Next 10 days will be quite interesting for the Patriots..

March 2 Prior to 4 p.m. ET, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players
March 7 NFL Regional Combine (Lake Forest, Ill.)
March 7-10 Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of
players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2014 contracts at
4 p.m. ET on March 10. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4 p.m.
ET on March 10
March 10 Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must exercise options for 2015 on all players who have option clauses in
their 2014 contracts
Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with
expiring contracts and to whom they desire to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation
Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating
rights to their players with expiring 2014 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued
seasons of free agency credit
Top-51 Begins. All clubs must be under the 2015 salary cap prior to 4 p.m. ET
All 2014 player contracts expire at 4 p.m. ET
2015 league year and free agency period begins (4 p.m. ET)
Trading period for 2015 begins (4 p.m. ET)


First up? McCourty being tagged.

I would think that a McCourty tag means Vince has to be released/retired in order to clear some cap room.

They cut Wilfork and let McCourty walk.

kennyb said:

They cut Wilfork and let McCourty walk.

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And the Patriots get bounced in the AFCCG next year.

kennyb said:

They cut Wilfork and let McCourty walk.

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Disagree. McCourty will be a Patriot next season.

Tunescribe said:

Disagree. McCourty will be a Patriot next season.

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I think McCourty, Revis, Wilfork, Connolly & Gostkowski will all be on this club in 2015.

They can and will get it done, somehow.

I've lost too many teeth over the years to start gnashing them now over player contracts. Funny thing about the flow of time...it inexorably moves forward. All will be revealed in time. I'm guessing there will be some furious Patriots fans by the start of the season...just like there is every season. I mean, just think back to the tumultuous cacophony of screaming disillusionment at the start of last season. Four games in and Brady was tarred, feathered and already run out of town on a rail. The roster was a disgusting mess and the future was bleaker than it has ever been since BB took the reins.

and then....well....I think everyone realizes what REALLY happened. OK, maybe not everybody. There's still pockets of anorexic, feathered, yellow beaked cluck bawkers still hiding out under the rocks of that debacle that occurred in KC.

fgssand said:

I think McCourty, Revis, Wilfork, Connolly & Gostkowski will all be on this club in 2015.

They can and will get it done, somehow.

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I hope you're right. I think McCourty, Revis and Gostkowski are pretty well assured. I'm concerned about Vince and Connolly.

The important ones to my mind are McCourty, Revis & Gostkowski. I really believe that in some way, Wilfork will return to finish out his career with New England, or possibly even shock the community and retire.

Marqui said:

And the Patriots get bounced in the AFCCG next year.

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I don't think they even make it to the AFCCG if they let them both go there are 10 teams in the AFC with over 29 million in cap space 3 of them playoff teams Bengals. Denver and colts and two of them on the edge of making it bills and chargers,

Denver has some big name guys to sign so they wont go crazy in FA but the colts with over 40 million could fix there problems and San Diego is a pass rusher and a RB away from a 12 win team, the AFC may look weak now but in a month it could be a different story

patsfan-1982 said:

Denver has some big name guys to sign so they wont go crazy in FA but the colts with over 40 million could fix there problems and San Diego is a pass rusher and a RB away from a 12 win team, the AFC may look weak now but in a month it could be a different story

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The Colts are going to get a GM who is not an idiot in free agency?

The list of teams that have successfully bought a championship in free agency is short. By definition, acquiring players through free agency means overpaying. In a salary cap league, overpaying for players is not usually smart business. Especially when the decisions are being made by idiots who do things like trade first round draft picks for Trent Richardson.

If you notice, the franchises that are perennial contenders tend to be the franchises that stay out of the big dollar free agent market.

BTW, the Colts biggest problem is that they get beaten like a rented mule every time they play the New England Patriots.

hwc said:

By definition, acquiring players through free agency means overpaying.

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This isn't true. Did the Patriots overpay for Mike Vrabel, Bobby Hamilton, Darrelle Revis and Brandon LaFell?

