New Season Starts In Five Weeks

Last year, there were lots of decisions to be made.

IMHO, this year there are few. Sure, there are a bunch of players under contract that we want to cut or restructure. But little needs to be done before March 9th.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

1) Resolution of Mayo's status
We owe him $4M option bonus that will likely not be paid.

2) Tendering or signing of RFA's
As Miguel suggests, it seems likely that they all will agree to contracts before March 9th (Develin, Tyms, Waddle and Siliga).

3) Signing of the ERFA's
These players have no choice.

4) Decisions on our own free agents (none at all crucial)
OFFENSE: Blount, Gibson, Wendell
DEFENSE: Hicks, Watson, Brown, Ebner, Wilson

Per Miguel, the above contacts (RFA and our own free agents) probably won't average more than a $1.1M each (at net of $500k each (except for Hicks who I am not counting on coming back). Even if we sign 8, the total would be $4M or so. These signings don't require any cuts (not even Mayo).

WHAT COULD BE DONE
5) Cuts
6) Extensions
7) Restructures
8) Agreements with free agents

BOTTOM LINE
Before losing ANY players (except Hicks), we have the money to sign all our RFA's and almost all of our own free agent.

To move forward to sign free agents from other teams, we will free up money. Lots of players have targets on their backs including Mayo, Cannon, Chandler, LaFell, Dobson, Chris Jones . But nothing HAS to be done. Even with regard to Mayo, the team could restructure freeing up money (I don't think that this will happen).

Personally, I think that this team is a Super Bowl team, with our IR players coming back, and with almost all of our free agents re-signed.

Of course, we want to see upgrades. And the money is there to pay for them.

This thread is going well....

not for gronk

Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) | Twitter

It's getting that time again. Time to hit them lifts again,start getting diesel and just pure jackness. Gonna have to put the work in!

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Could be critical: finding a new OL coach who can make some magic and protect the GOAT.

I really hope we re-sign Hicks

mgteich said:

To move forward to sign free agents from other teams, we will free up money. Lots of players have targets on their backs including Mayo, Cannon, Chandler, LaFell, Dobson, Chris Jones . But nothing HAS to be done. Even with regard to Mayo, the team could restructure freeing up money (I don't think that this will happen).

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I believe if they cut all these players, and Amendola, they'd free up over $20M in cap space. I think that in signing Martin, they writing is on the wall for Amendola, unless he restructures in a major way. Problem is, with the amount of money he's due, they'd almost have to extend him a year at zero to get to a price point that makes sense.

LaFell is a little different because he is a much different receiver than Martin, although Martin's extension does still effect him in a smaller way. Bottom line is, regardless of position, Patriots can only have a certain number of targets on the field at once and finite number of chances for each player. Martin cuts into LaFell's value. In addition, LaFell outright sucked last year, injury or not...it was his hands and mental game that was more concerning than his lack of burst. Oh sorry, did I say LaFell? I meant LaFell/Dobson, since you can write the exact same thing about both players.

For the umpteenth time, the Patriots need a reliable, even if unspectacular, guy on the outside of who can make plays on the sidelines and make the comeback/shoulder catch. Ochocinco, Branch Sr., Lloyd, Dobson, Thompkins, LaFell turned bad...I miss Randy Moss.

Cannon at $3.5M? I'd sure hope there's a better option out there for that much money. Looks right now like a poor evaluation from the team, and perhaps the fans were right to be surprised at how highly valued Cannon was.

Chandler is probably not worth it for the veteran's minimum...just not worth a roster spot. He likely doesn't have many years left. Would prefer it if they signed a cheap FA at the position who will at least stick around longer as a role player or draft a TE.

Mayo is gone...unfortunate end for a great Patriot. Always thought he was overpaid, though. Great player who just, for whatever reason, was not a game changer but was paid like one.

Theoretically, if all these guys get cut, the team will hardly miss a beat from where they were this year with a lot of money to look at free agents. They have a great outlook.

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

I believe if they cut all these players, and Amendola, they'd free up over $20M in cap space. I think that in signing Martin, they writing is on the wall for Amendola, unless he restructures in a major way. Problem is, with the amount of money he's due, they'd almost have to extend him a year at zero to get to a price point that makes sense.

LaFell is a little different because he is a much different receiver than Martin, although Martin's extension does still effect him in a smaller way. Bottom line is, regardless of position, Patriots can only have a certain number of targets on the field at once and finite number of chances for each player. Martin cuts into LaFell's value. In addition, LaFell outright sucked last year, injury or not...it was his hands and mental game that was more concerning than his lack of burst. Oh sorry, did I say LaFell? I meant LaFell/Dobson, since you can write the exact same thing about both players.

For the umpteenth time, the Patriots need a reliable, even if unspectacular, guy on the outside of who can make plays on the sidelines and make the comeback/shoulder catch. Ochocinco, Branch Sr., Lloyd, Dobson, Thompkins, LaFell turned bad...I miss Randy Moss.

Cannon at $3.5M? I'd sure hope there's a better option out there for that much money. Looks right now like a poor evaluation from the team, and perhaps the fans were right to be surprised at how highly valued Cannon was.

Chandler is probably not worth it for the veteran's minimum...just not worth a roster spot. He likely doesn't have many years left. Would prefer it if they signed a cheap FA at the position who will at least stick around longer as a role player or draft a TE.

Mayo is gone...unfortunate end for a great Patriot. Always thought he was overpaid, though. Great player who just, for whatever reason, was not a game changer but was paid like one.

