's coming off of injury
Shane Vereen's contract is up.
Jonas Gray is still under contract to the team, at a little over a half million dollars for the season.
Tyler Gaffney is under contract to the team, at under a half million dollars for the season.
James Develin will be an ERFA. I expect he'll be back.

The RB situation looks interesting. Even if the team doesn't add another through the draft or free agency, there are already too many RBs for the team to carry:

1. Ridley, coming off his injury, should be available for a small price, but does the team even want him back?
2. Vereen, coming off of a decent season where he showed that he's capable of playing the 3rd down RB role but, as a lesser Faulk/Woodhead, is a player who may have priced himself out of the team's range.
3. Gaffney is a player that is basically going to be giving the team a free look, due to his injury last season.
4. Gray is the question mark. Did he get benched, pretty much for good, because of behavior or talent? The answer there could go a long way towards determining how this team looks to fill in the RB slots.
5. Outsiders really don't know what White is, other than "unimpressive to date".

This is an area that could use an upgrade, IMO, and a value pick (Gurley?) would be interesting here.

Click to expand...

White?...what is he anyway? Been at most of the preseason, seen him in action a bit as we all have. JAG.

Gray?...we all LOOK at him and then we all LOOK at the way he's been used since his 200 yard performance and scratch our collective heads. Has to be an off field reason.Questionable commitment maybe? I wouldn't5 lay 5 bucks on his future in a Pats uniform.

Blount has served his purpose...and done it well. If he wants a pay bump he's gone...again. IMO.

Ridley just has to show he's physically sound and I think he's a roster lock. Can be had cheap this season.

Vereen fits the Faulk slot in the salary structure. If he agrees, he stays with TB12 for the foreseeable future. If not, the vultures like Denver could make a big play. Manning is going to need as many safety valves as he can muster, now that his arm is shot.

Gaffney?...no idea

Bolden...core STer, tough guy. Develin...role player...they both are locks IMO

My question is, if they have a shot at a big, strong, fast RB early in the draft, do they break tradition and take a chance? How about a FA with low miles?

If Vereen goes I am pretty optimistic about Dion Lewis for the pass catching role.

Great write-up! This position is really intriguing to me this offseason with the FAs we have.

I think that Vereen is gone, he will get a big contract from someone and Bill doesn't like to pay much for backs... He's good but he's not worth more than like $3m a year. I believe the team will do all it can to make James White fill that role, and Bolden is kinda-sorta okay as a passing back if it came to that. I don't know anything about Gaffney personally, does he bring any hands to the table?

Blount is back, I think Gray will be gone. Lack of use and number of backs will see his release. I think they will then either resign Ridley to a short contract for low money or draft an RB in the 2nd/3rd round.

Develin will definitely be back. Too versatile and beloved by Josh to go anywhere.

dliverey said:

If Vereen goes I am pretty optimistic about Dion Lewis for the pass catching role.

Click to expand...

Why? He has a total of 3 receptions in his career.

If Ridley's recovery is 100% then he is our best back. Would very much like to see him resign.

I thought the Bolden deal was a huge surprise.

I think people overrate Gray because of that game against the Colts, but our offensive line was opening huge holes for him to run through. Considering he barely touched the ball afterwards, I would say it's a talent issue. I think the media and Patriot fans are, in all likelihood, overrating his abilities based on the Colts being garbage and our offensive line pushing their front around like children that game.

PATS16N0 said:

If Ridley's recovery is 100% then he is our best back. Would very much like to see him resign.

I thought the Bolden deal was a huge surprise.

I think people overrate Gray because of that game against the Colts, but our offensive line was opening huge holes for him to run through. Considering he barely touched the ball afterwards, I would say it's a talent issue. I think the media and Patriot fans are, in all likelihood, overrating his abilities based on the Colts being garbage and our offensive line pushing their front around like children that game.

Click to expand...

If Ridley is 100% recovered, the issue is how much Belichick would be willing to pay. I also prefer Ridley to Gray.