Looks like McCourty won't be franchised. We would need to do some maneuvering to get under the cap to tag him and the deadline is only hours away. I really want to see Devin here next year but I'm getting worried.

Oswlek said:

This isn't true. Did the Patriots overpay for Mike Vrabel, Bobby Hamilton, Darrelle Revis and Brandon LaFell?

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Don't forget Rodney. Who represents another great value signing.

It's an interesting topic. You could argue that based on their production with the Pats , they overpaid for Rosey Colvin AD, and Amendola but at the time of their signing they paid IMO market value.

Welker was technically a trade but the spirit of the transaction was that of a FA acq. In any event, another great value signing.

If McCourty wanna stay, if he is the Patriot way impersonated, why they didnt reach a deal yet? For me that might mean a few things:
- BB wanted to see what was available on the FA pool, so he's not that high on McCourty.
- Either BB is playing hard or Dmac agents are proposing a not too friendly deal.

I have a feeling we will have Revis or McCourty here next season, not both.

Pats-Phan said:

Looks like McCourty won't be franchised. We would need to do some maneuvering to get under the cap to tag him and the deadline is only hours away. I really want to see Devin here next year but I'm getting worried.

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You should be worried. Until the Revis situation is resolved and with the current cap situation they are not franchising him @ $9.5m. Because they will lose control of him, he is now on the open market where anything can happen.

Yeah. Like the Pats are big players in free agency every year.

I'm not saying that the good teams never sign a free agent. I'm saying that the good team are not the usual suspects making a splash at the opening bell of free agency. Just the opposite. The perennial contenders are notoriously not big free agency spenders.

Pats-Phan said:

Looks like McCourty won't be franchised. We would need to do some maneuvering to get under the cap to tag him and the deadline is only hours away. I really want to see Devin here next year but I'm getting worried.

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We don't need to be under the cap before next week.

varjao said:

If McCourty wanna stay, if he is the Patriot way impersonated, why they didnt reach a deal yet? For me that might mean a few things:
- BB wanted to see what was available on the FA pool, so he's not that high on McCourty.
- Either BB is playing hard or Dmac agents are proposing a not too friendly deal.

I have a feeling we will have Revis or McCourty here next season, not both.

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Or that the Patriots are focusing on the Revis deal knowing they can always just franchise Devin. Frankly, I'd say that is the odds on favorite to explain the silence.

robertweathers said:

It's an interesting topic. You could argue that based on their production with the Pats , they overpaid for Rosey Colvin AD, and Amendola but at the time of their signing they paid IMO market value.

Welker was technically a trade but the spirit of the transaction was that of a FA acq. In any event, another great value signing.

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I was going to say the exact same thing, right down to the mentions of AD and Welker, but got lazy.

Ultimately, FA is like any other acquisition technique, sometimes you get good value, sometimes you don't. But there are ways to maximize your chances.

hwc said:

The perennial contenders are notoriously not big free agency spenders.

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Sure, but FA can still make a big difference without an immediate splash. The Patriots themselves are a prime example of this just last year.

patsfan-1982 said:

I don't think they even make it to the AFCCG if they let them both go there are 10 teams in the AFC with over 29 million in cap space 3 of them playoff teams Bengals. Denver and colts and two of them on the edge of making it bills and chargers,

Denver has some big name guys to sign so they wont go crazy in FA but the colts with over 40 million could fix there problems and San Diego is a pass rusher and a RB away from a 12 win team, the AFC may look weak now but in a month it could be a different story

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I like our 5 picks in the top 97 of the draft this year, plus gaining healthy Easley, Dobson and Mayo.

Among the FAs or vets I can see Vereen, Dennard, Ridley and Wilfork going. Create some space on the Revis restructure/signing along with Amendola/Arrington cap reductions. Pickup Danny Woodhead to replace Vereen.

Within those top 5 picks - 2 top OG's, 1DT, 1 TE and 1 LB. Then round out the roster with the other picks.