Theoretically, if all these guys get cut, the team will hardly miss a beat from where they were this year with a lot of money to look at free agents. They have a great outlook.

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My only disagreement is at WR.

I like having Martin on the team for $1.5M a year, but I don't think that this affects Amendola much. The team and Amendola will come to terms or not. If Amendola goes, I don't think that Martin is an adequate replacement. I think of Martin as our #4 WR. I think the signing of Martin affects the players who were competing for the #4 and #5 WR spots, if there even is a #5 (guys like Harper, Tyms, and Dobson).

We have Edelman. We need two more "starters", since we often play a 3 WR set. For now, we have Amendola and LaFell. If LaFell is somehow questionable, because of performance and/or injury, it becomes even more likely to come to terms with Amendola, whether we take a flyer on yet another free agent or not.

I have seen Miguel's articles and he does a great job.
HOWEVER expect the unexpected.

Oh and Let's hope that Cannon's poor play was caused by an injury which he can recover from.

Returning Soldera and Lewis, plus a healthy Gronk, Collins, Hightower, Brady and Edelman, and this is already the best team in the NFL.

Blount or someone like him. And Hicks is certainly a keeper, young and strong, with a burst.

Adding a crop of rookies can only help. I do hope we take another shot at drafting at WR, despite the almost perennial disappointment.

I think our OL is talented and deep. The problems at Denver were a lot about Denver. But I was not disappointed to see Googs leave, given what I felt was a shockingly underwhelming OL. That line should have been much more reliable after 20 weeks of play than it was.

mgteich said:

My only disagreement is at WR.

I like having Martin on the team for $1.5M a year, but I don't think that this affects Amendola much. The team and Amendola will come to terms or not. If Amendola goes, I don't think that Martin is an adequate replacement. I think of Martin as our #4 WR. I think the signing of Martin affects the players who were competing for the #4 and #5 WR spots, if there even is a #5 (guys like Harper, Tyms, and Dobson).

We have Edelman. We need two more "starters", since we often play a 3 WR set. For now, we have Amendola and LaFell. If LaFell is somehow questionable, because of performance and/or injury, it becomes even more likely to come to terms with Amendola, whether we take a flyer on yet another free agent or not.

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We are all on the outside looking in, but we also hear often about players suffering injuries during their careers with no one really knowing the extent. This is just my best GUESS, but it would not surprise me if Amendola has suffered too many injuries at this point to ever be a dependable player, and I wonder if that's part of the reasoning behind the Martin extension. Amendola is 30 years old now and has been unlucky with the amount of damage to his body over the years.

What is the real upside of Amendola at this point in his career? He's a guy who can be a dependable 3rd/4th option in the offense and a partial insurance policy to Edelman (I say "partial" because his performance is a moderate downgrade, whereas when he got here, it was the opposite.) He's a guy who is probably going to get some favorable matchups, get 5 targets a game, and give you maybe 600 yards per season. That's the upside, though; on the downside, he's 30 years old and damaged. He cannot stay healthy; I think he is a very tough player who can play through injuries, but it effects his quickness and he's not really a YAC guy anymore.

Do you really think Martin is a big downgrade, if any, from Amendola, considering also that next year Martin will likely trend upward with an additional year in the system, while Amendola's age suggests he will go down or stay the same at best?

What about in 2017 and 2018? Amendola is on the wrong side of 30. I see very little chance he is with the team after 2016, even if they do rework his deal. Martin has the potential to be a solid contributor for a long time, which is another reason why his extension could spell the end for Amendola.

Amendola is listed at 5'11", 190 lbs. Martin is listed at 5'11", 194 lbs.

I see this as business as usual for the Patriots. A cheaper, younger option entering the prime of his career to replace an older, more expensive option who is exiting it. Better to be a year early than a year late.

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

We are all on the outside looking in, but we also hear often about players suffering injuries during their careers with no one really knowing the extent. This is just my best GUESS, but it would not surprise me if Amendola has suffered too many injuries at this point to ever be a dependable player, and I wonder if that's part of the reasoning behind the Martin extension. Amendola is 30 years old now and has been unlucky with the amount of damage to his body over the years.

What is the real upside of Amendola at this point in his career? He's a guy who can be a dependable 3rd/4th option in the offense and a partial insurance policy to Edelman (I say "partial" because his performance is a moderate downgrade, whereas when he got here, it was the opposite.) He's a guy who is probably going to get some favorable matchups, get 5 targets a game, and give you maybe 600 yards per season. That's the upside, though; on the downside, he's 30 years old and damaged. He cannot stay healthy; I think he is a very tough player who can play through injuries, but it effects his quickness and he's not really a YAC guy anymore.

Do you really think Martin is a big downgrade, if any, from Amendola, considering also that next year Martin will likely trend upward with an additional year in the system, while Amendola's age suggests he will go down or stay the same at best?

What about in 2017 and 2018? Amendola is on the wrong side of 30. I see very little chance he is with the team after 2016, even if they do rework his deal. Martin has the potential to be a solid contributor for a long time, which is another reason why his extension could spell the end for Amendola.

Amendola is listed at 5'11", 190 lbs. Martin is listed at 5'11", 194 lbs.

I see this as business as usual for the Patriots. A cheaper, younger option entering the prime of his career to replace an older, more expensive option who is exiting it. Better to be a year early than a year late.

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The team does NOT get better by cutting Amendola. Whether Martin will be better than Amendola in the future is an open question.

Yeah! Can't wait!

mgteich said:

The team does NOT get better by cutting Amendola. Whether Martin will be better than Amendola in the future is an open question.

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It depends on how they spend the money they save by cutting him.