When it comes to RBs I honestly don't care much. The only RB I worry about is the 3rd down back.

If they let Vereen walk I want them to have a plan they are confident instead of just figuring it out cause you are going to need a good 3rd down back to beat Seattle if you play them again.

Bolden, Develin & Blount are locks cause all are cheap and proven. I would like Vereen back but if the Pats are out bid then what can you do. Better get someone to catch those 3rd down balls though.

mgteich said:

If Ridley is 100% recovered, the issue is how much Belichick would be willing to pay. I also prefer Ridley to Gray.

Click to expand...

Maybe something with heavy incentives, or a one year prove it. His injury was bad timing, for him and for us.

If Ridley was healthy, we could have ran a lot more effectively against Baltimore IMO. I have a lot of faith in his ability to hammer and punch through the first layer of a stout defensive front, much more so than Blount who does better after he can get through, out in space.

dliverey said:

If Vereen goes I am pretty optimistic about Dion Lewis for the pass catching role.

Click to expand...

Forgot about Lewis. Seems like they are hedging their bets.

I see little if any chance bb resigns Ridley. I see little to any chance we outbid other teams for vereen.

White had a red shirt year in my opinion. He should be much stronger and in much better shape come training camp. Still not a guarantee that he had mastered the playbook, but if he has then he could be a breakout role player and decent contributor next season.

I was impressed with Lewis in college, a hands catcher and has good quickness in space. Not sure about his pass blocking and he ran good routes at Pitt. I wanted them to draft Lewis over Vereen in 2011, but we took Vereen and Ridley and worked out. Lewis went to Philly and sat behind McCoy and was then traded to the Browns and got hurt. If he has the same hands and speed as he did in college then he could be special.

Blount signed a 2 year deal. He definitely will be back and resuming the powerback role. That makes Jonas Gray kind of expendable. For some reason he's been in the doghouse anyways.

Ridley imo is 'the fumbler' in BB's mind. Ridley isn't coming back. He's going to get nice money from some team because he's a former 1,000+ yard guy but not from us.

Of our FA RBs I feel that Vereen is the only must-sign of the bunch. He made the #1 ranked Seahawks defense look silly. They simply had nobody to cover him in the flats and underneath. He runs routes like a receiver. Vereen's pass-blocking has also come a long way.

As long as Shane's salary demands are reasonable, I feel we need to lock him up. He's more athletic and faster than Woodhead. There's a reason we let Woodhead go, because the coaches felt Vereen could become this good. He simply delivers in the playoffs.

I think to make another title run this team NEEDS a stronger running attack. I don't know what the draft or FA prospects are, but I dream of a tough Corey Dillon type who can assume a featured role and take the heat off Brady and the passing game. Blount has been a decent stop-gap but I don't feel he's the answer. Too many question marks on Ridley. A rookie "find" would be great.

I don't think it's correct to say that Belichick believed Ridley was a fumble problem. I don't think Ridley had a single fumble this season, and it was clear he was going to be our #1 until he got injured.

He also looked damn good this year.

Joker said:

...How about a FA with low miles?

Click to expand...

Some FAs that I think might work for you:

Knowshon Moreno - coming off ACL surgery, could be the Ridley (a/k/a cheap post op) alternative
Frank Gore - Older player who'll probably get more elsewhere, but would be a great fit
Matt Asiata - If Vereen walks, Asiata might be worth looking at for the 3rd down back position
Roy Helu - Another Asiata type option, in that he's a pass catcher for 3rd down


And the "not so much" crew:

Ryan Matthews, Ahmad Bradshaw, Ryan Matthews - can't stay healthy
Ray Rice - an obvious "no go" since Kraft has stated he'll never play for the team
Adrian Peterson - would be great, but almost certainly would be too costly


Anyone from either group above pique your interest?

Reiss sounds pessimistic about re-signing Vereen, expecting him to go for top dollar, and further noting this his agents have a history of making unrealistic salary demands, specifically when they represented Welker.